King's Chinese Cuisine

*Restaurant is closed*

"Hey, my mom wants to go for Dim Sum tomorrow", Viv yells out from the living room. For the love of... Shoot me now will you. Better yet, just feed me some recalled beef products. That way, with a heavy dose of e-coli, it would give me an excuse not to go. "Oh and she wants to go to Dung Sing Chin again", Viv adds. OMFG. No offense to the place, but must we always go to the same place??? It's either there or Fortune City. I guess they are really set in their ways. As an alternative, I suggested that we try somewhere new or at the very least some place we haven't been to in awhile. Ultimately, my mother-in-law decided to veto almost every restaurant that we could come up with. Excuses ranged from "too far" to "too noisy". WTF? Dim Sum is not Dim Sum without some old lady screaming at the top of her lungs at the next table! Wait, that would just be my mother-in-law at our table... Anyways, I finally threw a hissy-fit that would make Veruca Salt look docile. That, in turn, allowed us to head over to our first choice, which was King's Chinese Cuisine. Apparently a local favourite, their draw is reasonable prices and decent eats.

The kids, Viv and I arrived a bit early which allowed us to snag a table in the relatively small dining room. 15 minutes passed and no sign of the MIL. I was partly annoyed and mostly hungry. I hate watching other people eat. Since the kiddies were hungry, we decided to order first. Well, I was hungry too... Once again, we started with dessert in the Egg Tarts. I realize that it is not as easy as it seems when it comes to food expedition during Dim Sum service. However, it is annoying to eat sweets first. Then again, my kids didn't mind, so what do I know? As for the tarts, the puff pasty was doughy and dense seemingly almost underdone. The egg filling was nice though with a smooth texture and the right amount of sweetness. Deviating from his usual rice noodle rolls and/or rice hot pot, my son actually requested the Fried Taro Dumplings. These were not bad with a good mashed taro-to-
pork filling ratio. However, the pork was slightly dry and pretty bland (as was the taro). At the very least, it wasn't oily and was basically acceptable. Right on cue, my son went back to his old ways and we had to get the Soy-Fried Rice Noodle Rolls. As evidenced in the picture, these were not all that deep in colour nor was there a whole lot of caramelization. The result was pretty much bland rice noodle rolls that needed an extra side of sweet soy. Furthermore, the noodles were missing that pan-fried flavour. Rather, it was as if they had tossed it in luke-warm oil and light soy sauce.

When my MIL finally arrived, she ordered a few of her favourites including the Jellied Chicken Feet. Yes, sounds delish eh? Well, it is more of a textural experience than anything else where the skin and gelatin are usually prepared so there is a certain resistance and snap. The one we had here was a touch on the undercooked side and slightly bland as well. My MIL proceeded to berate our server regarding the dish's deficiencies to our utter horror and embarrassment. Tact is not one of her strengths... Did she really want our food to arrive with "extra" ingredients or worse... "sauce"??? A very good reason to avoid eating out with her. Anyways, another one of her choices was the Deep Fried Smelt tossed in salt, garlic and chilies. This was a pretty decent attempt with lots of smelt with the requisite roe. The batter was slightly heavy, yet not terribly so. Despite the appearance of plenty of chilies and garlic, the dish was actually quite mild tasting and according to Viv, not impactful. I didn't mind it and appreciated the lack of grease.

Moving onto the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll, it was pretty stiff and doughy. The shrimp were pretty small and despite being properly textured, had very little impact. Continuing on the topic of shrimp, the Haw Gow were pretty average. The dumpling skin was wet and gummy while the shrimp/shrimp mousse filling was a touch soft. There was not much in the way of a snap from the shrimp mix. On a positive note, they were large and seasoned properly with a good balance of flavours. On the other hand, the Sui Mai were more of a one-note taste wonder. All I got was sweetness and little in the way of savouriness. The meat was dense and not really all that bouncy in texture. At least it wasn't very fatty, which in theory could've contributed to the dense texture. Furthermore, they were a touch pale looking, which does matter since we eat with our eyes first.

Now something with good texture was the Beef Meatballs. This is not as easy as it appears. Properly textured balls are a work of art. Er... Wait that's a bad analogy, unless we were talking about art history in Europe. Let me rephrase that. To achieve the desired "not-naturally-occurring" bounce meat texture, corn starch and baking soda plus a whole lot of food processing are involved. I'm sure you could in theory bounce one of these meatballs on the ground. Actually, I once dropped a Vietnamese beef meatball and it literally bounced across the kitchen (mind you, that is a totally different texture). Makes you wonder how unnatural that is... Enough of my random blabbering, the beef meatballs here were the proper texture with a good mix of water chestnuts and green onion.

Now if you look at exhibit A, you will find a crime scene of severed Chicken Feet. Yah, I know it is a typical Dim Sum dish, but really, these were terrible. So much so, it resembled more like butchered chicken feet than something we'd want to eat. These were pale and obviously not fried correctly. Usually, chicken feet are fried in all of the old oil because there is no need to use new oil (I bet you didn't want to know this...). Hence the dark colour is a result of that oil. Sometimes you can taste it, if the chicken feet aren't prepared properly. These pathetic things were scrawny and bland. Probably one of the worst versions we've ever had.

Okay, I'll admit it. I am a glutton for punishment. Why? Well, why else would I order Xiao Long Bao at a Cantonese Dim Sum service? It could be plain stupidity as well... Whatever the case, we had low expectations. These XLBs pretty much met those expectations with very little soup (which was more like melted fat). Furthermore, the meat filling was one-note in flavour (pork tasting) without any ginger hit. However, the dumpling skin wasn't too thick nor was the meat too gritty. Therefore, for what it was, it was a decent dumpling (just not an XLB). For our filler item, we got the Sparerib Rice which included another chicken foot and a stalk of yau choy. There was a good amount of meaty pork spareribs on top, however, they were on the softer side with little chew. They were well-seasoned without being salty. The rice was mostly dry and chewy except for a few wet spots.

Lastly, we got the Shrimp Spring Rolls because he loves the fried wrapper. Yes, he doesn't prefer the filling so much. Well, there wasn't much issue here since the spring roll had barely any shrimp inside. And the ones that we found were completely lost in the crunchy wrapper. If they were going to be so skimpy with the shrimp, they should've just offered a regular spring roll consisting of veggies and pork. At the very least, the rolls were not greasy. As you can clearly ascertain, the Dim Sum at King's was pretty hit and miss. Of course, with such a small restaurant, it would be unfair to expect top notch Dim Sum. With that being said, we've been to some small places (such as Good Choice) and they've been better. Yet, with reasonable prices and decent service, King's serves their local clientele well.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Hit and miss
- A bit dark inside

Dim Sum @ Gingeri

Whenever Goose is back in town, he often suggests that we head for Dim Sum. However, it usually means a visit to Victoria Seafood Restaurant at Royal Centre. Hey, I don't mind the place and in fact, that was the place Viv and I held our wedding banquet. On the other hand, with sentimental thoughts put aside, there are better choices to be found in the GVRD. So I proactively suggested we try some place different, particularly in Richmond. Richmond? Why? Well, it is the mecca of Chinese food in the Lower Mainland after all. That almost negates the driving issues... Almost... Since we had to pay Toys R Us a visit anyways, I figured Gingeri would be our best bet. We had made a reservation which more or less we got it on time. A major feat for any Chinese restaurant I might add (for Dim Sum service that is).

So what did we start with? The Egg Tarts of course! Dessert? Hey, it's a new fad, reverse eating. You must try it sometime. Instead of a appetizer, why not a lava cake or a baklava? Of course I'm kidding, but then again, we've seen stranger food trends... You see, in a Chinese restaurant, food expedition (especially during Dim Sum) is pretty random. Sort of whatever is ready goes out of the kitchen. Anyways, the Egg Tarts were not exactly my cup of tea (pardon the pun considering Dim Sum is AKA "yum cha" or drink tea). The tart shells were more of the butter doughy type rather than the puff pastry version. Hence it was denser and to me at least, did not go with the soft egg custard. Too bad really since the custard was silky and not too sweet. Next up were the Rice Noodle Rolls (we got one each of the Shrimp, Beef and Ja Leun). The rice noodle was soft while not sticky nor loose. Each roll was neatly prepared with plenty of filling. The large shrimp had a good snap as well as exhibiting a natural sweetness. I particularly liked the beef filling as it was soft, yet still meaty. The salty donut in the ja leun was crisp and went really well with the soft noodle. It was too bad the darn thing was so small that we had to get 2 orders.

Something that I normally do not prefer in Haw Gow are bamboo shoots. I don't think they add much in texture since they get limp in the cooking process. Furthermore, when not prepared correctly, the smell and flavour of bamboo shoots overwhelm the delicate shrimp. Well, apparently, they did a fine job here since there was no stinky aroma from the bamboo shoots despite its obvious existence in the shrimp filling. In fact, the shrimp and shrimp mousse filling were sweet with the essence of sesame oil. The texture had a snap while the dumpling skin had good elasticity. On the other hand, the Sui Mai were not as successful. They were pale and full of chewy pork which did not have any bounce or snap. This could've partially been attributed by the use of lean meat and not much in the way of added fat either. With the lack of fat, meager amount of shiitake mushroom and the some conservative seasoning, the dumplings were pretty bland too.

Much like the beef filling in the rice noodle roll, the Beef Meatballs were just as good (probably because they originated from the same mix). There was a good bounce texture combined with a level of meatiness. The water chestnuts added a nice crunch and brightness to the well-seasoned meat. Another solid dish was the Black Bean Spareribs. Despite the fact you'd need a search party to find the black beans, there was plenty of flavour in the form of garlicky savouriness. As evidenced in the picture, most of the rib pieces were attached to bone which are the best parts. The meat was slightly on the chewier side yet still easily eaten with little effort. Something I really liked was the puffed tofu at the bottom which soaked up all the flavours (and fat). I know it ain't rocket science, but something other than pumpkin made it interesting.

Now for an epic fail - the Phoenix Talons (chicken feet). For those familiar with this dish, if you look closely, it is obvious that the chicken feet were not fried properly. They were so under-fried, they could've passed for boiled if not for its colour. Hence, the skin was hard and the cartilage underneath was inedible. The only saving grace was the abundance of flavour from the black beans and jalapeno peppers. Normally, the Shrimp Mousse Stuffed Eggplant is fried and then laced with a black bean & bell pepper sauce. The version here was tempura-battered and fried. As a finishing touch, it was dusted with chili garlic wok salt. This was pretty good. Due to the batter, the eggplant remained very moist as well as the shrimp mousse. Hence there was a wonderful textural contrast between the crispy exterior and the moist ingredients. The chili garlic wok salt was aromatic and flavourful. It complimented the sweetness of the shrimp.

Normally, we get at least one offal item, however, when there is the Offal Hot Pot, we go big or don't bother. Who can resist a whole pot of lung, tripe, tendon and spleen??? Although it is generally a good idea to braise the meats until tender, this was taken a bit too far here. Most of the pieces were far too soft. It was a big bowl of mushy offal. The tendon and tripe were particularly textureless. At the very least, the seasoning was good with a surprising hit of spiciness. Okay, onto something more universally appealing - the Shrimp Spring Rolls. No offal in here! In fact, these were fantastic. They were crisp, not greasy and full of whole shrimp. Great texture on the shrimp as well as a nice crunch from the addition of wood ear mushrooms. To top it off, there was plenty of seasoning in the form of garlic and a good balance of salt combined with the natural sweetness of the shrimp.

Lastly, we got a filler dish to ensure our fullness. We ordered off the regular menu and ended up with the House Special Fried Noodles. This was served with the fried noodles separate from the ingredients and sauce. The premise behind this was to keep the noodles crisp. However, this was a moot point since the noodles were not all that crispy. Rather, they were greasy and lacking the slightly burnt noodle ends that we are accustomed to. Oily noodles withstanding, the sauce with all of the ingredients was very good. It consisted of BBQ pork, sliced chicken thigh, shrimp, basa, squid, scallops, sliced carrots and yau choy.

I actually left out 3 items from the meal which were some buns and the pan-fried noodle rolls. Just too much to talk about. However, I'm sure you get the gist of it from all the aforementioned food in this blog post. Generally, Dim Sum at the Gingeri is solid with only a few exceptions. Now, you can look at it 2 ways. For the relatively higher prices here, one would expect no duds. On the other hand, we can take the position that there will never be perfect meals, consequently, if over 75% of the food is good, then it is a good meal. For me, I happen to agree with the latter.

The Good:
- Our reservation was somewhat close to being honoured (which is a success in a Chinese restaurant)
- Food is above-average
- Plenty of parking and waiting in the mall for your table is a bonus

The Bad:
- Prices are higher than average
- Service wasn't bad, yet it was rushed too

Thai Away Home

As we ate at the now defunct Sala Thai (now U & I Thai) on Cambie many years ago, a much smaller Thai restaurant caught our eye from across the street. "Thai Away Home" eh? We wondered what that was all about - a takeout fast food Thai restaurant? I guess we kept wondering for the next 13 years because we never tried it out. Don't get me wrong, we weren't avoiding the place, it just never happened. However, an invite from their social media manager lead to our eventual visit. Consistent with its namesake, the place is mainly takeout with only a few seats (think along the same lines as Hawker's Delight). When we took a look at the menu, the prices looked quite reasonable, in particular, their combos. Taking a peak at the other tables in the place, portion sizes seemed respectable as well. I ended up pulling a Mijune somewhat by ordering 4 dishes plus one appy and one dessert. She is a bad influence for sure!

The first dish to arrive was the Chicken Cashew consisting of stir-fried chicken, vegetables & cashews in a spicy sauce. Okay, to preface my comments, Viv and I love spicy food and our tolerance is quite high. Hence, when we say something isn't spicy enough, it could be plenty for others. With that out of the way, we thought this dish was more sweet than spicy. However, it was pretty good with crisp veggies and tender chicken. When the Chicken Satay showed up, it looked like it had been fried and grilled. A shortcut? Perhaps, but in the end, the chicken was sufficiently moist and meaty with a crispy exterior. The peanut dip was somewhat sweet while not being overbearing. Even before we dug into the Pad Thai, the smell of ketchup filled the air. For those who prefer the tamarind version, you're out of luck. For myself, I can handle either type as long as it tastes good. People have to realize that a restaurant is a business and is most interested in catering to their target market. With that being said, I personally like the tamarind version more, so this was a bit too ketchupy for me. However, the noodles were cooked up nicely with big chunks of fried tofu, shrimp, crisp sprouts, egg and ground peanuts.

Moving onto the curries, we had the Chicken Green Curry first. Immediately, we noticed that the coconut milk had slightly separated. This was probably the result of adding it in when the temperature was too high. Despite this, it did not affect the end product. It was more of an aesthetic issue. The green curry had a nice aromatic coconut milk consistency where it wasn't too thick nor too thin. We really got a sense of the shrimp paste along with a slight hint of heat. The eggplant slices were oil-blanched perfectly where they retained their shape while being super tender. The chicken was slightly on the drier side, yet was not tough to eat. The Beef Penang Curry was advertised as the spiciest of the available curries and it did exhibit a touch of heat. Again, our tolerance to spice should be taken into account. What we consider mild may be spicy to some. Otherwise, the flavour profile of the dish was fine as it was neither too sweet nor bland. The beef was not super tender, yet it wasn't chewy either. This was fine because we weren't eating a Chinese dish (where the meat would've been baking-soda'd to death).

Lastly, we noticed some posters plastered on the walls advertising the Sticky Rice & Mango dessert. We gave it a shot and it was mosty good. The tart mango was fresh and went well with the sweeten coconut milk. However, the sticky rice seemed to be rushed in its preparation. Therefore, it was dry and hard. In the end, Viv still liked the dessert for the flavour more than anything else. Now, from reading this blog post, you might get the sense we were being a bit picky. Yes, it's true. Hey, we eat a lot of Asian food, we can't help it. But, Viv and I both agreed that Thai Away Home serves its target clientele successfully with reasonable prices, decent portions and unoffensive food. Sure, there are some shortcuts taken, yet I don't think the steady stream of customers (while we were there) really minded it at all. *This meal was comped*

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good portions
- Friendly people

The Bad:
- There are some shortcuts taken (but forgivable given the type of operation)

Anatolia's Gate

There have been certain restaurants that have been left sitting on my "to eat at" list from the very beginning of this blog. Due to its location and operating hours, Anatolia's Gate has never been an eating destination after Friday hockey. I've had to endure the "you haven't eaten there before???" query for the past 3 years regarding this place. On a side note, how many people can claim to have eaten everywhere and never be asked that question? I digress... So with an 11:30pm game looming, Gordo suggested we eat before the game instead of after. That was a pretty good idea considering the fact we could finally make it out to Anatolia's. However, we would learn later this was not the ideal meal to have before a hockey game...

I sent out an email and in addition to Gordo, Milhouse, Sweet Tooth and Bear was able to join us for some pre-game eats. Now, I'm not going to pretend I know much about Turkish food because I don't. I've never been to Turkey and with the lack of Turkish restaurants in town, the only thing I know is that it is a hybrid of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. We ended up sharing a bunch of items beginning with the Mixed Plate consisting of Chemen, Eggplant Salad, Hummus, Barbunya, Babaghannush, Stuffed Grape Leaves and Olives. We got a Whole Wheat Lavash to share as part of our meal. At first, we were concerned that it would be tough and chewy since it was made of whole wheat. Our fears were alleviated once we took a sample of the soft, slightly chewy texture (with a slight crispiness on the outside). This was so good on its own, yet went well with everything else too. Sweet Tooth spent a whole month in Turkey which made her our resident expert at the table. She took the least amount of time deciding what to order, selecting the Beef Iskender. This version was slightly different than the ones she had in Turkey, yet we didn't mind since it was tasty. Although it wasn't exactly juicy, the combination of yogurt and tomato sauce moistened up the dry beef. It had lots of meat flavour and went well with the lavash underneath.

Gordo went for the Chicken Curry and it was essentially grilled chicken kebabs with a curry sauce on top. The curry was spicy with a definite coriander and cumin hit along with the typical turmeric colouring. The chicken was relatively moist being in big chunks. This wasn't bad as it went well with the nicely textured rice and the lavash. Milhouse randomly chose the Chicken Filet with Cheese and it was probably our least favourite item. He took the blame but really, how could he have known? The chicken breast was pretty dry and even the abundance of melted cheese couldn't help the cause. The peppers and mushrooms on top were pretty good, however, the dish was not all that flavourful. While I was munching on the chicken, I could not stop thinking that it resembled something out of a Lean Cuisine box. That's not an insult, it was the thing that popped into my mind.

Lastly, Bear went for the Mixed Plate consisting of Chicken Shish, Lamb Chop and the turd-looking thing in the front, Adana Kebab. This was ample meat for one dish and for one person, could be quite filling. Despite its appearance, the Adana Kebab was quite good. The meat was moist and well-seasoned with onion and spices. It could've used a bit more charring though. The chicken was exactly like the ones from the curry (without the curry of course). As for the lamb chop, it was forgettable. It was fatty, chewy and pretty pale. Sure, the lamb wasn't that good and neither was the chicken with cheese. However, the food was something out-of-the ordinary and satisfying. In a city that boasts some of the best Asian food in the world, it is nice to find something else to eat, even if there is nothing really to compare it with.

The Good:
- Something different
- Good portions
- Loved the lavash

The Bad:
- Meats are somewhat dry (but then again, can't compare with Asian cooking)
- Although we thought the value was there, it is not exactly cheap either

Chutney Villa

Normally, when I get an invite from a restaurant, it would either involve myself eating alone or possibly inviting one guest. Sounds about right because what can one expect (most independent places don't have deep pockets)? However, some types of cuisines call for more than 2 people to fully appreciate the diversity of the menu. Of course, any type of food can be shared, if you really wanted to, but some are just meant to be shared. Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Indian immediately come to mind. There are too many to list them all. So when I got an email inviting me to try out the food at Chutney Villa, it got me thinking. You see, I rarely if ever, get an invite from an Asian restaurant. Therefore, I don't often have this dilemma: eating all by myself and ending up trying like a couple of dishes (which I can't finish anyways). That just wouldn't be right or fair to the restaurant. I certainly couldn't write a blog post that would be reflective of the food. So I did something that I've never done before - ask if I could bring a few more guests. Not only did they think it was a great idea, they thought only a few didn't cut it. Thus, I got a grand total of 6 more people to eat with me. Who to invite though? Well Mijune was a no-brainer because she could bat clean-up. I got Viv since she would've killed me otherwise. Miss Y was game and so was Mijune's sister and boyfriend.

For those who are unaware, Chutney Villa is a Southern Indian/Sri Lankan restaurant. Okay, what's the big deal? Well, most of the Indian restaurants in the Lower Mainland are Northern, in particular representing the Punjabi region. Hence, we get the usual naan + rice + curry (such as butter chicken, tandoori chicken and lamb rogan josh). Southern Indian food features more seafood and of course the dosa. Therefore, it is less about the curries and more about other things that we normally do not associate with Indian food. To start things off, we were presented with an array of appetizers. The first one we tried was the Manga Thenga Sundal which consisted of onion, coconut and chickpeas. This was an aromatic and sweet concoction which I liked but did not love. It probably had something to do with my bias towards non-meat dishes. Viv liked this appie the most, so I guess it depends on personal preference. With that being said, it was pleasant enough to eat though.

Now for my favourite appie - the Nandu Puttu which was a mix of crab, coconut, ginger, mustard seed, fennel seeds and onion. I absolutely loved this dish (yes, because there was meat as well). The fluffy crab was sweet and well, crab tasting. There was some spice to go along with the crunch of the seeds and aromatics of the shredded coconut. I could've eaten the whole thing myself it hadn't been for the gazillion other dishes that were served. Moving along, we had the Chicken 65 next presented on a cast iron plate. This was a combination of fried chicken morsels with red onion, pepper and basil. They used dark meat which resulted in a moist and flavourful nugget. It was only mildly spicy and it took on the aromatics of the peppers and onions. The Aachi Varuval (fried cauliflower in a peppery rice & lentil batter) was something I really wanted to compare with Nuba's crispy cauliflower. Alas, this would be like comparing apples to oranges. However, I couldn't get it out of my mind since the ones here were a touch dense due to the heavier lentil flour. Other than that, it was still crispy and the cauliflower had a stiff texture (which is good, mushy is not what you want). Our last appie was the Era Varuval or fried spiced prawns. These did not have any batter on them other than the spice rub which resembled tandoori while at the same time saltier. I actually found these to be overly salty. Mijune didn't think so since she has a higher tolerance to sodium. Other than the salt content, I like the prawns. They had a nice snap and were very flavourful. A squirt of lime brought a bit of balance to the flavours though.

By now, I was pretty full from just the appetizers! Then a a big plate of Paratha (South Indian-style of course) showed up. Much like a roti, this was our carbs that went with the upcoming main dishes. By appearance alone, the paratha was appealing with a nice crisp exterior that was beautifully browned. It was chewy in a good kind of way and had a underlying sweetness. Onto the mains, we were presented with the Chicken Biryani consisting of 3 chicken drumsticks and a hard-boiled egg nestled in perfectly cooked rice. The rice was chewy and hit the sweet spot between dry and moist. I found the flavours to be slightly muted except for the strong aromatic coconut hit. Although there was plenty of chicken, it was slightly dry. As for the egg, it was overcooked with a dark ring around the yolk.

Arriving on a large platter was the Madras Lamb Curry. This could've been ordered a la carte or as a Thali (which you see here). Along with rice and papadum, there was pachadi (which is similar to raita), sambar, side veg, rasam, dessert and vadai (hidden underneath the papadum). As for the lamb curry, it was like a visit to flavour town where the lamb was moist and tender with a spicy and zesty kick. The masala exhibited many layers of flavour including ginger and of course cumin. Something we don't see much in Northern Indian cuisine is seafood, but for the South, that is a different story due to their proximity to the ocean. Hence, we got some blue crab in what they call the Deluxs Special. The crab was laced with black pepper, fresh coconut, fennel, chillies & curry leaves. There was a lingering spice which was quite pleasant (and not stinging). We also sensed a good deal of ginger which also added another layer of flavour. Now the spices were good, but since the crab was obviously not live, the flesh was soft and not that fluffy. That hindered my appreciation for this dish somewhat.

We'd already had lamb, but then we were presented with something a bit more "mature" with the Mutton Devilled which is a Ceylon (Sri Lankan) specialty consisting of mutton with red onions, red pepper and spices. Since the meat is from sheep, mutton is typically tougher than lamb. However, they did a good job cooking the meat here where it was tender. Big hits of cumin and peppers complimented the mild heat of the spices. With all this meat, it was time for a vegetarian dish in the form of eggplant. Yet another Ceylon specialty, the Katrika Pall Curry consisted of eggplant with coconut milk and subtle spices (the most obvious being turmeric for the colour). The curry was smooth and indeed mild. There were the usual flavours combined with the rich coconut milk. I liked how the eggplant was cooked all the way through without becoming a mushy mess.

Now Southern Indian cuisine wouldn't be complete without a Dosa would it? We were presented with a Masala Dosa stuffed with potatoes, peas and carrots. Sambar was served on the side. For those unfamiliar with a dosa, it is a rolled rice and lentil flour crepe usually filled (or can be eaten plain) with potatoes or a meat curry. The dosa here was pretty good where the crepe was crisp and light. The filling was pretty standard with soft potatoes laced with spicy curry. By now, I was lolly-gagging my way through the meal. However, Mijune was eating away like she had been stranded on an island for the last month. Wilson! Wait, that's Tom Hanks... Anyways, to my utter surprise, we were presented with the Chicken Kothu Rotti. I looked at it with confusion. I've never had this dish before, but Mijune apparently had - as she took time away from her chewing to explain it to us. She described it as their version of the Chinese "Gon Chow Ngau Ho" (stir-fried rice noodles). Naturally, it wasn't exactly the same thing, but we got the idea. Instead of noodles, they used shredded Paratha with egg, chicken and spices. I found it to be dense and doughy, yet in a good kind of way. There was a good balance of sweetness to go with the savoury and spice.

As we were eating, I had made the comment that since we had the vadai, the only thing missing was the Idli. I should have kept my mouth shut, as they heard me and voila, an order of Idli (with a side of sambar) showed up on the table. These rice and lentil flour steamed cakes are reminiscent of Chinese steamed rice flour buns. These were fluffy and nicely prepared. Normally, one would dip the idli into the sambar much like grilled cheese into tomato soup. However, I like putting chutney onto mine. We were actually supplied with 4 different Chutneys at the beginning of the meal (hey their name is Chutney Villa after all!). Clockwise from the bottom, we had the coconut, apple, spicy onion and peach. I really liked the coconut as it was spicy, gingery and aromatic. Also, this is the one normally served with an idli. My second favourite was the spicy onion as it had a kick and curry hit. The sweet chutneys were good, but for me, I liked the savoury-spicy ones more.

Lastly, we had dessert in the form of Gulab Jamun, Mango Ice Cream and Kesari. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of gulab jamun, so I didn't have any. Therefore, I'm going to focus on the most interesting one in the Kesari, which is a combination of flour, ghee (clarified butter), cashews and sugar. The orange tinge is thanks to some food colouring. This was doughy in a buttery way and bearably sweet. The roasted cashews helped with texture and added a nice flavour (although, I'm not a huge fan of doughy sweets). After all these dishes, we were pretty satisfied with most of them. Naturally, if I had come here myself without the invitation, it would've been unrealistic to try so many dishes. With that in mind, there were very few things we didn't like as a table. The food was both flavourful and interesting since we don't get a whole lot of Southern Indian food in Vancouver. *Please note the meal was comped*

The Good:
- Something a bit different from most other Indian restaurants
- Flavours were varied and balanced

The Bad:
- As with any meal, some things were better than others (but that is normal)
- Although the flavours were pretty good, we could've used a touch more spice