Miko Sushi

The state of Japanese restaurants in Vancouver can be pretty much summed up by one word: unauthentic. Okay, I may be going back on my word a bit when I say that because I truly believe it really doesn't matter who makes the food as long as it is tasty. However, with Japanese cuisine, the sushi chef really must know what they are doing. Hence, it is usually better that the sushi chef is Japanese. That isn't the end all though. There are bad Japanese sushi chefs as well. I'm just saying that it would potentially help the cause if they were. And that's where the unauthentic term starts to creep in. There are very few Japanese-run sushi joints in Vancouver despite the plethora of Japanese restaurants. I've been to quite a few of the Japanese-run establishments and they have been pretty good so far. Up next was Miko Japanese on Robson.

Meeting up with Mr. X, we decided to tackle the menu by going for the raw stuff first. We started with the Assorted Sashimi consisting of red tuna, salmon, amaebi, albacore tuna, hokkagai and red snapper. As evidenced in the picture, the sashimi had a nice fresh sheen which was confirmed with every bite. Texturally, everything was bang on and we could taste the natural sweetness of each item. As if the sushi chef's knife skills weren't apparent in the assorted sashimi, it was on display with the Assorted Sushi. Neatly presented and aesthetically pleasing, the fish was of course, just as good as the sashimi. We found the rice to be nicely prepared with some bite while not being too firm either. Furthermore, I thought the rice had just the right amount of vinegar which did not overwhelm.

Onto some cooked items, we tried the Assorted Tempura which was delicately prepared. I say "delicately" because far too many places just slap on an obscene amount of batter and call something tempura. Well, there was the right amount of crispy batter on both the veggies and ebi. Although it appears in the picture that there is quite a lot of batter on the ebi, it was still light and not oily. If you can believe it or not, I could also use "delicate" to describe the Robata Chicken Livers. Although livers can be heavy, these were too bad. I suppose the moderate seasoning applied helped "lighten" the dish. Moreover, the livers were not grossly overcooked so there was still some bounce to them. Despite saying that these livers were "delicate", there was a nice char outside that really added a rich smoky flavour. Lastly, we had the BBQ Eggplant, which was the total opposite of the livers. Topped with bonito flakes, the eggplant was soft and yes, "delicate". There wasn't much in the way of any distinguishing flavours other than the bonito flakes and really, that was their intention. I'm not sure why I keep ordering this type of eggplant because it is always a bit bland.

So did authenticity count for this meal? I would say so. I mean the fish, rice and preparation was pretty spot on despite the hefty price tag. I suppose that I am not the only one who believes this since there are many autographed pictures and memorabilia of NHL hockey players adoring the walls. But for them, they have plenty of coin to spend on a place like this. For most people, it may not matter how authentic the food is since they may be looking for value instead. Therefore, I guess it comes down to whether people think it's worth it or not to pay the premium.

The Good:
- Food is carefully prepared
- Sushi/Sashimi looks and tastes the part
- Service is attentive

The Bad:
- Expensive
- Tight seating

Riddim & Spice

It was a dark and stormy day... With raindrops the size of marbles and puddles as deep as some wading pools, this was the Vancouver David Duchovny hated. No wonder he always wore a long coat and carried a flashlight... For me, I had to drive all the way to Ladner in rush hour traffic. Due to some really crappy decision-making, I traveled through Vancouver and even attempted to cross the Knight Street Bridge. When I called Snake Eyes to say I would be late, he laughed at my foolishness. So when it came to eats, I had to step it up. No usual stuff, no chain restaurants and certainly no Richmond. Imagine the traffic in this weather! So I suggested Riddim & Spice. Good ol' Caribbean comfort food on a dreary day.

Surfer Girl, who joined us despite a bum leg, started with a Beef Patty (as did Snake Eyes as well). I'm not completely sure, but these closely resemble the one from Calypso. So putting one and one together (which really hurt my head...) I figured they were supplied from Calypso (since they supply many of the Caribbean restaurants in town). Someone correct me if I'm wrong. These were flaky and slightly spicy. The meat filling was smooth and really hot (temperature-wise). However, I still love the ones from The Patty Shop more. For myself, I started with an side of Fried Plantain. Looking a little like Bananas Foster without everything that goes into a Bananas Foster (if that makes any sense), these were starchy as plantains normally are. They were only slightly sweet and a delight to eat.

For my main, I went for the large order of Oxtail with beans and rice as well as salad. They weren't kidding, this was really large. Not really a great idea for lunch eh? Consisting of small pieces of stewed oxtail, carrots and spinners, this would've filled me up nicely without the rice. Most of the oxtail was moist and gelatinous with a few that were a touch dry. There was a good balance of flavours where the rice soaked up all of the meatiness in the sauce. I found the spinners to be a bit dense while still easy to eat. I originally suggested the Jerk Chicken to Snake Eyes because he can be a jerk sometimes... not! Instead, Surfer Girl took up the recommendation and had the more modest small portion. When it arrived, it really didn't look all that small! I guess they are working with US sizes apparently... Anyways, the chicken was moist and tender. There was plenty of sauce, which was slightly sweet, but not overly so.

Snake Eyes shockingly went vegetarian on us and got the Veggie Roti. Was it to maintain his girlish figure or was he trying guilt me? I was having a big plate of meat after all... Nah, I just mocked him throughout the meal asking if he wanted to try my meaty tail... Er... Well, this roti was really large jam-packed with ingredients. Too bad it consisted of woefully overcooked and pale-looking veggies. The peas looked as if they came from a can. Snake Eyes really didn't enjoy this bland, wet mess of a roti. They have nothing on Rehanah's in Port Moody. Maybe he should've had a meat one instead? That probably would've made the difference. Other than the roti, the food was generally decent here. Of course it is all relative since there are not that many choices for Caribbean food in Vancouver.

The Good:
- Staff is oh-so-cool and relaxed - the Caribbean way
- Good portions
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- Super small tables
- Food is generally decent, but that veggie roti sucked

The Mac Shack

*Restaurant is now closed*

We got gourmet sandwiches. We also got gourmet burgers. Hey, we even have gourmet hot dogs. So what's next? Gourmet BBQ Pork Buns? Then why not gourmet mac 'n cheese? Well, that is not really a new idea. Seemingly always behind with trends, there has been funky versions of mac 'n cheese for awhile. S'Mac in NYC comes to mind. Now in Vancouver, The Mac Shack intends to make it work out in Kerrisdale. Located in the former Vivo! Gelato storefront, The Mac Shack only serves one thing. You head up to the counter, pick your mac 'n cheese, the size and take a seat. Joining me on my food adventure was TS of Eatingclub Vancouver, who doesn't venture far from the Westside of Vancouver for eats. It is like there is a psychological wall at around Main Street for her... I dread the day when I need to find a restaurant that satisfies both her and Rich Guy. Therefore, I knew she would be up for this since it was West of Main Street.

We ended up sharing 3 orders of mac 'n cheese because I really wanted to get a taste of the place. The Lobster Mac 'n Cheese was on the top of my list, so I didn't hesitate to order it. There were 3 sizes available: regular, ultimate and jumbo. The regular was just enough and probably more than one person needs to be full. The other sizes are for sharing, or in Mijune's case, all for herself... As expected, there wasn't much of a lobster presence. Hey, at $12.00 and located in Kerrisdale, I wasn't expecting it either. What I did get a lot of was Earthiness from the truffle oil and oyster mushrooms. So much so, that was the predominant flavour. We found the whole thing a bit dry and not very cheesy. Therefore, it bordered on bland and really needed something to brighten the dish up. Personally, I would've liked to see more of the lemon dill. The acidity would've gone a long way in livening up the flavours. The noodles themselves were somewhere between al dente and soft. TS went for the Ultimate, which consisted of bacon, bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, chicken, chorizo and shrimp with Mozzarella and Gruyere cheese in a tomato sauce. Despite the presence of so many ingredients, we found the entire thing to be flat. The cheeses were of the mild variety and we really thought the bacon and chorizo would provide the necessary hit of flavour. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough of it to make an impact. I did get the flavours of the bell peppers though. Due to the large quantity of sauce, the noodles became a bit soft. And once again, there was a lack of cheesiness.

Lastly, we shared the Brooklyn which boasted Naramata Blue Cheese and AAA Sirloin Steak, caramelized onions, mushrooms in an aged balsamic reduction and rose sauce. Now that sounded like a flavour explosion waiting to happen. Nope. Failure to launch. Again, the flavours were flat and the worst thing of all - the dish was lukewarm. Once again, there was an abundance of sauce, yet no cheesiness. No sharpness from the blue cheese and no rich flavour from the balsamic. On the positive side, the steak was tender and the portion was large. Upon leaving, it dawned on me that I never tried the Classic made with sharp aged White Cheddar. That would be the baseline of sorts. So I returned a few days later and got it for takeout. For good measure, I also got the Bacon Cheddar Cheese Mac. I found them both to be slightly dry in need of a bit more sauce. Flavours were mild, yet pleasant. It was an okay mac 'n cheese which my kids loved. And that brings up an interesting point: it truly depends on expectations. For myself, I was quite indifferent. Not great, not horrible. I loved the concept and the mac 'n cheese options, however, the consistency and recipes could improve. If they can boost the flavour and refine the execution, we could have a good product. It may involve raising the prices, but I'd gladly pay more for a better mac 'n cheese.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Reasonable pricing considering the location
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Lack of impactful flavour
- Lack of cheesiness (other than the cheese on top)

Stackhouse Burger Bar

That's it! I finally figured out the way to convince my hockey team to head Downtown for eats after our Friday night games. The secret? Threaten to write them out of the blog or get replacement eaters? No. That won't work. Rather, I have volunteered to drive everyone (as a carpool) to where ever the restaurants are. Yes, the things I do for food. Thank goodness I have a hybrid now. At the very least, it isn't putting as much of a dent in my wallet. So our destination this time was Stackhouse Burger Bar down in the happenin' Granville Entertainment District. I really like what they have done to revitalize the street. It is still going through growing pains, but it is the place to be for eats during the weekends.

Much like Romer's, Stackhouse specializes in only one thing - burgers. They take it one step further with many non-beef offerings. Moreover, the prices are slightly higher, albeit they include fries with every order. Since I drove, I'm not sure if it was pity or a guilty conscience, but everyone ordered a different burger and offered to split it 4 ways so we'd all get to try them. Wow, talking about a perfect situation! Emilicious decided to go for the Lamb Burger consisting of a 6.5 oz
patty with goat cheese, cilantro aioli and butter lettuce served on a brioche bun. Although the burger tasted quite good, the lamb patty was dry. If it were more moist, the burger had lots of potential. Good flavour from the gamy goat cheese. In a truly surprising twist, Milhouse's Venison Burger was really moist and juicy. Normally, venison is a difficult meat to cook perfectly due its lean nature, but they did it here. The 6.5 oz patty was topped with the same condiments except for the cheese, it was Stilton this time. And as such, the burger ended up to be very flavourful due to the sharp flavour of the cheese. Even without discussing the other 2 burgers, this was our hands-down favourite one of the night.

For myself, I had to go for something different and selected the Dungeness Crab Burger. This was essentially a large 6.5 oz crab cake coated with panko bread crumbs accompanied by miso aioli, watercress and topped with fried leeks. I found the crab cake to be light and very moist inside. I could taste the sweetness of the crab with a good dose of mayo. It was fried up crispy and overall, I felt it was more like a crab cake sandwich than a burger. Not bad. I asked for my fries to be substitute with the Poutine and they merely subtracted $2.00 from the price and added the Poutine as a full order. In general, I found the fries here to be rather defaultish. Nothing wrong with them other than being typical. I found the truffle demi-glace very flavourful. The Earthiness really announced itself with every bite. I was a bit indifferent with the bocconcini. Probably would've preferred regular cheese curds for their size and squeakiness.

We left the most expensive burger for last. Gordo loves Kobe steak, so naturally he opted for the Kobe Burger consisting of a 6.5 oz patty with Guinness cheddar, caramelized onions, truffle aioli and butter lettuce. For some odd reason it was not as moist as the venison burger. Despite this, the flavours were pretty good especially from the sweet onions. At the end, we were pretty much in agreement that the burgers are pretty solid at Stackhouse. However, our final bill came to $30.00 per person including sodas, tax and tip. Pretty hefty for burgers. Bottom line is you need to be mentally prepared to spend good money for good burgers.

The Good:
- They make a good burger (duh...)
- Funky atmosphere
- Personable staff

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Place is not very big, keep your group small

Simply Delicious Galleria + Sushi Lounge

With 2 gift certs in hand, I had a plan to share it with my hockey team after our game. We happily headed out to The Main since we won our first game of the Fall/Winter season. Of course, with our luck, the place was packed and we were not in the mood to wait. No problem. There are so many places open along Main street during the late hours. No issues finding another place right? For the love of... Apparently, that wasn't going to be easy. We headed over to Honolulu Cafe and nope, it was full. We skipped nearby Always Seafood because it wasn't that good last time. So we gave Cafe Montmartre a try. Holy smokes, the place was a complete sauna! Have they ever heard of A/C??? Since we were tired of walking around, we settled on Simply Delicious Galleria and Sushi Lounge. Yes, I've been here before, but honestly, I didn't give much fight. We were hungry and it was open.

If you are unfamiliar with the place, try to imagine a club, sports bar and a sushi joint meshed into one complete with attractive staff. With loud thumping house music and a particularly young clientele, one would expect the food to be mediocre. Not so fast. Gordo and I have been here before and we were pleasantly surprised. For a moment, I considered joining the crowd in front of the DJ. However, flashes of that Pepsi commercial about reliving one's youth came to mind. I'd probably creep everyone out. Better not. Just stick to taking pictures of food. Wait. That creeps people out already! Dammit. I'm a creep! Lionel Hutz made sure I realized that. So unlike last time, we decided to exclusively eat specialty rolls and chicken wings. Chicken wings? Yah and they have a few interesting ones too. The first to arrive was the Ying Yang which were kissed with sea salt, pepper and jakuza chilis. Depending on which piece, the wings ranged from bland to killer spicy. Those peppers were pretty lethal. The wings were crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Our first roll was the Golden Rush consisting of spicy tuna, salmon and scallop with golden flying fish roe on top. The roll tasted a bit fishy due to the abundance of roe. There was a decent amount of spice while the rice was on the chewier side. A pretty standard roll really.

Our next order of wings was probably the best being the Jappa Wings. These were marinated in their house special teriyaki sauce which boasts 38 different ingredients. I not about to tell you if I could pick out even 10 flavours let alone 38, but there was a good balance of sweet, tart, salty and spice. The wings were large and really juicy inside. The second roll to arrive was the Crispy Crunch which as the name implies was crunchy from the tempura bits on the outside. On the inside, there was spicy tuna and cucumber. This was not bad with the obvious contrast of textures and the slight spice from the sauce. However, there was really not that much tuna in the roll. We'd probably have to send out a search party to find out. Maybe it was on the dance floor with the others? For our last order of wings, we got the Karaage Wings which were marinated in soy and sweet sake, deep fried and tossed in sweet Asian herbs and garlic. These were crispy, yet moist with a savoury sweetness and slight tang. The flavours were very appetizing. We were very impressed with the 3 different order of wings we tried.

For our 3rd roll, we got an ol' standby being the Dragon Roll consisting of unagi, cucmber and lettuce with avocado and tobiko on the outside finished off with unagi sauce. Once again, there was nothing particularly wrong with the roll, however we really had to concentrate to get an unagi hit. It was pretty meager. With that being said, the avocado was ripe and the ingredients were fresh. Then, the Aphrodisiac Attack looked eerily like a repeat of the Dragon Roll except the middle consisted of tempuralized (is that a word?) asparagus, salmon and imitation crab. I'm not sure why this roll would be an aphrodisiac especially considering the narrow asparagus tip. For me at least, isn't it a bit weak on the girth? Just sayin'. Well, at the very least, we were happy that this roll had plenty of filling. Was that the intention then? We were happy with our fill? Hence aphrodisiac? Hard to say... (was that the right choice of words?). Lastly we got an order of the Jappa Fries which were topped with nori, green onions and drizzled with spicy mayo. Served on the side was a spicy teriyaki dip. Well, I wish there was a better word to describe these, but they were "good". Reminded me slightly of the fries I had from the Roaming Dragon, but better. They were very crisp and there was just enough spicy mayo to add some flavour. The spicy dip was mostly sweet with a slight kick. It went well with the fries though.

Ultimately, everyone was satisfied and to a degree, surprised at the decent eats considering the venue and the time. Of course there is better sushi to be had at a multitude of places in town, we know that. However, the sushi here was good for what they charged. Service was pretty good and pretty (hey, Lionel Hutz wanted me to write that!). Add in a dash of house music, then you have a veritable party with wings and sushi.

The Good:
- Open late
- It's a party!
- Decent eats considering...

The Bad:
- It's loud, if you don't like loud that is
- There is better, but not at 1:00am

Yuu Japanese Tapas

After 2 hours at the Automall signing the paperwork for our new car, Viv and I were pretty enthused about heading home. First, we attempted to take the connector, but with traffic backed up to #6 Road, that was a no go. Then we tried to make it onto the Knight Street Bridge... LOL, ya right. It was pretty clear that we were stuck in Richmond. Noooooo.... Wait. Not so bad. We could just grab a bite and let the traffic subside. Problem being was that we didn't want to head into the heart of Richmond during rush hour, especially with 2 cars. So we pulled into into Continental Centre with the intention of dropping off one of the cars. However, we weren't feeling that creative and settled on something there which turned out to be Yuu Japanese Tapas.

Not knowing a whole lot about the place, I quickly took a gander at Mijune's post and steered clear of the ramen. We ended up starting with the Fried Squid Tentacles which were very chewy and dry. They were crisp though and not greasy. There was a decent amount of flavour from the mayo and sweet chili sauce. Viv didn't really care for it and I had to endure chewing the rest of it. For my main, I had the Curry Beef Cutlet with rice and fried shrimp. Slightly reminiscent of the Hamburg Steak found at the 29th Ave Cafe, this one was slightly better in terms of texture. The meat was moist and juicy while being well-seasoned. The curry was sweet as per Japanese style, however, it had a nice kick as well. I really liked the aesthetically-pleasing fried shrimp. They were hot and crispy.

Viv decided to try the Kimchi Fried Rice which arrived as a set including soup, oshinko and edamame. This was a fairly large portion and ended up to be pretty good. The rice was on the softer side, but was soaked with flavour. It had a nice spiciness combined with enough seasoning. The tender chunks of pork were a nice surprise in each bite. Again, the rice was a bit moist, but the flavours made up for it. Now by virtue of the fact I stayed away from the not-so-good dishes may have not given me a clear picture of the place. For what we had it wasn't bad except for the squid. Now the squid would be one of those "tapas" dishes which is the restaurant namesake. Strange to see that most of the menu was not really full of tapas options though...

The Good:
- Fairly decent portion-to-price ratio
- Okay service

The Bad:
- Jury is still out on whether this qualifies as a tapas joint or not

Mui Ngo Gai (Kingsway)

It almost seems like a ritual for us to go for Pho after Sunday morning hockey (I wrote this awhile ago!). I guess it is the best combination of inexpensive and somewhat healthy. Not really with a destination in mind, we headed to Kingsway in search of Vietnamese food. Naturally, that would not be a difficult thing to do since there is a Vietnamese restaurant practically on every block. That is why we just randomly went to the corner of Kingsway and Victoria. Ah yes, the former location of Pho Bich Nga... We didn't end up going to the restaurant that replaced the offensively and humorously named former occupant. Instead, we found the brand spanking new location of Mui Ngo Gai. If this name rings a bell, it is indeed the same people who run the Nanaimo location. This new place occupies a formerly popular tenant as well - Double Double.

Mui Ngo Gai's claim to fame is their diverse menu which offers cuisine from both the North and South parts of Vietnam. Hence, you'll see a whole bunch of things that are not typical of a Pho joint. However, much like Chinese restaurants that try to cover too many different regional cuisines, things much get lost in translation. With all the choices on the menu, we pretty much stuck to the regular stuff partly because some of the more exotic dishes are not available until after 4:00pm. With that said, they were able to make the dinner entree I had ordered (more on that later). Milhouse predictably had a Combo Platter with vermicelli, BBQ pork, salad roll and spring roll. As you can see, this was a large plate of food with BBQ pork skewers that were slightly charred. Good flavour and very tender. The salad roll was not bad being rolled tightly with a well-balanced dipping sauce. Despite its disfigured appearance, the spring rolls were crispy with a tasty non-gritty filling.

Kaiser Soze took my first choice which was the Bun Bo Hue. Turns out I didn't miss much because the broth was very mild with only slight hints of lemongrass and spice. Noodles were fine while there was no absence of tender meats and pork's blood. No pork knuckle though. Of all the things I could've ordered, I really wanted to try the Pho Dac Biet as a baseline of sorts. In the end, it was decent. The noodles were al dente and not clumpy while the meats were plentiful and tender. The soup base was on the weaker side though. It was mostly sweet with not a huge meat component. Now everyone gave me a hard time for ordering such a "typical" item. So in response, I decided to try a dinner specialty dish being the Thit Heo Kho Tau (Braised Pork & Egg in Coconut Juice). Yes, I ate 2 meals... The things I do for this blog! Wait, Mijune can do 3 meals, so this would only be 2nd course for her. As clearly evidenced in the picture, it is no wonder I could eat 2 meals since this one was super small. Yes, count'em, that's 2 eggs and 5 pieces of pork. Now it did come with a bowl of rice and similarly to a curry, there needn't be a huge portion anyways. For what was there, the pork was super tender and flavourful. Despite the use of coconut juice, I still found that flavour component a bit weak. Loved the eggs though - nice texture combined with a depth of flavour.

As if this wasn't enough food for me, JuJu and I shared an order of the Banh Bot Loc wrapped in banana leaves. These are essentially glutinous tapioca, shrimp and pork dumplings. I found the texture to be slightly soft and the flavour to quite mild. I've had better, but these were okay. We had to share them since we were quite full at this point. Yet, that did not stop JuJu from having a combo plate of his own consisting of Lemongrass Chicken and Spring Rolls with vermicelli. The chicken was super moist and juicy with good flavour and charring. The spring roll were the same as Milhouse's order. In the end, we were pretty satisfied with our food and really appreciated the modern decor. Much nicer than their old location. The food is generally solid, if not unspectacular. We appreciate the diverse menu, but question some of the pricing. It really gets up there with the specialty dishes.

The Good:
- Diverse menu
- Clean and modern dining space
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Specialty items are pricey
- Trying to represent too many different regional cuisines?