Hub Restaurant & Lounge

"Where do you wanna go for your birthday dinner?" I queried Costanza last month. I think he suggested like 5 different places and each one I had visited recently. Right then and there, he knew the protocol - find another restaurant that we haven't been to. Hey, I have no objections to revisits, especially if the previous experience was poor, but not so soon! Finally, we decided on Hub Restaurant & Lounge in the heart of Yaletown. We ended up going on a perfect Saturday night when the Canucks were playing an away game. With the multitude of screens at the Hub, there are no bad seats. This was great. Food and hockey - 2 of my favourite activities... And about the food... Well... They left the ordering up to me and I almost pulled a Mijune (which is ordering everything).

We began with a plate of Wok Squid tossed with garlic, chilies and ginger. For a non-Asian joint, I thought the Hub did a good job with this dish. Unlike some other places, the squid was thick and cut into large pieces. Hence, it was still moist and tender despite the fry job. Furthermore, the batter itself was crispy and golden brown. What really brought everything together was the garlic, chilies and ginger tossed with the fried squid. There was one thing on the menu that really caught our attention was the Double-Dipped Corn Dogs. When it arrived, the anticipation fizzled as the letters on the stick spelled out "P-O-G-O". Hey, don't get me wrong, we love Pogos. However, we were expecting something a bit more freshly-made. Now, to be honest, I'm not sure if it would've made a huge difference. So, it was mainly the principle and optics. The "original" part of the appie was the 2 dips consisting of honey mustard and grainy dijon ketchup. For us, the ketchup was the winner since it had a good combination of tartness and kick.

Now for another item that I could not take my eyes and mind off of - the Lobster Wings. Huh? Lobster wings? Was there a meltdown at the Springfield Nuclear Plant or something? 3-eyed fish and now lobsters with wings??? No, not exactly. Rather, this consisted of knife-split, battered and fried mini-lobster tails. Served with clarified butter, this should be one of Hub's signature items. Hey, you got perfectly fried lobster and butter. What's not to like? Well, more seasoning perhaps. I realize that lobster is delicate and loads of salt or spices would just overwhelm it. However, there was little to no seasoning here. Maybe a touch of Cajun spice would put this over-the-top. As sort of a bridge between appies and mains, we had the BBQ Chicken Pizza. Some might think the darn thing was burnt by the looks of it, but that is exactly how we like it. Hence, the crust was crunchy, nutty and held up to the wet ingredients. I would've liked to see a less prominent edge to the crust though. Most of the components were spot on including the cheese, moist chicken and caramelized onions. Yet, we thought the spicy BBQ sauce was lacking in BBQ flavour and spiciness. Rather, it was mostly sweet and ketchupy. On the other hand, the banana peppers did add the necessary kick.

Onto the mains, we started with the Crab Grilled Cheese. Initially, we feared that the crab would be lost and that the grilled cheese would be over-the-top oily. Both concerns were unfounded as there was more than enough crab to make an impact and the bread was only lightly buttered. Therefore, the sandwich was not really all that heavy. The bread was grilled crisp while the gruyere and aged cheddar cheese had fully melted and intermingled with the crab. Loved the addition of the vodka cocktail sauce since it added a zip and zing which livened up the flavours. Instead of a salad or just plain fries, we upgraded to a Poutine instead. It ended up to be a generous portion which included a seemingly endless supply of cheese curds. It was a mostly decent poutine considering the gravy was flavourful and sufficiently thick. The fries could've been less dense and more crisp though.

For a bit of variety we got the Kobe Meatball Linguine as well. Underneath the slightly past al dente linguine was 3 really large meatballs. These were very different though as the meat appeared to be hand-chopped and not very fine either. Hence, there was a considerable meat texture, which I personally didn't mind. Furthermore, there was not a whole lot of filler which made the meatballs loose. For Costanza, he was indifferent. Apparently he doesn't like loose balls... For me, it was different enough to be good. As for the marinara, it was mostly tomatoey and tart. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, yet it was a touch one-note. We also noticed there was a "burger bar" menu, so we had to get one for curiosity's sake. Our choice was the Yankee Burger consisting of an 8oz beef patty with smoked bacon, aged cheddar, lettuce, pickle and tomato. For good measure, we added mushrooms. This was a mostly solid burger that had no absence of flavour. The bacon was crisp while the meat was slightly dry. The other wet components made up for the dry patty. Just like the poutine, we thought the fries were dense and could've been more crispy. No matter though, they were a bonus because we had actually substituted it with Yam Fries. They forgot, but brought us out a plate of them quickly. They were crisp, not greasy and best of all, the chipotle mayo had a nice kick.

Lastly, we decided to share a dessert because our server warned us of the portion size. For $8.00, the Apple Crisp served in a cast iron pan could've passed for 3 desserts elsewhere. Unfortunately, we didn't really care for it. The individual components were good, like the big cuts of apple, the plethora of brown sugar, oats and a big scoop of vanilla gelato on top. However, parts of it were not hot and the topping needed more butter since it ended up being powdery. Furthermore, the whole thing was too sweet (maybe more tart apples and less brown sugar?). It was too bad the meal ended on an overly sweet note (instead of sour) because the food in general was more than acceptable. Keep in mind that the Hub is not a fine dining establishment. It is more about the comfort food. Sure, some things were better than others, but that is a given at any restaurant. For me at least, it is an option if one wanted to avoid the chain restaurants in the area and didn't necessarily want to break the bank either.

The Good:
- Decent portions
- Reasonably-priced (considering its location)
- Great place to catch the game

The Bad:
- Dessert took awhile

Sunday Brunch @ EBO (Delta Hotel Burnaby)

For many, a buffet is not the best place to experience great food. Think of it, the stuff is mass-produced and more often than not, the quality of the raw materials are suspect. That is probably why we have seen buffets come and go in the Lower Mainland. The Copper Kettle was something I remembered way back in my childhood. Now a Canadian Tire stands where it used to be. Uncle Willy's has been reduced to one location at Metrotown and let's not even get into Foody Goody. Sure, there are some that still stand such as New China Kitchen, Oriental and Grand Buffet, but it'll take a lot for me to actually go eat at those places. The newer type of buffets which started to show up in the 90's were of the Japanese variety which involved ordering from a checklist rather than going up and serving yourself. Now, from this, you might think I universally hate buffets. Not exactly. There is one type I don't mind, granted it is not particularly cheap. What I'm talking about is the Sunday Brunch. Normally found at hotel restaurants, it can range from a simple breakfast buffet to elaborate spreads that include more "gourmet" offerings.

As for Vancouver, I've already tried out the Sunday Brunch at the Hotel Vancouver, Waterfront, Sutton Place, Pan Pacific, Burnaby Hilton and Fairmont Airport. Most have been pretty decent with all things considered (as in you can only expect so much from buffet food). There was one that I was planning to try on my own, which is the one offered at EBO (at the Delta Burnaby). Coincidentally, I was invited to try it as part of a media brunch. They were gracious enough for me to invite one guest, which was Viv and also my 2 kids because really, who would take care of the kiddies otherwise? Moreover, I must admit a slight bias since EBO is one of my favourite dining destinations when I need to bring the whole family. Despite being located right next to the Grand Villa Casinos, the restaurant is kid-friendly - as the kids eat free (dinner and lunch with paying adult)!

Right off the bat, without even eating a single morsel of food, there are a few things that set EBO apart from the aforementioned hotel restaurants. First and foremost, the price of the Sunday Brunch is incredibly reasonable at $30.95 with kids 5 and under being complimentary. Secondly, the parking is free. This is nothing to laugh about when the other places charge upwards to $20.00. So after we settled into our table, we attacked the food starting with the usual cold items. These included Smoked Salmon, Shrimp Cocktail, Cheeses and a Charcuterie Platter. Around the corner, there was a selection of salads consisting of Greek Salad, Marinated Potato Salad with roasted red peppers, lemon & tarragon, Chow Mein Noodle Salad with coconut scented chicken and peppers, Tomato & Bocconcini Salad, Chicken Liver Pate with brioche and Assorted Sushi.

Off to the hot section, there was something not usually found at Sunday Brunch - Roti Canai. And to top it off, the roti was freshly made right in front of our eyes (a la fresh noodle-making at Peaceful). In fact, they take freshness so seriously, I witnessed the disposal of roti that had been sitting around for awhile. As for the quality of the roti, I can confidently say that it would not be out of place in a Malaysian restaurant. The exterior was crisp and not too oily while the inside was a soft and chewy. The accompanying curry dip had a nice consistency while being slightly spicy and aromatic from the coconut milk. Right adjacent to the roti was the DIY Omelet Bar which featured ham, shrimp, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and green onions. I did get an omelet at the end of the meal just to try it out. It was fluffy and not exposed to extremely high heat. Hence it was not overcooked nor did it exhibit any browning on the outside.

Moving along the buffet line, the first chaffing tray contained the standard Bacon & Sausages along with French Toast topped with fruit. The bacon was mostly crispy while the sausages were large and meaty. The meat was not gritty which suited my son just fine as he prefers the fatty smooth type. The French toast was not bad, it wasn't dry nor too wet. The next tray consisted of both the Traditional Eggs Benny and Smoked Salmon Benny. I tried the traditional version and it was pretty spot on. The English muffin was crisp and not soggy while the Hollandaise sauce was buttery and had a good hit of lemon. The "poached" egg was interesting as it was not immersed in water. Rather, it appears they poached the egg with minimal water where the yolk was allowed to be purposely underdone. Hence it was beautiful and runny. Nice trick. Good for the warming tray as it won't overcook.

When I took a gander at the next item, I was concerned. It was Salmon and squid with a lobster emulsion. Normally, fish at a buffet can pass for styrofoam. However, the salmon here was perfectly cooked. Barely past rare, the fish was moist and soft. The lobster emulsion was rich, yet not too salty which allowed the fish to stand on its own. The random pieces of calamari were tender and not fishy. Without any description other than the "Chef's Pasta", I did my best to figure out what it was. Well, obviously it was Orzo and I could tell there was sundried tomatoes, pancetta and Parmesan. This was quite creamy and balanced. It was flavourful without being salty.

In Vancouver, it is almost a given that Sunday Brunch buffets are not complete without the token Dim Sum. Honestly, I'd much rather not see this other than in a Chinese restaurant because it is rarely done right. With that being said, the Dim Sum here was at least average. Sure, the rice flour dumpling skin on the haw gow was thick and dry, but the filling was actually pretty good. There was whole shrimp that exhibited a snap and also tasted right. The sui mai was pretty plain, yet the pork had a good bounce. However, the beef meatballs were a touch too rubbery. Along with the Dim Sum was something that completely blew me away - there was house-made XO Sauce! For those who are unfamiliar, XO Sauce is a Chinese condiment consisting of all or some of the following: dried shrimp, dried scallop, Virginia ham, shallots, garlic, chilis and oil. The one here was pretty legit except for a touch of fishiness.

Right behind the Dim Sum was a plate of Chicken Satay which were beautifully charred. They were neither too dry nor juicy, somewhere in the middle. I felt there was just enough seasoning, yet the curry dip was needed to give the satay some punch. Directly in front of the satay were the Fried Shrimp Pockets (which looked like fried shrimp wontons). These were alright. The shrimp was a touch soft (since it was mixed with shrimp mousse) where the moisture affected the crispiness of the fried wrapper. If the XO sauce was a surprise, the house-made BBQ Pork totally caught me off-guard. I have never seen this offered at any of the hotels in Vancouver as of yet (and that is including Richmond). Unlike the BBQ pork found at Chinese shops, this one was significantly larger and less fatty. Hence, the meat was super moist and tender. With the long, slow roast, the flavours were rich as well. However, the one thing that really brought it all together was the cilantro-soy dip. It added a touch of spice and brightness to the normally sweet and heavy pork.

Directly beside the pork was something more typical in the Roasted Prime Rib. Even with this they were able to make it interesting. They took the beef ribs from the roast and prepared them separately. I don't know about you, but the best part of a prime rib roast are the ribs themselves. Not great for my cholesterol, but what am I talking about??? It's a buffet after all!!! Oh and about the roast, it was perfect - moist and medium-rare. And to top it all off, there was a luxurious demi-glace rather than the usual au jus. Now all this food is fine and dandy for adults, yet they didn't forget about the kiddies though. There was a table set up with various cereals, sweets, chicken strips, fries and fresh-made donut holes. Since the table was at kid height, my daughter helped herself to the fruit gelatin.

Back to the rest of the spread, there was a decent selection of Desserts which included an Apple Crumble, Raisin Bread Pudding, Key Lime Cheesecake, Opera Cake, Kirsch Torte, Cappuccino Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse, Macarons, Mango Brulee, Rum Bada, Eclairs, Red Velvet Cake and Chocolate Sacher. At this point, I was pretty full and only tried a few items which were not bad. Overall, the brunch buffet here at EBO was pretty solid especially for the price. One thing I must mention is that there were a few extra items that would normally be on rotation rather than being served every week. So YMMV on what will be there each Sunday. Another observation is that many of the items were offered in small batches (which were refilled regularly) which ensured freshness. This was a pretty solid experience which will ultimately lead to another visit someday.

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

The Good:
- Carefully prepared food
- Reasonably-priced
- Comfortable and spacious digs

The Bad:
- Lack of high-end items compared to other Sunday Brunches (although this is roughly $10.00 less)

Golden Ray Bakery

While strolling out of Thu Hien Deli with my Banh Mi in hand, I stopped dead in my tracks. No, there wasn't some crazed Banh Mi thief roaming Kingsway (wouldn't it be funny if I had to use the line: "back off, get your own sandwich!"?), rather, I noticed there was a Chinese bakery next door. Interestingly how I never knew it existed, even though I've probably walked past it on many occasions. So I had to run in for some Chinese buns and pastries... For a relatively small shop, there was a decent selection. From that, I went with a few items including the BBQ Pork Bun. The darn thing was pretty large and with that, I expected a bevy of BBQ pork in the middle. As you can really clearly see in the picture, one would need to send out a search party or put up posters to find the BBQ pork. It is as if the BBQ pork was attempting to hide from some BBQ monster (a la cookie monster from Sesame Street). To compound the problem, the large amount of bun was pretty dense and even after a quick nuke, it was still not that soft. At the very least, the pork was not that fatty and had a nice rich sweetness.

The Pineapple Bun was equally big and the fact it was mostly bun did not matter because we weren't expecting BBQ pork this time. However, it was equally dense and well, you know how I felt about that already. On the other hand, the "pineapple" topping was crusty (which was good, rather than mushy) and was not incredibly sweet. I put pineapple in quotations because the bun has no pineapple in it. Instead, the fact it resembles a pineapple on the outside leads to its name (yes, go figure...). I also got some Egg Tarts for the kiddies and they were not bad. There were baked long enough to achieve some colour in both the custard and the tart shell. At the same time, the amount of baking time made the edges of the custard slightly rubbery though. It is a fine balance between being undercooked and overcooked, yet at the same time I'd rather take this one over undercooked.

Lastly, I got something which appeared to be something it was not. What I mean is that the puff pastry triangle shown in the picture did not consist of curry beef filling. Rather it was a Puff Pastry with Chicken. Think of it as a cross between a curry beef puff pastry and a chicken pie. This was pretty good with a properly baked puffed pastry filled with the filling you'd expected in a chicken pie. I personally like the curry beef version more, but this did the job for my daughter as she doesn't eat curry beef (yet). In the end, we concluded that the non-bun items from Golden Ray were pretty good. As for the buns, the dough was a touch too dense for our liking. Furthermore, the filling in the BBQ pork bun was insufficient for the size of the bun. Definitely food value here at Golden Ray, but not necessarily great either.

The Good:
- Large buns (ahem...)
- Decent selection
- Good non-bun items

The Bad:
- Buns are dense (another ahem...)
- Lack of filling

Golden Harvest

"I'm not going to $(#&$(#&$ Richmond", mumbled Costanza with disdain when I suggested we go for Dim Sum. Wow and I thought I was the one that gives Richmond a hard time. At least I still go there for food. Last time we went to The Place, it was a detour from all the great choices in Richmond. Can it be? Costanza dislikes going to Richmond more than me??? Anyways, that eliminated some of the best Dim Sum joints. Since he wanted to stay in Vancouver for eats, I had to dig deep for an idea. This was especially difficult since I really was in no mood for a re-visit. Then I remembered that we've never been to the restaurant that occupies the former Sun Sui Wah on Main and 32nd. Since we were bringing all the kiddies, I made a reservation for 11:00am which hopefully ensured that we got a table without waiting. Thankfully I did so because the place went plain nuts after 11:30am! So much so, they started putting 2 tables where there was room for only 1! When I turned around to get something, I was shocked to see someone sitting so close that it would constitute invasion of personal space. The old lady behind me had a great discussion about how my daughter was so cute. Maybe this should renamed the place "Golden Harvest Social Club but for Older Folk".

Joining me for the first time for eats, we had Ip-Man (Elaine's brother). When we got down to ordering, the first thing to arrive was the Pea Shoots with Bean Curd Skin and Ginko Nuts. If the amount of liquid on the plate looks concerning, don't be alarmed, this version is supposed to be that way. This was not bad, but the pea shoots were slightly overcooked. It was very lightly seasoned and could've used a touch more salt. With memories of the crappy Shrimp Mousse Stuffed Eggplant from Empire a month ago, we were hoping for a better experience this time around. Thankfully it was nowhere like the one we had at Empire. This one was fresh-tasting with "bounce"-textured shrimp and fried eggplant that was moist. The accompanying sauce was quite good with plenty of garlic and black bean flavour.

Increasingly common these days is a big plate of deep-fried Daikon Radish Cake rather than the typical 4 square slices. As such, this was the perfect time to order it since we had more people to share it with. I really liked how they prepared these as thick sticks instead of cubes. This way, the cake remained moist and appeared to be less oily. These were tossed in XO sauce which provided a slight spice. As always, we had the Haw Gow and Sui Mai since they are generally a good gauge of any Dim Sum service. They were pretty solid with the Haw Gow having a nicely textured dumpling skin which was slightly wet and not too thick. The filling was mostly whole pieces of shrimp that exhibited a good snap. There was a mild amount of seasoning which could be bland for some, but for me, it was good. The Sui Mai were very large (as evidenced in the picture) and equally good. The pork was tenderized nicely so it had a bouncy chew, yet there was a considerable amount of fat as well. I liked the ample amount of crunchy shrimp as well as the pieces of shiitake mushroom. It broke up the monotony. There are too many places that make a predominantly pork Sui Mai which is usually one note in texture and flavour. This one had a good mix.

Despite being somewhat pale, the Beef Meatballs were also prepared correctly. The meat was tenderized just enough so it had some resistance, yet soft to chew. There was a good mix of water chestnuts and green onion for flavour and texture. We ended up getting both the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll and the Beef Rice Noodle Roll. We found the rice noodle to be a touch stiff. However, the fillings were good. The shrimp were big and crunchy while the beef was tenderized properly much like the beef meatballs. Furthermore, there was a hint of dried orange peel which added a nice essence to the meat. Shockingly, we didn't go for any pan-fried rice noodle rolls this time, instead opting for rice. And this was at the suggestion of my son. I guess he got bored of rice noodle rolls! We had both the Pork Sparerib Rice and the Minced Pork Patty with Salted Fish Rice. Naturally, these were not the "real" hot pot rice we would get from a place such as The One Spot Soup House, yet with that being said, the rice was chewy and only slightly wet on the edge. The pork patty was a little different where we saw a mix of tender hand-chopped meat with shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. The textures were good as well as the varied flavours. Combined with the salted fish, there was more than a one-note flavour. The sparerib rice was equally good with plenty of nicely tenderized, meaty rib pieces and a large chicken foot on top.

For some odd reason, we keep ordering Xiao Long Bao during Cantonese Dim Sum even though we can predict the end result. I guess if one goes in with reasonable expectations, there will be less disappointment. Well, what can I say? There was not much in the way of soup in these dumplings and the skin was thick (although not that thick considering others we had). At the very least, the meat was tender and had a good amount of flavour. Normally, we do not order the Lo Mei Gai (sticky rice) because it would mean doubling-up on the starches. Good idea if you want to get full, but it doesn't leave a whole lot of room for ordering anything else. With 5 adults and 4 kids, there would be someone bound to finish it. That would be Ip-Man, the endless pit of destruction (in terms of food that is). He arrived late and cleaned up everything we could not finish. Every group needs one of these, especially during Dim Sum because it never fails - one of each item is left! As for the lo mei gai itself, there were 2 large ones in the steamer. Clearly from the picture, it was not merely sticky rice. There was an abundance of meat and sauce to both flavour the rice and to keep it moist. I thought this was pretty good.

Whenever Elaine joins us for Dim Sum, we have to get an order of the Phoenix Talons (chicken feet). Interestingly, she doesn't really prefer offal, sashimi or rare steaks, but she likes chicken feet. Go figure. Anyways, these were pretty spot on. The skin was intact while the gelatin and cartilage were soft underneath. As evidenced in the picture, there was a pronounced garlicky flavour. The peppers on top were more for colour than flavour as we really didn't taste any of it. Lastly, but not necessarily served last (it arrived mid-meal), we had the Egg Tarts. At the very least, it showed up near the end of the meal (don't really like it when it shows up first!). Although light in colour, the tart shell was flaky and buttery. The filling was sweet, but not too much. The kids seemed to really enjoy them. And in the end, we really had no real big issues with the food - pretty good quality at reasonable prices. Service was pretty sparse because the staff seemed quite busy with the full restaurant, however, they were pleasant. The one thing we really didn't enjoy was the seating arrangements. We couldn't believe they stuffed 2 tables where only one existed before. I could hear the complaints from the table next to us. Well, how could I not hear? They were literally sitting right next to me! So if you don't mind getting really friendly with the table next to you and the long lineups, Golden Harvest is a good mid-range choice in Vancouver.

The Good:
- Above average food
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- Intrusive seating arrangements
- Sparse service

Thu Hien Deli

As if my Fridays are not busy enough (with hockey and eating), Viv decided to add the kid's ice skating lessons as well. I'm not sure if it is her sinister plan to keep me away from hockey and eating, but it makes for a rushed dinner. Therefore, I came up with a plan of my own. This would involve me picking up some Banh Mi for dinner and blogging about it as a byproduct. Ah, kill 2 birds with one stone. Brilliant! So I drove down the street of Banh Mi (which is Kingsway by the way) and stopped at Thu Hien Deli where Kingsway intersects with Knight Street. In addition to Banh Mi, the place offers up hot meals (a la Kent's Kitchen-like) and other Vietnamese groceries. I was tempted to get some of their other offerings, but that would've been too much food. Imagine that, too much food! Right.

Anyways, I picked up 3 sandwiches starting with the Cold Cut. For me, the bread was quite dense (obvious from the picture). When toasted up, it wasn't too bad though. There was plenty of meat along with crunchy pickled daikon and carrots, along with cucumber, hot pepper and cilantro. As per usual, there was the sweet butter, a slather of pate and a few drops of Maggi. The ingredients combined together offered a good deal of flavour. Now the Meatball sub had even more flavour since it was dripping with sauce. So much so, it made parts of the sandwich soggy. I found the meatball to have a peculiar texture. It reminded me of Spam, which is not really a bad if thing if one was eating a Spam sandwich. I would've liked the meat to have a little more texture. In terms of flavour, it was mostly sweet with little meat taste.

Lastly, I got the Shredded Pork (aka, shredded pork and pork rinds). I personally love shredded pork, especially on my vermicelli or rice dishes. However, in this Banh Mi, it was kinda bland. Loved the texture of the pork rind, but the whole thing could've used some more sauce or something. In general, the sandwiches were solid with standard pricing. They definitely did not skimp on the ingredients, yet I wasn't a huge fan of their bread. Since it is only across the street, I'd hit up Kim Chau first.

The Good:
- Lots of filling
- Many other items in store for purchase

The Bad:
- Limited choice on types of Banh Mi
- Bread is a bit dense