Hi, Dozo Sushi

As we were leaving the Seattle Premium Outlets, we briefly entertained the thought of either eating in Burlington or Bellingham. However, we were on the lookout for Japanese food since the previous 2 days, we had some pretty heavy stuff. Well, it was a short deliberation. We decided to head back into the GVRD for Japanese food. Not a difficult decision really. Initially, we thought that by virtue of having NEXUS, we'd make it across the border in no time. Well, that would be the case if the NEXUS lane was not blocked by the regular lineup. Why offer NEXUS when people can't even get into the lane? Or better yet, why were people blocking the lane??? This was at the Pacific Border crossing. We hightailed along D Street to the Peace Arch and yup, the lane was blocked as well. At least the people blocking the lane were legitimately trying to head into the regular lanes. Such was not the case at the Pacific Border.

So once across, we were starving as it was past 8:30pm. With very little creativity, we headed over to Hi, Dozo Sushi in New West. I remembered about this place when we dined at Tamarind Hill across the street last year. For those who care, the place is Korean-owned. We don't really care because good food is good food, no matter who makes it. We started off with an order of Tuna & Salmon Sashimi. Appearance-wise, the sashimi looked fantastic. Tastewise, it wasn't as flavourful as it looked; yet it was still good. Textures were right on and it was fresh (as fresh as previously frozen can get). The one thing that bugged me was the tuna, the pieces got progressively smaller as you can see in the picture. For our token maki sushi, we got the House Roll consisting of ebi tempura, cucumber, avocado, tobiko, imitation crab and tuna. The roll was done right as it stayed together when we picked it with our chopsticks while not being stiff. I liked how the ebi tempura was still crispy. The sushi rice was acceptable being somewhere in between chewy and dry.

For some reason or another, I decided to go for an order of the Takoyaki. I'm pretty sure these were pre-made and then deep-fried. Normally, they should be made fresh and then placed in a mold and pan-grilled. No matter though, these were still good, fluffy in the middle and crisp on the outside. There was the right amount of sauce and mayo; yet I would've liked more bonito flakes though. As always, when my son is around, he wants Tempura. And just like always, he only eats the batter. Well, the batter was crispy and not all that oily. Each piece of vegetable was fresh while the ebi had a nice cold-water texture.

I don't know about you; but I'm not a huge fan of pan-frying Gyoza on all sides uniformly. I believe, much like the potsticker, needs to be browned on the bottom. The rest should look and eat like a steamed dumpling. So I was indifferent towards the ones we got here. With all surfaces browned, it became almost more like a fried gyoza in texture and oiliness. The gyoza itself was okay. Too bad they had to cook it this way. Lastly, we got an order of the Chicken Yaki Udon. This is the 3rd time we've ordered this dish in the last 2 weeks. My son seemed to take a liking to it, so we figured it was a good idea to run with it. The yaki udon arrived on a sizzling hot plate that was long and quite narrow. Therefore, not much in the way of noodles could fit onto the small surface area. We found the noodles slightly soft, especially when we tried to pick it up with our chopsticks. With the udon sticking to the hot plate, we were only able to get small strands as they broke off very easily. It also didn't help that there was too much sauce as well, which only served to soften the noodles more. Looking past some of the food issues, the meal was actually quite decent. Furthermore, the staff were very friendly. However, we felt that the prices were slightly high for the amount of food on the plate. All-in-all, Hi, Dozo is very similar to many of the other Japanese restaurants in New West: it does the job given its location.

The Good:
- Friendly staff
- Sashimi and sushi were not bad

The Bad:
- Not sure about the value
- The cooked food we tried lags behind the sushi

Yan's Garden

A second chance. Or in this case, a 20th chance. There was a time we would frequent Yan's Garden for both Dim Sum and dinner. And why not? There is not much to choose from in terms of decent Chinese food in and around the Lougheed and North Road area. However, I stopped eating at Yan's because their service just plain sucked. In fact, it sucked even for a Chinese restaurant. They would routinely make mistakes and not own up to it and their servers really needed some attitude adjustments. Hence, my last post on this place was not at all glowing. However, it was time for a re-visit and to see if things have changed. JuJu did his usual Facebook shout-out for food and once again, I was first to respond affirmatively. He wanted Dim Sum and I wanted a redo at Yan's. Perfect. Interestingly, the first thing I noticed was some familiar staff members from Wah Lun.

JuJu arrived first and just like the ravenous eater he is, there was a plate of Shrimp Spring Rolls already missing a few pieces. So for the record, there should be four rolls, not three. These were pretty good with big crunchy chunks of shrimp in a perfectly fried wheat wrapper. Most of the time I scoff at the sweet 'n sour sauce served with spring rolls (since it should be Worcestershire sauce instead); but in the case of a shrimp-filled spring roll, it works alright - almost in the same way as a fried shrimp wonton. Since Yan's still employs push carts, we were at the mercy of what was available at the time. So no Haw Gow at the beginning; yet we did track down some Sui Mai. These were okay. The pork was slightly chewier than we would've liked. It didn't exhibit the desired "bounce" texture; rather it was too much like regular pork. Furthermore, the dumplings stood to be seasoned more aggressively.

Next up was the Blackbean Spareribs. As you can tell in the picture, they were mainly meaty pieces with little to no cartilage (which is a good thing). The meat was tenderized so that it was easy to chew while not completely pulverized either. There was a good amount of black bean and garlic seasoning as well. This was a solid dish. We had the Deep Fried Glutinous Pork Dumpling next. This item is not as popular as it once was, especially during the 80's. Since they had it here, we jumped at the chance. Now, these "Ham Sui Gock" are not the most healthy items available; but they are soooo good. It is basically ground pork, shiitake mushrooms and pickled vegetable in a starch thicken sauce encased in glutinous rice cake (think mochi), then deep fried. These were pretty good except that the outer layer of glutinous rice was too thick. Other than that, the outside was crisp while the filling was tasty and plentiful.

For no other reason that it was in the cart that next arrived at our table, we got the Beef Meatballs. That's the thing about push carts, you end up ordering stuff because it's there, not because you really wanted it. In the end, it was not a bad choice since these meatballs were good. The texture was perfect being moist with a slight bounce. We really liked the pronounced dried orange peel flavour, it added a lot to the dish. For us, Dim Sum is not complete without a rice noodle roll. In this case, it was a Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll. This was quite average. The rice noodle was on the stiffer side while the soy sauce was surprisingly bland. It was probably watered down too much when they made the soy & sugar mix. At the very least, the shrimp was cooked properly and it was somewhat cold-water crunchy.

Once again, the lure of food on push carts struck again. We were not planning to order the Deep Fried Squid with chili salt; yet we did. I guess we were talked into it. Well, it really didn't take much convincing since JuJu and I are easily influenced by anything edible. Unfortunately, this was a bad decision. The squid itself was very good, in large pieces and with a great chewy texture that was still easy to eat. Furthermore, there was plenty of seasoning in the form of salt, chilis and garlic. The problem was with the batter. The large pieces of squid made the batter soggy and in some inner parts, not cooked completely. They really needed to make the pieces smaller or cut them in a different manner.

Once again, we got the Xiao Long Bao for no other reason than JuJu must have it for Dim Sum. Yes, we realize it is a Shanghainese specialty served in a Cantonese restaurant. The chances of it being actually good? Nil. Now if we look at it from the perspective that it is merely a pork dumpling, then it was acceptable. This had to be the attitude going into it because the XLBs had no juice whatsoever and the dumpling skin was thick. Getting through the skin, the non-gritty meat was actually okay being well-seasoned with a hint of ginger. Just don't call them XLBs. As if there wasn't enough food already, JuJu wanted to get the Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice. It arrived on a clamshell-like plate that was deceiving in terms of the amount of food. There was a lot of rice and well-priced at $8.95. Now the rice itself was good being dry with not much in the way of clumps. The chicken was moist and there was a decent amount of salted fish. However, the rice lacked seasoning and wasn't as salty as we would've liked. No problem though, it was still a very acceptable attempt.

Now the Minced Beef Congee was not an acceptable attempt. As evidenced in the picture, the congee was on the watery side while totally lacking in flavour. It would give home-cooked congee a run for its money. Wait, I make congee better than this, so scratch that. However, the worst thing about this congee was the beef itself. It was gritty, chewy and totally flavourless. The meat was neither tenderized nor marinated
enough. This was a very bad version of congee. Now, if you have been paying attention and reading this (rather than just looking at the pictures! LOL...), there is one significant item missing. Yes, it is the Haw Gow or Steamed Shrimp Dumpling. For some reason or another, it was not available from the push carts. I would like to believe that they wanted to make it fresh and not have it sit in the cart for too long. But in reality, I suspect they don't want someone taking 10 orders of it as the cart passes by. So we had ordered it near the beginning of the meal and it arrived as we were almost about to give up and just get the bill. Was it worth the wait? Not really. The dumpling skin was okay, maybe a little on the gummy side. On the inside, the shrimp was mostly in little pieces (albeit a good snap texture) and there was a good amount of binding agent, which was not pleasant. So, just like my previous visits here, the food has its highs and its lows; but it is mostly decent. Considering the location, Yan's is probably one of the better Chinese restaurants in the neighbourhood. The service was better this time around; but it is still very indifferent and inattentive. I guess that is an improvement over the rude and "screw-you" attitude on previous visits.

The Good:
- It's a fairly spacious restaurant
- Food is generally acceptable
- Prices are fair

The Bad:
- Service is not really a high point
- The parking lot is truly insufficient for the amount of businesses in the complex

C-Lovers Fish & Chips (Surrey)

*Restaurant is now closed*

For all the fish 'n chip joints I've tried, there has always been one that I've been to countless times before, yet never had a chance to blog about. Now, if told you it was C-Lovers, it might be a bit surprising. Why? Well, it is a chain and there are multiple locations in the Lower Mainland. So what has taken me so long? Honestly, I'm not sure. It's not like I didn't have the chance in the past 3 years. Maybe it is one of those "oh it's always going to be there" type places. I have to admit, C-Lovers was our go-to place for the longest time during and shortly after University. We'd meet up with at the North Van location and mingle with the seniors for the AYCE special. I think once Chill had too much and he disappeared into the washroom for 30 minutes... But I'm sure you don't want any more details about that!

Well, once again, I took advantage of their AYCE Cod 'n Chips special, albeit at the Surrey Newton location. The one thing one would immediately notice with the AYCE version of the fish 'n chips is that the pieces of fish are smaller. They almost resemble big fish sticks rather than the regular long filets of cod. However, our fish was still moist and flaky with a light batter, much like it has been every time I've had C-Lovers. The fries were fresh cut, potatoey and crisp. I have always thought the tartar sauce at C-Lovers to be rather mild, yet it does the job. Since the pieces of fish were small, I was able to have a bit more. I probably shouldn't have though... But that is the temptation of AYCE. On the topic of temptation or just plain power of suggestion, I noticed that the table next to us enjoying a bowl of their Seafood Chowder. So what would I do? Of course, get an order for myself! I can see buffet aficionados rolling their eyes already... Ordering more food at an extra cost when I have already paid for an AYCE? Blasphemous!

Well, the Seafood Chowder was a bit different than the typical creamy version. It was more of a broth which was fishy (in a good way). Personally, I like the cream-based chowder more, but this was okay too. All-in-all, the meal was pretty much as expected which was consistent with other meals at C-Lovers. For the price, it a more than acceptable fish 'n chip joint.

The Good:
- Pretty consistent from location-to-location (I've been to most of them)
- AYCE is a good value

The Bad:
- Although a good value, the AYCE yields smaller pieces of fish

Cafe Savoureux (formerly La Cuisson)

We've all seen it before. You know, those comments left on sites such as Urbanspoon, Yelp and Dinehere that merely state: "the food tasted like sh*t". Yah, that's useful. And I suppose people have eaten sh*t to legitimize this statement. How about the food wasn't really good? I'm sure there is not much in the way of food out there that tastes worst than poo. On that note, I can honestly say that eating poo is not exactly at the top of my to-do list. However, Costanza sent me an email that his co-worker had raved about the Civet Coffee at Cafe Savoureux in Richmond. For those unfamiliar, a civet is a cat- like animal that eats coffee beans and we harvest it from their dung. Yup, we clean it up and roast it. Whoever thought of this great idea might be slightly disturbed. This was not the first time I've ever seen or heard about this prized and expensive coffee. When I lived in Downtown, I came across it at Urban Fare. One look at the price and I was not really into spending my pay cheque on Cat Poo Coffee. That and the French bread flown in from Paris daily, as well as the square watermelons.

As for the Civet Coffee at Cafe Savoureux, it is $60.00. We ended up sharing it which made it a more bearable at $20.00 each between Vandelay, Costanza and myself. There were 4 "courses" starting with the rich, full-bodied first press. It was dark, yet curiously smooth and not bitter. The second press was much weaker and not very flavourful. The third press tasted like tea and we didn't care much for it. The final press was gritty and thick. So was it worth it? Depends. I'm not a huge coffee drinker. However Costanza and Vandelay are coffee aficionados. They enjoyed the first pass, but they agreed that it is one of those "been there, done that" things.

The Good:
- Calm, inviting seating area
- Friendly service
- Lots of choice

The Bad:
- Sure, we had an expensive coffee, but the rest of their prices are on the higher side

Pho Queen

The hockey season is upon us. Time to grab a six-pack, open up a bag of Doritos and order up some pizza. Viv and the kids can reacquaint themselves to their dad in about 8 months. However, that isn't the real reason to get excited... It's hockey pool time! The yearly traditional gathering with McKeen's in hand (and a laptop), spending 3+ hours drafting players, has exercised its mesmerizing grip. Who will go first? Who really wants the first overall pick anyways? Ovechkin? A Sedin? Stamkos? The anticipation and drama continues onto the later rounds where the pool is actually won. Pick a rookie that has a great year, a dark horse or some other player
everyone has passed up - the thrill of snatching a player that you want late.

Well, that was the deal for Costanza, Vandelay and myself as we headed over to Chill's house in Tsawwassen for his annual hockey pool. However, we wouldn't pass up this opportunity driving past Richmond and not get some eats... Besides, Costanza really wanted to try the Civet Coffee from Le Cuisson (cat poop coffee to be exact). But before the poo beverage, we got our nourishment nearby at Pho Queen. With the regular Pho claimed by Vandelay, I resorted to the Bun Bo Hue (which I equally like anyways). This was a healthy portion with plenty of nicely texture noodles and tender meats. There wasn't any pork knuckle, but there was a large piece of pork with skin. It was quite tough and dry. The broth was actually not bad with a decent amount of spice and aromatics. As for Vandelay's Pho, the broth was a bit heavy on the salt and MSG. With that, it was quite flavourful though. With meats similar to my order, they were fine as well. A solid bowl of Pho.

Costanza went for the Grilled Lemon Grass Chicken and Pork Chop on Rice, which made me happy since the last thing I wanted was another bowl of noodles to write about! On cue, he set aside a portion for me to try. You gotta love Costanza, always looking out for me! I found the chicken to be super moist and tender with plenty of lemongrass flavour. Although a touch dry, the pork chop was also good with a nice grilled aroma. Now Costanza was not at all satisfied with only one dish, so he asked if I wanted to share the Beef Stew with French Bread. Boy, he is a heaven sent! The perfect dining companion - orders lots and lets me try it all! Unfortunately, the stew itself was a little weak. It was not as rich as we would've liked. In fact, it wasn't even that oily, which is a trademark of this dish. On the positive side, the beef was moist and the French bread was crunchy and light in the middle. "Pretty good" is probably the best way to describe Pho Queen. Nothing stands out, yet nothing offended us either. Personally, I would take Pho Queen over Green Lemongrass if one was in Richmond.

The Good:
- Inexpensive (like most other Vietnamese joints)
- Fairly large parking lot (if it isn't full... LOL...)
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Portions are modest

The Pourhouse

I'm not sure what to think about preseason hockey... (yes, this was written almost a month ago). On one hand, it's nice to see the boys in action again after summer, however, the "boys" are usually a collection of prospects and veterans who won't make the team. Despite this, I jumped at the chance to go to a preseason game when Rich Guy asked if I wanted to watch from Richer Guy's suite at Rogers Arena. Furthermore, Richer Guy graciously offered up his parking spot at Rogers Arena as well! Ballin'! Egads... Despite the high-rollin' parking spot and suite, the game was a total bore. I was more interested in tweeting than watching the game. As such, I found out that Dee from Meplusfood was at the game and so was Costanza and Snake. After the game, Snake decided to meet up with Rich Guy and myself for some late night eats. At the suggestion from Vandelay (from one of the many phone calls I made during the game), we headed over to the Pourhouse. Or as Snake put it, the poorhouse since he was sitting in the nosebleeds and completely envying our suite deal.

After dusting off popcorn and a poutine at the game, I was not exactly hungry so we started with a very modest appie - Devils on Horseback. This version was pitted prunes stuffed with cheese (asiago?) and wrapped with bacon. The whole thing was drizzled with a balsamic reduction. These little bites packed a nice flavour punch which included a salty smokiness from the bacon that worked well with the sweetness of the prunes. Snake really liked this appie and didn't need to be asked twice about the last piece. I guess he needed more fiber in his diet... Do snakes need more fiber? As for his main, he went for the Braised Short Rib with egg noodles and sour cream. It was like a Stroganoff but not. I was able to sample the short rib and it was prepared perfectly. Super moist and tender with a very rich flavour. It was so enticing on the menu that Rich Guy got an order to go for Rich Gal. For his meal, he had the Trout with gnocchi, brussel sprouts in beurre blanc. The fish was prepared perfectly. It was moist and flaky, however, it was slightly fishy. The gnocchi was a bit firm, but personally I like it that way. With subtle flavours, the beurre blanc did not intrude on the other components of the dish.

For myself, I was eying the Pourhouse Burger. The meat is ground in-house to order, so I was eager to have it medium-rare. This is the best way to eat a burger in my opinion. Otherwise, the beef becomes dry and much of the juices (where the flavour resides) are lost in the cooking process. Unlike the one I had recently from The Oakwood, this burger was actually medium-rare. Thus, there was still plenty of rare meat texture and flavour. It may not be for everyone, but I really loved the natural beef juices. In fact, the whole thing was quite greasy from the fat, mayo and whatever else was in there. My mouth, hands and cheeks were completely glistening with oil. Reminded me of my teenage years... LOL... Ah, a messy burger, excellent. As for the side of fries, they were the fried multiple times variety. Hence, they were crisp and full of fried flavour. Yes, I liked them too. Pretty decent eats here at the Pourhouse. I wouldn't have guessed honestly. Sure, the prices are on the higher side and the place is darker than a cave, but it just adds to the ambiance. Go for the burger medium-rare, probably one of the best I've had in the city.

The Good:
- It may be dark, but the dining space is cool
- Simple, focused menu
- As its name suggests, plenty of drinks available

The Bad:
- A tad pricey
- If you don't like it dark inside

The blog turns 3!

Can you believe it? I certainly cannot... My little blog, which started out as a dare of sorts, has reached the ripe ol' age of 3! I never set out to take it this far, but my thirst for eating (and taking photos) has kept this up daily since November 2008. This has been and always will be my personal experience with food, hence, you have to put up with my rambling about unrelated matters. I'm not sure what the future holds since life is busy and well, food is expensive. I guess I'll have to take it day-by-day and enjoy life. For now at least, I'll keep doing what I love to do. As with years past, I will hold another draw for a $50.00 restaurant gift certificate. This, in no way, shape or form is sponsored by anyone other than myself. To enter the draw, just simply leave a comment on this post with your first name and last initial. I will randomly draw a winner on Nov 8th. For now, be happy, eat lots and try some offal! :)