Aka Tom-Bo

Oh how I love birthday meals. Not only is it an excuse to go out to eat, if it your birthday, you don't even have to pay! I'm not sure how it all started, but for the last few years, we've been treating Viv's brother and wife to their birthday and vice-versa. Hey, I'm not complaining! With choice of restaurant, it seemed like an easy proposition, yet with 3 kiddies to accommodate, we chose something a bit more low-key. Oh, and food that the kiddies would eat too... Seeing how we haven't been to the North Shore in awhile, we decided on AKA Tom-Bo on Lonsdale. Located right next to the Red Chilli, this Chinese-run Japanese restaurant has been the "winner of the best Japanese restaurant" in 2007 & 2009 according to the North Shore News. Now we all know that this really means nothing at all, but just FYI.

Naturally, we had to sample their raw fish and we figured the Assorted Sashimi would do the trick. Vibrant and with a nice sheen, the sashimi was pretty good. Consisting of tobiko, toro, albacore tuna, sockeye salmon, mackerel, tako, tai and hokkigai, there was nothing particularly amiss other than the slight discolouration of the surf clam. Looking over the specialty rolls, there were a few we really wanted to try. Of course we couldn't order all of them, so I took a look-see at the special lunch combos and realized that they were a really good deal. For the same price as one specialty roll, the combos consisted of 3 rolls (including specialty rolls albeit a bit smaller). Therefore, we ended up with 2 roll combos starting with #7 which included half a Sakura Roll, Sweet Dynamite Roll and Spicy Tuna & Avocado Roll. The Sakura Roll consisted of imitation crab, mashed yam and cucumber topped with masago, green onion, unagi sauce and mayo. The addition of sweet yam made the roll, well, sweet. Fortunately, the unagi sauce had a touch of saltiness and when dipped into soy sauce, it achieved some balance. As for the sushi rice, it was not bad with some chew, although a little bland. The Sweet Dynamite had cucumber, avocado, ebi tempura and mashed yam on the inside topped by tobiko on the outside. It appears they have a love for mashed yam at this place. The flavour profile of this roll was quite close to the Sakura Roll, without the unagi sauce and mayo. Not a whole lot to comment on the Spicy Tuna and Avocado Roll other than the fact that it wasn't really all that spicy.

We also got combo #13 which included the North Shore Roll, Soy Wrap Salmon Maki and a Spicy Tuna Roll. In the middle of the plate lay the North Shore Roll consisting of avocado, mashed yam, spicy tuna, white onion and oshinko with spicy sauce drizzled on top. Yah, they like their yams here and yes it was once again sweet. Loved the crunch and tartness of the oshinko which combined with the spicy sauce to counteract the sweet yam. They Soy Wrap Salmon Maki was pretty to look at, yet in the end, it was rather soft and lacking in flavour. Nothing inherently wrong with the ingredients, it just happened to work out that way. Once again, not gonna say much about the Spicy Tuna Roll because it was exactly like the previous one minus the avocado. Due to my stupidity, we got another roll in the Crunch Roll which had imitation crab, avocado and ebi tempura in the middle with crunchy bits on the outside and a drizzle of unagi sauce. The roll was pretty predictable and was quite filling.

Continuing with fried goodness, we had the Assorted Tempura which was mostly crispy and not too heavy. I say mostly crispy because some of the pieces had some soggy portions of batter on the inside. Nothing serious, but not great either. It could've had something to do with the large cuts of veggies (which was very generous of them though). For the kiddies, we got the usual in the Chicken Yaki Udon. In this version, the udon was stir-fried and topped with a fried piece of chicken. This was a fairly large portion with a good noodle-to-veggie ratio. It was slightly wet, yet not incredibly so. I liked how it wasn't merely sweet since there was a nice acidity to the sauce. I'm not sure about the chicken on top business though, it felt disconnected with the rest of the dish. Lastly, we got something redundant in the Teriyaki Chicken. It was essentially the same without the udon noodles and a different sauce. The chicken was moist, however, the abundance of moisture at the bottom of the teppan plate resulted in a never-ending leak on the table (which continued to leak for awhile since they forgot the extra napkins we asked for). Given its location, Aka Tom-Bo does the job on the cheap. It ain't the best Japanese food out there, but it is above average.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Reasonable prices
- Food is above average considering the location

The Bad:
- Some redundant flavours in the rolls
- Service is friendly, if not a bit forgetful

Onyx Steakhouse & Lounge (Port Moody)

With our recent visit to Hy's and Black+Blue, a visit to another steakhouse might've seemed redundant. However, there were 2 things at play here. First of all, Viv and I were invited by the owner of Onyx Steakhouse & Lounge to try his restaurant out. Second, the place is located in Port Moody. Unlike most of the other steakhouses in town, Onyx is located in a suburb and a small one at that. Of course we are all familiar with the big boys in Downtown such as Gotham, Hy's, Black+Blue, Joe Fortes and Shore Club. And to a lesser degree, Chop and Carver's in Richmond. I'm not going to add The Keg into the mix because their price points are lower in comparison. On the topic of price points, Onyx is roughly $8.00 - $9.00 less than that of the Downtown steakhouses for the same cut of beef. However, it must be noted that Oynx uses 40-day aged Certified Black Angus Beef while Hy's and Gotham serve 28-day aged Canadian Prime Beef. Typically, Canadian Prime has more marbling and "Angus" is more of a marketing term. However, when it all comes down to it (as long as the meat is high quality), the meat must be cooked properly.

For starters, we had the Calamari at the suggestion of our server. That was a surprising recommendation since we could have fried squid anywhere else. Well, any reservations were quashed since the calamari was very good. The squid was tender, yet not mushy and did not have any fishiness to it. With a light batter which was crispy and not greasy, it went well with the preserved lemon tzatziki featuring crunchy bits of cucumber. The few dabs of srircha added a nice kick which made this version a bit different. For our second appie, we went for the Steak Tartare consisting of beef tenderloin, capers, dijon, gherkins and horseradish. It was served with crostinis, arugula and creme fraiche. Okay, this has to be one of the ugliest tartares I've ever had, however, the flavours were pretty good. We opted for the spicier version and it had nice kick. The meat was very tender yet still retained some texture. With the combination of capers, dijon and gherkins, there was a good amount of acidity as well.

Onto the main event where Viv went for the Petit Filet with port demi-glace. Referring back to my Hy's post where my mom had the small cuts of steak which were prepared to varying degrees of doneness, there was no such issue here. Despite being only 5 ounces, the filet was beautifully cooked. With just a touch of unevenness with the top and bottom of the steak, it was as close to a medium-rare as possible. The accompanying port demi-glace was silky and added the necessary flavour for the mild-tasting tenderloin. For myself, I had the 12oz Striploin with peppercorn sauce. Once again, the steak was prepared beautifully and was super tender. I loved the charred crust on the outside. It added both texture and a smoky flavour. The peppercorn sauce was impactful and exhibited plenty of depth without overpowering the meat. I liked this steak very much.

We went for a few sides as well starting with the Truffle Lobster Mac 'n Cheese. After the substandard version I had at the Mac Shack, this one kicked arse. First of all, the sauce was both creamy and cheesy being thick enough to adhere to each piece of pasta. Therefore, the entire dish was not dry nor was it too saucy either. We felt there was just enough truffle oil that it didn't overwhelm the cheese. Moreover, there was a decent amount of lobster nestled within the pasta to make an impact. This was a nicely executed mac 'n cheese. We also had the Poutine which was not as successful. Although the fries were okay texturally, the strong taste of oil made them heavy. We liked the flavour of the gravy as it had depth, but it was floury and not very smooth. The cheese curds were fine, except most of them were completely melted. To round out our meal with something healthier, we had a side of Broccolini which was prepared perfectly. It was vibrant in colour and crisp in texture - fully cooked while not overdone. We liked how it was presented plain with minimal amount of seasoning.

By now, we were in a meat coma and dessert was the last thing on our minds. However, when our server asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu, she didn't have to twist our arms. Hey, we gotta try dessert right? Mijune would be proud... So the 2 things that seemed the most interesting were the Creme Brulee Trio and the Sticky Toffee Cake. The Creme Brulee Trio consisted of Chocolate, Tahitian Vanilla Bean and Bailey's (from right to left). We found the torched sugar topping on all 3 to be just right (not too thick). As for the custard itself, all 3 were on the thicker side yet still being smooth. We felt the chocolate to be not too sweet and definitely chocolaty while the Bailey's to be balanced. It had just enough booze without being overwhelming. The Tahitian vanilla bean was good due to the good amount of real vanilla bean in the custard. Much like the other 2, it wasn't overloaded with sugar (could be due to the light topping). The Sticky Toffee Cake was a pretty heavy dessert after a big steak, yet I enjoyed it very much. By virtue of being comprised of sugar and/or molasses, toffee is usually pretty sweet. Sure, this cake itself was on the sweeter side, but not overbearingly so. There was a smoky sugary depth to it and I loved the soft moist texture. The chocolate toffee sauce was thick and sweet. Combined with the French vanilla ice cream, then the dessert ended up to be quite sweet. But I still liked it. In fact, I liked my visit to Onyx. The steaks were prepared to our liking and they were of a good quality. Interestingly, compared to Hy's, Gotham and Black+Blue, Onyx has been the only one to prepare our steaks to the right doneness. And despite the fact we were comped for this meal (which means they knew we were there), they still had to execute and that they did.

*Note: This was an invited dinner where all food was comped*

The Good:
- Correctly prepared steaks
- Due to several factors, their pricing is less than the other steakhouses
- Surprisingly good desserts (there is a pastry chef onsite)

The Bad:
- Although pricing is considered reasonable for a steakhouse, it still ain't cheap
- Seating on the main floor is a bit cramped

Hy's Encore

You'd think after a filling and somewhat similar meal at the Shore Club the night before, it wouldn't be a great idea to visit Hy's Encore. Think again. Just like the time I had Pho 3 times in one day or the month I had Subway everyday, I can handle monotony, especially if it is good food. Okay, the Subway thing was more out of desperation than anything else. In actuality, Hy's was my scheduled 2nd birthday dinner. Due to Chinese New Year, the meal got pushed all the way to the end of the month. I ain't complaining though... I didn't have to pay! Now, unlike my visit to Gotham, Black+Blue and most recently the Shore Club, we brought the kiddies with us. Considering that Hy's is not exactly a kid-friendly restaurant, this was somewhat of a daring adventure. No matter, put an iPad in front of them and it's all good. Now I must point out that despite appealing to a more mature clientele, the staff was more than accommodating.

So without a hope in the world of a kid's menu (apparently they do!) and a particular meat theme going on, what to order for the little ones? How about Hy's famous Cheese Toast? Oh yeah baby, how about for the whole table? For something that does not seem like a complicated food item, these sinful, buttery and cheesy toasts of joy absolutely rock. Every
artery-hardening bite made us want for more. Oh yeah, the kids couldn't get enough of it as well. Next up was the Dungeness Crab Cake with house-made coleslaw. This was a pretty good attempt with lots of leg meat and minimal filler. The outside was crisp and nicely browned while the inside was fluffy and naturally sweet and savoury. Loved the sweet red peppers which were sweet, yet didn't overpower the delicate crab. The lemon dill mayo on top was quite mild which, in my mind, was fine since I wanted to taste crab, not sauce. The side of coleslaw was refreshing and light being mostly tart.

While not the most exciting dish to talk about, we decided on the Prawn Cocktail with horseradish cocktail sauce because my mom loves prawns. Besides, she's not into tartare nor carpaccio anyways (too bad eh?). Well, as you can clearly see, the prawns were quite large and meaty. Pretty standard and not much to complain about really. On a side note, every time I have prawn cocktail, it reminds me of my first cruise in 1997. Viv and I ordered a tonne of these at dinner and ate prawns like there was no tomorrow. I think in subsequent cruises, we were smarter than that. However, there was that lobster tail eating contest on one cruise in 2002... Big German Guy bested my 9 with 11 lobster tails! I digress. Our last appie was the Oysters
Rockefeller, baked with spinach and Hollandaise sauce. For me, this version (which was considerably different from the original) were only okay. I found the sauce to be quite salty, even with a liberal dousing of lemon. The spinach was quite nice though, it was not mushy where it actually retained most of its colour and texture.

Onto the mains, I only had my eye on one thing - The 22oz Porterhouse! I requested it to be prepared medium-rare and it was more or less so. I say that because some parts were closer to medium. It was probably due to the 2 different cuts of meat in one steak, especially with a bone involved. Hence, the filet portion was more cooked than the strip. It wasn't a huge deal since the meat was fantastic. There was a good char on the outside and the strip was flavourful while the filet was super moist. My choice of starch was the twice-baked and stuffed potato which was a touch dry and mealy. I wasn't a huge fan of it, even with all the fixins'. Viv wanted something other than a steak and went for the Baby Back Ribs. By virtue of being a steakhouse, we weren't expecting much and the ribs pretty much exemplified a non-BBQ version. These were your typical par-boiled then grilled type finished off with a vinegary BBQ sauce. As such, the ribs in general were pretty dry and lacking in any depth-of-flavour. As mentioned, the sauce was not all that smoky and was more tart than anything else. Again, I will cut them some slack because ribs are not their specialty.

In the same vain, my dad had the Wild Salmon Filet with a lemon butter sauce. Hey, the reason he chose this dish was mostly for health reasons. He loves steak, but just not a lot of it. The piece of salmon was itself very good being naturally flavourful. I would've personally liked to see that it was cooked a touch less though. The sauce was nicely balanced where it wasn't overly rich nor too tart. On the other hand, my mom had the belief that you either go big or go home when visiting a steakhouse. So she went for the feature of the day, which was the Steak Medley consisting of one 3oz piece each of the filet, striploin, ribeye and one cut of lamb rack. Completing this carnivorous delight was a large king crab leg, veggies and baked potato. This meat monstrosity had multiple personalities though because all of the meats were cooked to varying degrees of doneness. The lamb was perfectly medium-rare as was the striploin. The filet was closer to medium while the rib steak was well done. Once again, I can understand why that would be, especially with the relatively small cuts of meat. However, when one is paying a pretty penny, the meat should come out perfect despite the challenges at hand. With all that being said, my mom still enjoyed her dish and I would have to concur since most of the meat was good except for the rib steak.

So what to get the kiddies for their main at a steakhouse? Why Aged Cheddar Mac 'n Cheese of course! To our pleasant surprise, this was very good. Due to the use of aged cheddar, there was a tasty sharpness to the sauce which was cheesy and creamy. We felt that it was rich without being overly heavy (if that makes sense). The noodles were soft while not being mushy and the crunchy top added a nice texture. Another side that was impressive was the Sauteed Mushrooms. This was a fairly large portion of perfectly cooked button mushrooms kissed by spicy seasoning. Normally, sauteed mushrooms are pretty standard when it comes to flavour with the usual garlic and butter. But this was a unique version which tickled our tastebuds.

We also got the Steamed Asparagus, but I didn't bother taking a picture of it. It was good though. Perfectly steamed and not over-salted. Lastly, we had the Creamed Corn and it was very good. The best part of it was the consistency of the cream which was not watery nor too thick. The corn was sweet and it was pleasant all-around. Now despite some execution issues surrounding the proteins, we still enjoyed our dinner at Hy's. Some might point out that with the price we paid, our expectations should be higher. That is true, but if you have never worked in a restaurant kitchen before, you can't possibly understand the variables at play. So we have to look at our meal as a whole, which was enjoyable due to some highlights to go with some issues as well.

The Good:
- Professional service
- Meats were good despite some execution issues
- Unlike some other steakhouses, there are included sides (we added more sides though)

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Execution issues with the proteins

Shore Club

*Restaurant is now closed*

Does there need to be a reason for dining out? Well, not really. However, when it is a special occasion, which calls for more premium eats, I guess that would be an excuse to go. This was the case when Snake mentioned that we should all go out to eat since his, mine, Chill and Costanza's birthdays fall within a month of each other. At first, Costanza suspected it was another one of my lame excuses to gather a bunch of people for the purposes of visiting a new restaurant. Partly true I suppose, but it really was Snake's idea. Now as for the choice of restaurants... Of course it was mostly my influence. I had suggested the Shore Club (part of David Aisenstat's restaurant group) because it seemed to fit the theme of the dinner. 4 guys celebrating each others' birthdays at a swank place which boasts a variety of food.

I arrived a bit late to find the guys relaxing in the lounge waiting for our table to be set up. They were in the process of ordering a bottle of wine when I heard from the lounge singer croon "Happy Birthday Sherman's Foooood". Huh? Apparently, Snake had made a request for the singer to wish me a happy birthday by using my blog name, but it didn't come out right. Uh yah. Why does he always want to embarrass me so? Yah, and the trick they played on me with the help of our server was classic too. They convinced me that the restaurant didn't allow flash photography nor any other photography for all that matters. When our server was confirming this, I was thoroughly confused as the table beside us was madly taking pictures with flash! Well, the prank kinda fizzled out there...

As for the food, we shared 4 appies to start. The Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio was nicely presented with diced red onions, capers, shaved Parmesan, dijon peppercorn drizzle and truffle oil. The beef tenderloin itself was thin and buttery soft. Some good flavours at work on the plate except the red onions. I could see where they were going with this due to the nice crunch, however, I felt the red onion was overpowering. If they didn't add that, the carpaccio would've been better. At first, when Costanza suggested we get the Steamed Mussels Meuniere, I was indifferent. As much as I love mussels, they can be pretty generic and uninspired at times. Not this one though. It arrived in a large pot and was served hot. One sip of the broth and "Bam", the flavours smacked us in the face. Sure, it was on the saltier side, but we didn't mind because it was garlicky and buttery. And for once, the mussels were plump and humongous. Very satisfying.

Although the Dungeness Crab Leg Cocktail drew some mixed reviews, there was no denying the quality of the meat. It had pillowy soft texture with the requisite fresh bounce. Naturally sweet and savoury, the leg meat was a real treat. The mixed response was essentially due to the dijon mayo dip which was considered bland. I didn't mind it since a more powerful dip would've overwhelmed the crab meat. As for our last appetizer, we all agreed it was the weakest. The Vanilla -Battered Prawns, in theory, sounded like a can't miss dish. In reality, the batter was too thick. Although the prawns were fantastic, the batter was too prominent. We did love the dip though. It may have looked like the run-of-the-mill sweet chili sauce, however, it really delivered a lingering kick.

When it came down to ordering our mains, we were having a difficult time deciding. Actually, I was trying to stay way from a steak since I would already be having it the next day. Then Costanza suggested we all share 4 entrees instead. He totally read my mind! LOL... So this way, I could still order steak and eat it too since I would only be obligated to 2 pieces. We ended up deciding on the Bone-In Rib Steak which was grilled to a perfect medium-rare. It was well-marbled (Canadian Prime) and charred for a full-bodied flavour. The meat was super-moist and didn't require much effort to eat. It was a touch salty though. This was an expensive, yet well-worth it steak. Snake wanted to go for a fish dish and ended up choosing the Smoked Alaskan Black Cod. It was poached in milk and presented with a lemon beurre blanc sauce. As explained by our server, the restaurant receives the cod smoked whole and then they cut it up piece-by-piece. Hence, the smoke flavour was really intense and penetrated deep into the flesh. There was no absence of flavour which really made the buerre blanc more of a bystander than anything else. Although the fish was moist and flaky, we would've liked to see it a bit more "black cod-like", if that makes any sense.

Even before we got a chance to open our menus, Costanza called dibs on the Braised Short Ribs. This 16oz behemoth took up the entire plate and would prove to be our undoing. Believe it or not, we could not finish all of our food, not even by a long shot. The ribs in general were okay, but not as good as they looked. There was a rich meat flavour, yet we could've used more seasoning. Furthermore, the meat was a little stringy for a large untrimmed portion of short rib. Our last entree was the Bouillabaisse with prawns, mussels, clams, snow crab leg and fish (in this case, it was sea bass). The tint from the saffron both coloured the seafood and flavoured the broth. It was fragrant and seasoned just right. All the seafood was perfect - from the fluffy crabmeat to the flaky fish. For our sides, we went for 3 items including the French Fries. These appeared to be fresh cut and double-fried which gave them a very French-bistro like appearance and texture. For me, I was a bit surprised to see this type served here. A definite pleasant surprise though. They were crisp and for me at least, appropriately served with a side of mayo.

Our second side was the Tempura Battered Onion Rings. Resembling the battered prawns we had as an appetizer, the tempura was thickly applied to the onions. We would've liked to see just a touch less batter because it was not really all that appealing in the middle despite the crisp exterior. With all that being said, we didn't dislike them either. Lastly, to get our fill of veggies, we got a side of Fresh Asparagus. Not sure if this qualified as our recommended intake since everything else could not be considered health food. Not much to say about the asparagus other than it was cooked perfectly with a nice colour and maintaining a crunch. Not that we really bothered by it, but it was salted aggressively.

After it was all said and done, we had spent a pretty penny. A good time was had by all and we're not sure if it had anything to do with the 2 bottles of wine either. Although there were some highlights, some of the food was salty. Sure, it wasn't cheap, yet we got more than enough food and really enjoyed the ambiance.

The Good:
- Nice ambiance
- Decent eats
- We got great service (but then again, Snake likes to blow my cover)

The Bad:
- Pricey
- A touch salty

Dinner @ Fortune House

OMG. My birthday again? At one point in my life, I would sooo look forward to it. C'mon. Gifts and food, people buying you drinks... what's not to like? Now, it is only a reminder of my fleeting youth (can I even say that anymore???). At the very least, the food part of it still exists and in fact, the eating destinations have gone considerably upscale. Such was the case this year since we had made plans for my birthday dinner a few weeks later at Hy's . However, my mom felt it was not right to not at least go out for dinner on my actual birth date. Hence, I got a bonus of sorts because all-of-a-sudden we headed to Fortune House at Metrotown for the 1st of my 2 birthday dinners.

As we were running late from my visit to NCIX (waiting in line as usual), my parents had already ordered and the food showed up as I sat down. Apparently, there was no option to order Duck Lettuce Wrap without ordering the 2 courses of Peking Duck, so we settled on the Seafood Lettuce Wrap. We were indifferent with this dish because seafood doesn't necessary make for a great lettuce wrap (unless it is dried oysters). I'm not blaming the restaurant at all for this because it was prepared quite well. The shrimp was cooked beautifully and the veggies were crunchy. It's just that seafood doesn't add any "meatiness". One thing we would have liked to see was a better trim job on the lettuce, some parts were discolouring.

When the next dish arrived, I was confused. Well, Viv says I'm always confused, so that shouldn't be a surprise. You see, my eyes spied eggplant while my nose smelled salted fish. Huh? Apparently, my senses weren't deceiving me. It turned out to be the Eggplant, Salted Fish and Chicken Hot Pot. Not the most usual of combinations, yet to me, it worked. Eggplant is pretty mild and with the kick of the salted fish and peppers, there was a smorgasbord of flavours going on. Just think of a Szechuan eggplant hot pot with the addition of salted fish. From the unusual to the standard, the Gai Lan with Beef was wedged onto our small table. This was executed really well. The beef was both plentiful and appealing. Good colour, well-marinated and tender, it still retained its meat texture. We appreciated that they cut the gai lan stalks into bite-sized pieces, so it was easy to pick up with our chopsticks. Moreover, the gai lan was cooked perfectly as well, being vibrant, crisp and well-seasoned. With barely any liquid at the bottom of the plate, it exemplified good wok heat too.

As if we had any more room on the table, the Seafood & Tofu Hot Pot was gingerly sandwiched in between the lettuce and eggplant. Right from the get go, it was obvious they loaded it up with a bevy of seafood. There were big scallops, shrimp, squid and basa filets mixed in with fried tofu and shiitake mushrooms on a bed of lettuce. There was just enough balanced starch-thickened sauce to coat the properly-cooked seafood (except for the squid, it was chewy). Lastly, we had to do some puzzle maneuvers to fit the Black Vinegar Pork Chops onto the table. This was probably my favourite dish of the night. These were meaty with very little in the way of fat and still had a chewy pork texture while tenderized enough that it wasn't hard to chew. They cut up the pieces into the perfect size where it could maintain its moisture through the cooking process while still being easy to pick up. In terms of flavour, I felt this used just the right amount of black vinegar. I could definitely smell it and taste, yet it didn't overwhelm the dish. There was a subtle tartness while the dish was predominantly sweet. The sauce clung onto each piece of pork beautifully where it provided all the necessary flavour without compromising the crispy parts and creating a goopy mess on the plate. Lastly, we were presented with dessert which included Almond Cookies (with a walnut on top) and Coconut Milk & Tapioca Soup. It ain't cheap to eat here, but despite what I've read on Urbanspoon, the food was prepared with good ingredients and the execution was spot-on (at least for our meal).

The Good:
- Good ingredients
- Proper execution

The Bad:
- Expensive
- Service was not bad but we couldn't find our server for long stretches