Pho Linh

*Restaurant is closed*

After attending the Pulled Pork Competition at the BC Home & Garden Show where we were tortured by the sights and smell (without being able to actually try it!), Viv and I were starving. So without further ado, we hightailed it outta there in search of eats. Whenever we are short on time and still want something tasty (that does not have a drive-thru), we always turn to the standby - Pho. And where would we find such a thing? Duh. Kingsway of course. However, while we took the turnoff from Main onto Kingsway, I remembered Pho Linh near Hime Sushi, so I took an immediate left onto Broadway.

We got one each of the Salad Roll and Spring Roll to start. As much as these items can be rather cliched in terms of Vietnamese food, we were pretty happy with them. The salad roll was rolled tight where the filling did not fall out, yet not squished at the same time. We liked how the shrimp was seasoned and that added an extra punch of flavour. One thing we would've like to see was Thai basil mixed in with the greens. We thought the spring roll was even better. Before we even ate any, the use of rice wrappers made it legit. They were fried up golden brown and were crisp. The best part was the filling. It was moist, not-gritty and full of flavour. There was good hits of fish sauce and onions. It tasted good on its own, even without the nuoc mam cham.

Viv went for the Pho Dac Biet and for a small bowl, there was no absence of noodles and meat. This could pass for a large bowl in some places (Vietnamese Restaurant and Phố Hoàng Tung come to mind). The soup was on the lighter side, however, it wasn't without flavour (seemed light on the MSG too). It was pretty balanced. The meats were plentiful and tender as well. Since Viv had the Pho, I resorted to ordering something different in the Bun Bo Hue. When it first arrived, I was a bit skeptical since the "spiciness" seemed merely plopped on one side of the bowl. However, one taste of the broth and there was a definite lemongrass hit and a decent amount of heat. I really wasn't expecting that. You know how some places where it is hard to differentiate between a regular beef broth and the bun bo hue broth? Not here, it was obvious. Now, I'm not saying this is the best I've ever had, but it was pretty good for what it was. Again, there was plenty of meat and a good amount of noodles (wished there was a pork knuckle though). The one complaint we had about these bowls of noodles was the temperature of the broth. It could've been hotter.

For no other reason other than we just had to try a rice dish, we also ordered the Lemongrass Chicken on Rice. Once again, the portion size was pretty good and the chicken certainly had lemongrass flavour. The meat was a bit flat which in turn made it slightly dry in spots, but it wasn't too bad. There was some char on some parts, yet we could've stood for more. The rice was prepared properly being neither too wet not dry. As you can ascertain, the meal as a whole was pretty good. It wasn't the best Vietnamese we've ever had in town, but it is certainly above-average. Coupled with the personable service and reasonable prices, Pho Linh is a place we would probably make a return visit.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Good portions
- Good service

The Bad:
- Much like many other Vietnamese restaurants, things are haphazardly placed and there is no ambiance at all
- At night, the place is kinda dark (sorta nitpicking here)

Oscar's Pub

*Restaurant is closed*

Generally, I tend to ignore most of the emails I get from Groupon, Living Social and the lot. It's not because there aren't any good deals to be found, I'm just not confident I'll remember to use them. Furthermore, there have been a few issues I've encountered in the past which leads me to believe some restaurants were not equipped to handle the extra volume and/or didn't specify the conditions clearly on the discount itself. Therefore, I am very cautious in my coupon purchases. With that in mind, I'm pretty sure I threw all those considerations out the window when I hastily purchased 2 Groupons to Oscar's Pub late one night. I figured it would be a great place for the hockey team to meet up after our Friday night game. So I immediately shot out an email to everyone suggesting this. I hoped for a good response. Otherwise, I'd be stuck with $60.00 worth of food all for myself! Well, fortunately, everyone was on board since it was a convenient location, we planned to meet up right after the game. Problem being... I forgot my camera! There was only one solution - go home and get it. Believe it or not, I still made it there before everyone else. What are they doing in the locker room anyways??? A long hot shower? I'd rather not know...

Usually Bear is the last to make it out of the locker room, but he was actually the next person to arrive, so maybe he was just hungry. After all, this was the first time we've seem him all Winter. Must be his annual hibernation thing. As such, he had 2 items starting with the Brisket Stuffed Yorkies. This is seemingly becoming more and more popular, especially in gastropubs. These consisted of Yorkshire pudding stuffed with slow roasted beef brisket and horseradish aioli. Housemade au jus was served on the side. We found the brisket to be quite dry and even with a good dousing of the wonderful au jus, it didn't seem to help the cause. When I first spotted Bear's second item, I was confused as to what it was. Apparently it was a Guinness Stew of some sort. By looking at the colour, it resembled the filling of a chicken pot pie than anything else. It was surely thick and chunky, but it was also bland and had no depth. Sweet Tooth did order a dessert, but before that she had the Chicago Steak Bites topped with Dijon mustard. These were simply prepared with cracked black pepper and salt. Despite its nicely seared appearance, the actual meat was tough and chewy. It required quite the effort to eat. Either it needed less cooking and/or more tenderization. On the other hand, the simple preparation with just a drizzle of Dijon was tasty.

Ginger wasn't too hungry and in fact was more interested in the barely sandwiches. Thus, he went for something small in the Scotch Egg with chorizo sausage and ranch dressing. As evidenced in the picture, the egg was perfectly cooked. The sausage added some spice which was cooled down with the ranch dressing. It was on the oilier side, but then again, it was fried. Ginseng ordered something healthier (in a pub no less) with the Westcoast Bowl consisting of Oregon shrimp, cucumber, nori, avocado, sprouts, sriracha chili, sushi rice and wasabi dressing. From its appearance, the bowl looked substantial and fresh. Indeed it was vibrant in both colour and taste. However, the sushi rice underneath was not very good. It appeared to be day-old and suffered degradation in the fridge. With that being said, we did cut them some slack because I'm sure they don't go through a lot of sushi rice.

Milhouse went for his pub standby in the Bangers and Mash. However, this was not your typical version of the traditional English dish. This one consisting of 2 chorizo sausages, beer kraut, kale, a potato croquette and caramelized onion jus. Yes, this was definitely "different" and he pretty much concurred that was the best description. The individual components were good with a crispy croquette and flavourul chorizo. For myself, I had the Buffalo Chicken Burger which was fantastic. The main protein, which was the buttermilk fried chicken breast, was moist and juicy. Although the crispy coating was crunchy and tasty, it really didn't adhere to the chicken and slid off with each bite. The combination of pickled celery, hot sauce, blue cheese, chilli aioli, lettuce, tomato and red onion created a flavour explosion. There was no absence of spice and with the blue cheese, it definitely recreated the hot wings experience in a kasier bun. As for the fries, they were pretty crispy despite its dark appearance.

I actually shared my burger with Emilicious because she indicated she wanted to split her Ulitimate Burger with me. How could I turn that down? Her burger was a combination of a 6 oz beef patty with slow roasted brisket, bacon, blue cheese, LTOP and horseradish aioli. This was a substantial burger that could've been a whole lot better. The beef patty itself was dry and full of chewy non-meat pieces which made it unappetizing. Furthermore, the brisket was dry (just like in the yorkies) and that made it difficult for the to other components to compensate. On the plus side, the yam fries were fried perfectly. Interestingly, the Mini-Burgers were significantly better. Gordo liked his burgers partly because the beef patties were hand-formed. Hence, they were different than the one in the Ultimate. Makes me think they should make all their burgers with the same meat then.

Lastly, Sweet Tooth couldn't possibly have a complete meal without dessert right? So she had the Chocolate Brownie with ice cream and chocolate sauce. For a pub, this was a decent attempt. The exterior was crisp while the inside was chocolatly (not in a dark chocolate way though) and sweet. Any lack of refinement was completely made up by portion size and value. This could've easily passed for 2 orders. Well, we had reasonable expectations going in and Oscar's essentially met them. I wouldn't say there was anything that stood out nor was there anything completely inedible either (well, the stew thingy wasn't that great though). It did the job for what it was for a reasonable price.

The Good:
- Decent value
- Pretty good service

The Bad:
- Food is so-so
- Interior is a bit tired

Jade Dynasty

Taking things for granted... That's a pretty normal phenomenon. We do that with our spouses, family, friends, pets, possessions and in Richmond, our safety. For me, it is Rich Guy. Generally, when he comes back from the Philippines, he is a consistant eating companion. Now that he is back for good, I haven't eaten with him for months. Yes, I have taken him for granted. So much so, he had to initiate a food adventure this time around! Actually, what he really wanted to do was to buy a Chinese Cheongsam for his daughter. On my suggestion, we headed to Chinatown to my go to place for Cheongsam (I have a go to place for this?!?!?) which is KK Boutique. Conveniently located across the street from our eating destination - Jade Dynasty.

From the outside, the place looked super-shady with the typical tacky yellow-red awning and pictures of various dishes. On the inside, it was surprisingly clean and spacious. Shockingly, their washroom was rather decent considering the restaurant's location. Like many Dim Sum services these days, we were presented with an order sheet. We proceeded to mark off 8 items to which our server reminded us that we ordered a lot of food. We acknowledged her concerns, but little did she know that we could actually do more! The first item to arrive was the Stuffed Eggplant. These could've been fried a touch less as the outer layer of shrimp and eggplant were getting dry and leathery. However, on the inside, the eggplant was fine while the shrimp was slightly chewy. We weren't impressed with the black bean sauce as it had more colour than taste.

Next came the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll which was very good. The rice noodle was soft and just a touch thick, yet exhibited a desirable elasticity which ensured that it didn't fall apart when picked up. There was plenty of medium-sized shrimp which had a good snap texture, however, they seemed to lack seasoning for some reason. I do realize there was sweet soy on the plate, but the shrimp needed to be seasoned as well. Okay, we did it again. We ordered Xiao Long Bao in a non-Shanghainese Dim Sum meal. So we had low expectations. Even with that, these XLBs were terrible. First of all, they were far too big. Stuffed inside the overly thick and doughy wrapper was some pretty chewy, sinewy, fatty meat. There was no soup to speak of as well. The only good thing was the good amount of ginger flavour. Serves us right for ordering these.

Thankfully, the Haw Gow was pretty good. The dumpling skin was a touch thick while still exhibiting a nice texture and elasticity. The whole shrimp inside was crunchy with little in the way of filler (which would explain why it was quite loose as well). The Sui Mai was even better in my opinion. Although being on the sweeter side, there was just the right amount of seasoning where we could still taste the pork, shrimp and shiitake, yet at the same time, not have one component overwhelm the other. The best thing of all though was bounce texture of the meat and the snap of the shrimp. This is what sui mai should be like. For some reason or another, we decided to get a large bowl of Chicken Congee as well. "Home-made looking" was probably the best way to describe it. It was very white and not really all that thick (probably more like watery). However, that was the only home-made part of it since it was very flavourful in an MSG kind of way. On the other hand, there was a significant ginger and onion presence also. Furthermore, it was loaded with large pieces of de-boned chicken leg meat which was moist and tender with all of the skin and fat removed.

Rich Guy and I had a difference of opinion when it came to the Pork Spareribs. He found them overly chewy and over-seasoned while I thought the shortcomings were not too significant. I did agree that the meat could've been tenderized a touch more and also they should have been less aggressive with the MSG. However, as a whole, the portion was pretty generous and most pieces were of the rib variety which meant less fat and cartilage. Also, I could really taste the mix of black bean, garlic and peppers which is not always the case with this dish. Lastly, and I mean really lastly (as it took awhile from the spareribs to this dish), the Panfried Daikon Radish Cake arrived. These were some pretty large cuts of radish cake as you can clearly see from the thickness and the fact they barely fit onto the plate. We found them a touch dense and slightly dry. However, the panfry was decent and they apparently didn't use much oil (which would be another explanation of it being dry as well). There was large chunks of daikon and plenty of Chinese sausage which added a nice flavour. I didn't even need to drench it into hot sauce. To our server's surprise, we had dusted off all of the food except 2 of the XLBs (for good reason). Despite the XLBs and some minor issues with the food, the Dim Sum was above-average at a fairly reasonable cost (considering the portion size). We wouldn't normally hit up Dim Sum in Chinatown since that would mean going to Floata (ew...), however Jade Dynasty is a viable option (especially ever since Kam Wai ceased their restaurant operations).

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Okay pricing
- Surprisingly clean considering where it is located

The Bad:
- Some issues here and there regarding the food (but nothing is perfect anyways)
- Parking can be a headache

Brioche

Last time when Whipping Girl and I went for lunch at the Greedy Pig, we had actually considered picking up some items from Brioche as we walked by. In fact, we even went in with the intention of doing so. However, common sense prevailed and we decided to not eat anymore. What? Not eat more food? What is wrong with me? Well, we just had shared 3 sandwiches a soup at the Greedy Pig... I know, maybe I'm off my game or something. Stop eating, how crazy is that??? Well, we were determined to return someday, especially considering it is one of Whipping Girl's regular lunch time options. So on a rainy Vancouver day (wait, isn't that any day?), we headed over there for some grub.

Luckily we were early because the places gets packed quickly. Being a small restaurant, that would also mean a lack of seating too (there is a secret dining area in the back though). This is further complicated by the fact one orders from the counter first and then has to look for a table. As we ate our lunch, there were many who left not wanting to wait for a seat. For some odd reason, we both ended up with vegetarian items. What? First, we had stopped eating last time after the Greedy Pig and now we abstained from meat? What has the world come to??? What's next? The Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup? Wait, that's going a bit too far. So back to the food. Whipping Girl started with a Salad consisting of mesclun greens, cucumber, tomato and feta. Now for me, a salad is usually a salad unless there is some interesting ingredient. Well, the ingredients were fresh and typical, but the dressing was very tasty. It was like an Italian dressing but not. There was a good combination of spices and acidity which even made me like it.

For her main, she had the Spinach, Feta, Mushroom and Mozzarella Pizza. It's pretty obvious from the picture that there was a good amount of cheese on top which in turn made the pizza quite tasty (in addition to the other toppings and zesty tomato sauce). The crust was a bit different as it resembled soft focaccia bread. For myself, I decided to start with one of their featured soups being the Crab & Shrimp Bisque. This was not as rich and creamy as I would've liked. In fact, it was tart and in a way, like a creamy tomato soup. The shellfish aroma and essence was very slight, overwhelmed by the acidity. I did enjoy the fact it was not salty though (which some bisques can be).

As aforementioned, I had a vegetarian dish being the Eggplant Parmigiana. Although the portion size seemed rather small, it was rich and filling. The eggplant was nicely textured where it retained some integrity despite being soft. There was just enough tart tomato sauce where it didn't become a soggy mess, however, the whole thing was quite salty. By virtue of using Parmesan, that would be a given, but this was a bit too much. To counteract the sodium, we got 2 desserts to go (because there was a burgeoning lineup). The Tiramisu was not really sweet nor was there a tonne of distinguishing flavours. With that being said, I didn't mind it either. The mildness suited me just fine as with slightly stiffer texture. The second dessert was the Pear Torte which was laced with big slices of tender aromatic pear. Only semi-sweet and quite dense, this was a pretty heavy dessert. Strangely, even though there was nothing that appealing about it, I kept picking at it and eventually finished it.

While I though the food from Brioche was pretty decent, it left me somewhat confused. More than a few people have raved about the place, yet my experience was pretty average, if not slightly above average. Maybe I need a larger sample size to more adequately make up my mind about the place. I'm game for a revisit and maybe I'll try a few more items just for good measure. I'm sure Whipping Girl will be more than happy to join me.

The Good:
- Food is decent
- Service is friendly
- Nice vibe

The Bad:
- Lack of seating (although there is another dining area in the back)
- Not sure if I had high expectations, but I was expecting more?

The Charlatan

"Never give up, never surrender". That was the line from the Star Trek spoof Galaxy Quest. For those who haven't watched it, I suggest you do. Now that line from the movie pretty much sums up my hockey team's resolve. You see, when we fail to eat at a restaurant for a variety of reasons, we try, try again. This was such the case with The Charlatan. About a month ago, the place was packed and we had no hope in the world in getting a seat for 7 people. So we ended up going across the street to Sake Maki instead. This time around, we only have 4 and we were heading out much later, which increased our chances. We did get seated right away, however it was around the bar area where the tables were more fit for 2 than 4. Definitely cozy and really, easier to share (which suited me just fine). However, I'm not sure why I got stuck with Gordo beside me while Milhouse got Emilicious...

We did end up starting with something to share in the Salt & Pepper Wings. With exactly 12 pieces, it was easy to divvy up among 4 people. These wings were pretty meaty and were not too dry. I wouldn't classify them as juicy, but much better than most places. The skin was crisp and nicely rendered from the frying. The salt and pepper was a touch uneven where some wings were more flavourful than others. Yet, that is understandable since it is hard to adhere to a non-sauced surface. We liked how the order of wings included a side of blue cheese dressing and veggie sticks (they also brought us a side of hot sauce as well). Since the late night menu features a variety of burgers, we all decided on a different one each and share. The Pulled Pork Burger caught my eye and it arrived majestically with a house-made beef patty, pulled pork, jalapenos and red cabbage slaw on a brioche bun. Although the jalapenos basically overwhelmed everything else, I personally didn't mind it. For a change, I could say my burger had lots of flavour. However, the tang from the pickle, red cabbage and jalapenos were a touch overkill with the acidity. The beef patty itself was on the drier side, but the rest of the ingredients made up for it. I found the pulled pork to be moist with a sweet BBQ sauce. Now the best part of this burger as with all of the other ones was the awesome brioche bun. It was soft, not dry and was strong enough to stand up to the ingredients. One of the better brioche buns I've had with a burger in some time. The side of fresh-cut fries was massive and quite good. They were crispy and thin without losing its "potatoness".

I had initially substituted the fries for a Poutine (which they forgot), so I actually ended up with a double order of fries. Okay, I'll put myself out there and say that this poutine was pretty good. First of all, it started with the right base being the fresh-cut fries. Too many places get lazy and use generic frozen fries which essentially ruins the dish regardless of the gravy and cheese curds. And on the topic of gravy and cheese curds, they were solid here. The gravy was thick while not being clumpy and it provided just enough flavour without being salty. To top it off, the cheese curds were fantastic. With only a few melted, we could get that desired "squeak". One of the better poutines we've had in awhile. Emilicious ended up with The Charlie which consisted of BBQ sauce, caramelized onions and Danish blue cheese. I was indifferent with this one because the sweetness of the BBQ sauce and onions really didn't let the sharpness of the blue cheese come through.

Milhouse went for the Lamb Burger with tzatziki, goat's cheese and roasted red pepper. This wasn't bad where the lamb was not that gamy while the tzatziki and goat's cheese made it rich and creamy. Lastly, Gordo had the Bacon Cheeseburger with smoked white cheddar and thick cut bacon. I really liked this one because the bacon was fried until it was super crispy. Combined with the smoky cheddar, this apparently simple burger worked. Despite the dry patties, somehow, we still liked our burgers as well as the fries. It ain't gourmet food, but for late night eats, The Charlatan came through.

The Good:
- It's lively and noisy (in a good way)
- Despite the dry burger patties, the burgers were on the whole pretty good
- The service we got was good

The Bad:
- Depending on your seat, it can be cramped
- We liked the burgers but the patties could've been cooked just a touch less

Full House

*Restaurant is now closed*

My mom reads the Chinese newspaper religiously. Even when she is away on vacation, we have to pick up paper so she won't miss any issues. As such, she often scans the gazillion restaurant advertisements for potential family eats. This time around, she spotted Full House Chinese which had just opened up on Cambie next to New Town Bakery. Some of the set meals (at a discounted price) caught her fancy and suggested we give it try. You know me, I would rarely pass up an eating opportunity, let alone when someone else is paying. However, it was a game night for the Canucks. Food or hockey on TV? Wow, that's like choosing between bacon and tripe. Both are so good! For me at least... Well, not to fear, they actually had the game on at the restaurant to both my surprise and delight.

As mentioned, we went for their set meal for 4 and added an extra dish for the heck of it. We began with the Fish Maw & Crabmeat Soup which was pretty average at best. The fish maw was not soft enough. So much so, it could've passed for pork rinds. Furthermore, Viv thought that the flavour was a touch stale. I didn't think so, but there was certainly a strong fish maw
taste. In terms of the crab meat, we really needed to look hard to find any. But the worst thing of all with the soup was the considerable amount of MSG. The darn soup was so flavourful, it was a dead giveaway that they used too much sodium. Next was the Chef's Special Free Range Chicken which was not bad. There was a decent amount of meat for a generally lean type of chicken. As expected, the meat was on the chewy side, yet not so much that it wasn't easily eaten. The skin was gelatin-like, however, there wasn't any gelatin underneath it. There was a drizzle of wok salt oil on top for flavour and we did appreciate the grated ginger and green onion on the side (which was mostly ginger).

The item we most looked forward to was the Lobster and Vermicelli with Ginger and Green Onion Hot Pot. The whole thing was presented in a large and deep hot pot which housed a modest-sized lobster and a lot of flavourful vermicelli. Although on the drier side, I liked the vermicelli since it was not soaked in sauce and still retained a nice chewiness. It was also seasoned just enough so it didn't suffer the fate of the other dishes. Our extra dish was the Fish and Tofu Hot Pot which arrived sizzling hot. It certainly looked good with large pieces of fried basa and tofu. It had a rich colour and the sauce appeared thick and flavourful. And yes, the sauce was flavourful... with a considerable amount of salt and MSG. When I took a bite into the fish, it was moist and flaky, yet wow... the sodium stung my tongue. I have a high tolerance for salt, but this was far too much. It was too bad really because the fish was cooked right and so was the silky tofu.

Included in the set meal was the Shrimp & BBQ Pork Fried Rice, which we requested to be prepared without green onions. I must give them props for doing so, which they substituted lettuce instead. As for the rice itself, that was a different matter. It was clumpy and many of the grains were broken. Furthermore, it was slightly bland (which was good since everything else was salty). There was no absence of lean BBQ pork and shrimp which made up for the subpar rice. With the Sauteed 3 Kinds of Seafood & Veggies, the MSG/salt monster reared its ugly head once more. When I put one of the basa filets in my mouth, the sodium literally killed my tastebuds. I couldn't taste anything else. Was there a sale on MSG and salt or something? As for the positives, the fish was cooked perfectly as with the squid. The shrimp, however, was a touch soft and didn't have much of a snap to it. The celery and snap peas were good though, vibrant and crunchy.

For our last dish, we had something familiar with a twist. Normally, fried pork chops are accompanied by some sweet and sour sauce. This version was the Pork Chops in Lemon Sauce. Unfortunately, this dish was a fail. First of all, the pork was not tenderized properly, so it was dry and mealy. Secondly, the batter didn't adhere properly and ended up clumping up becoming gummy. Lastly, the sauce had no impact. It was more floral than anything. No zing or zip. Somewhat surprisingly, we were not presented with the standard sweet red bean soup. Rather, we got a Sweet Yam & Ginger Soup with wolfberries. Don't get me wrong here, it wasn't anything mind-blowing, but it was at the very least different and was a much needed counterbalance to the salt content of the entire meal. As you can clearly ascertain, the saltiness of our dinner left a bad taste in our mouths - literally. I was wanting a Super Big Gulp so badly while we were eating! Now I wouldn't classify the food as horrible, yet it was certainly not appealing either. I suppose this would be the type of place for those wanting decent value and don't mind a ton of MSG and salt. For us, it was more of a been there done that, not interested in coming back type of experience.

The Good:
- Fair pricing
- Good portions
- Free parking at the back

The Bad:
- MSG/salt overload
- Food was greasy
- Although service wasn't bad, it was very sparse