Toyotomi

It is Summer right? So what's with the rain and cold weather??? When has Summer become a 3-week season in Vancouver? Well, that was the case the day of our Monday softball game. It was raining all day with no signs of letting up. Was there going to be a game or not? Apparently yes. For myself, it was a bit iffy anyways due to my concussion. I tried playing one inning and the running did me in. My headache returned and hence, I had to shut it down. That really sucks. No hockey and now no softball. Well, at the very least, there was food afterwards. Due to Fall in July, we took advantage and decided to hot pot it. Once again, our close proximity to Richmond (we played at Oak Park), we headed over to Toyotomi. I must note that the place isn't the most obvious location for a restaurant as it is on the bottom floor of an apartment complex. Whatever the case, they have free parking and the price of their AYCE hot pot is only $14.99.

Their AYCE menu needed a bit of deciphering as it had grey-out sections which only apply if we paid a $6.00 surcharge. Therefore, it really depends on what one wants which would ultimately determine the bottom line. Moreover, the menu is an eclectic mix of unrelated food as well. There were the usual hot pot items, yet there were things like Chicken Nuggets, Fries and Onion Rings as well. Good for the kiddies I suppose??? These were pretty standard stuff that looked like frozen Costco products (which is not necessarily a bad thing for this type of restaurant). Wait, there was more fried goodness in the form of Fried Tofu and Fried Mochi. The fried tofu had a weird texture akin to fish cake while the fried mochi wasn't bad. It was not too dense and only semi-sweet. The strange combination of offerings continued with the Beef Tataki. Despite the large slices of meat, they were tender and bathed in a balanced sweet, tart and salty dressing.

Since we were there after 9:00pm, we were afforded the opportunity to have 2 pieces of sashimi per person (which totaled 16 pieces). We went for the Spicy Tuna and Salmon Sashimi which arrived in a scallop shell on ice. It was nice to see that they practiced food safe here as the ice kept cool things cold (including the hot pot items). As for the fish, it was pretty standard with nothing amiss. Now the spicy sauce was another story. It was some thick, syrupy concoction which was not spicy at all. Not sure what it was, but the more suitable name would be sweet sticky sashimi. As mentioned, the Hot Pot Ingredients were put on ice. It actually all arrived in a large oyster shell-shaped plate. There was a mix of fish cake, dumplings, frozen tofu, fish balls, pork intestines, wood ear mushrooms, fresh ramen, instant noodle, soba, rice cake, tripe, wood ear mushroom, edamame, sui choy and watercress. Nothing seemed amiss and everything did what it was supposed to. Due to the low price of the hot pot at Toyotomi, they could be excused for not having freshly made meatballs nor dumplings.

We had 4 choices of meat which we promptly ordered. It arrived on one plate with the Lean Beef in the front, Chicken to the right, Fatty Beef on the top and Vegetarian Pork in the back. As you can tell, the fatty beef was well-marbled. If you don't like beef fat, don't order this. However, when boiled, it was buttery and tender. The lean beef was predictably less tender and more dry. The chicken had a good amount of fat which kept it moist (not to mention it was dark meat too). The vegetarian pork was well, vegetarian pork. Enough said. For our choice of broth, we decided to go for half and half of the Japanese Pork Bone Soup and the Spicy Broth. The pork bone soup was exactly that with a large bone peeking out from the boiling liquid. It was mild. The spicy broth lived up to its namesake with a considerable kick while not destroying our tastebuds either.

Hey, this was a pretty decent hot pot for the money. There were no real surprises, other than the weird mix of food, and we were all satisfied at the end. There are very few places that have such a low starting price for AYCE, so Toytomi represents value, not necessarily outstanding eats. The one thing that really impressed us was the attentive service. They were always checking on us and even gave the kiddies at the table a complimentary box of Pocky each. Hey when someone gives you free Pocky, it's a good day.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Attentive service
- Clean washrooms

The Bad:
- Pretty standard AYCE stuff, don't have too high expectations

Palki Indian Restaurant

Okay. Why are people so desperate to score a goal in pickup hockey that they would do it at all costs? For the 3rd straight week, someone had crashed the crease in search of that goal which will put them into the NHL. The by-product? My second concussion of the year. Thus, I never got to finish the game and afterwards, I wasn't in the mood to go very far for eats. It's funny how we play Sunday morning hockey at Brit and always drive somewhere for eats afterwards. Why? Well, there are some pretty good places to visit right under our noses. A block away, there is the Drive, where an eclectic array of eats await us. Finally, I suggested we just walk over and pick a place. Well, not really. I had somewhere in mind already and there was no choice. Call it a friendly dictatorship... In the past, I was alerted to a place called Palki Indian Restaurant. I figured it would be a good opportunity to finally see what it was all about.

With JuJu and Milhouse joining me for eats, I figured we'd do 3 lunch specials only. Well, we did order 3 specials, but with JuJu around, that would surely not be enough. Hence we started with a few items including the Shrimp Pakora. These were not as crunchy as we would've liked, but that's not saying they weren't good. The overall texture was pleasing and despite the amount of batter, it wasn't doughy nor greasy. Flavourwise, they were quite mild with a sprinkle of cumin on top. Three condiments were served on the side which included hot sauce, tamarind chutney and mint chutney. The hot sauce was quite spicy and I thought it went the best with the pakoras. Our second "appie" was half a Tandoori Chicken. It arrived on a truly sizzling hot plate (sometimes it is for show, this one was HOT). The pieces of chicken were large and moist, including the white meat. The flavour was mildly spicy (we had requested medium) with a smokiness from the good char.

As mentioned, we also ordered 3 of their lunch specials which included naan and rice. We ended up sharing them of course (just how I like it!). With more meat than sauce, the Butter Chicken was definitely a bit different than I am used to. The pieces of chicken seemed to be randomly cut into large chunks which made it hard to access the sauce. Usually, it is the other way around where there is far too much sauce and no chicken. Trust me, we weren't complaining about the generous amount of meat, it just could've been in smaller chunks. As for the sauce, it was a bit more on the tomatoey side, yet not tart. In fact, the flavours were a bit muted and it could've stood for more salt. I am not going to comment on the spice level as we had requested medium (I personally would've asked for spicy).

The Lamb Curry was equally full of large chunks of meat. However, they were in a more manageable size. The meat was moist and tender while the curry was mild with a noticeable anise flavour. We loved the consistency of the sauce as it was the perfect thickness. Lastly, the Chicken Korma was aromatic and smooth. Once again, there were large pieces of chicken which were sufficiently moist. The sauce was thick and balanced with a natural sweetness. With that being said, the flavours could've been more amped (and this is taking into consideration that it was medium). Although the Naan was pale in appearance, the non-visible side (which goes on the walls of the tandoor were nicely charred and crisp. The interior of the naan was soft and chewy. Due to the amount of food we ordered as well as the portion size, we probably ate more than was necessary for lunch (JuJu doesn't understand this concept). In terms of food quality, it wasn't bad considering its location. Flavours could've been more bold, but that was partly our fault for requesting medium spice.

The Good:
- Large portions with lots of meat
- Friendly service
- Nice dining space

The Bad:
- Flavours were muted

Ji Sushi

*Restaurant is now closed*

Boy, we haven't done AYCE Japanese for the longest time. I guess it is for the best since it is generally not the best way to experience the cuisine. At the same time, it does serve a purpose and as long as expectations are reasonable, it can be okay. Well, the purpose this time was Kaiser Soze's birthday. After Sunday hockey, we decided to treat him for lunch. In this case, he could eat as much as he liked while our costs were controlled. LOL... We're cheap! The nearest one we could think of was Ji Sushi out on Broadway at Cambie. Located in the former Rasputin, Ji Sushi doesn't really have a "lunch" AYCE. Rather, it is referred to as "Happy Hour". For $11.95, the AYCE menu is pretty limited, yet okay considering everything.

Milhouse, JuJu and I arrived before Kaiser Soze and Beebs, but that didn't stop us from ordering food. Poor etiquette yes. 3 hungry men after hockey = no etiquette. Now things didn't get off to a great start. Something as simple as Miso Soup should be at the very least be decent. Not this one. It was cold. The Gomae was okay though. The spinach had a nice texture while the addition of sesame seeds was welcomed. The dreaded "sauce" was pretty sweet though. Again, something as simple as a Green Salad should be minimally edible. Well, the lettuce was fine but the significant pool of water at the bottom not only washed out the flavours, it just looked plain wrong. The Ebi Sunomono was a bit sweet, yet otherwise okay.

Moving onto the Beef Teriyaki, it was clumpy and dry. There wasn't too much sauce which didn't help things texturally, but at the very least, it wasn't too sweet nor salty. The Chicken Teriyaki was tender and fried crispy on the outside. Pretty typical AYCE version of the dish. Next up were the Chicken Katsu and Tonkatsu which seemingly looked the same and tasted like it had the same sauce (which didn't resemble Tonkatsu sauce in any way). Both were overcooked, yet very crunchy. On the topic of crunchy, the Chicken Karaage was crisp while juicy inside. They were well-seasoned too. As for the Gyoza, they were decent. The dumpling skin was not too thick and was fried up nicely. The meat was a bit loose though. The Fried "Scallops" (pollack), were good for what they were, yet the Fried Gyoza were essentially fried wontons without much filling.

The Nigiri, Cones and Maki Sushi were pretty average with bland rice (which had a decent texture though) and thinly cut fish. I guess the best description would be "passable". The Tempura was thickly battered and overcooked. Not sure why Gordo ordered the Beef Udon, but it was alright, but the soup was tasteless. Yet, at the end of the day, it was an AYCE Japanese lunch and we should not expect too much. At the same time, there are acceptable AYCEs and not-so-good AYCEs. This would fall into the latter.

The Good:
- Service is okay
- Cheap

The Bad:
- Food is below-average

Ken's Chinese (ChineseBites Dinner)

Another Thursday means yet another ChineseBites meal. Hey, I ain't complaining. A comped meal is nothing to laugh at, especially when you are allowed to order whatever you want. That was the case at Ken's Chinese, where, in addition to featuring their signature award-winning dishes, we were let loose on the menu. Personally, I think that is the best way to evaluate the food at a restaurant since most people order what they want (rather than a predetermined menu). Actually, the ultimate method is just to try EVERYTHING on the menu (actually, we practically did that at Kibo), but alas, Mijune wasn't around... As usual, the eating crew consisted of myself along with Kevin, Rick, Alvin, Grace, Romina and Janice as well as our host Raymond.

We started with their CRA-winning Golden Dungeness Crab which was fried and then tossed in a coating consisting of salted duck egg yolk. Certainly an interesting visual and an even more interesting taste. The best way to describe the flavour would be an egginess with an underlying mild saltiness. Definitely not a flavour explosion, more like a slow rumble. It was certainly prepared nicely and fine to eat, but I'm not sure if I would classify it as a winning dish in my opinion. Next up was their other CRA dish being the Lobster with Konyaku Hot Pot. This was an almost perfectly prepared dish (nothing is perfect remember!). The lobster was meaty and fried just enough with a well-balanced sauce that had the right mix of salty and sweet. On the other hand, the sauce was a touch greasy and I really couldn't understand why adding some konyaku could make this another CRA-winning dish. Still, bottom line - it was a tasty offering.

Getting past the signature dishes, we were able to sample quite a few items off their regular menu. The first to arrive was the Free-Range Chicken. The chicken was mostly moist and tender with the trademark chewiness consistent with this type of poultry. I found it to be on the saltier side which meant it was fine eaten plain (without the condiment). The skin was a beautiful golden yellow and was gelatinous and appealing. There was also a nice layer of gelatin beneath it. Something that one would not necessarily associate a typical Chinese restaurant was the Grilled Rack of Lamb with Black Pepper Sauce. You see, Ken's also doubles as a Hong Kong-style cafe of sorts because they offer an array of dishes which are consistent with that type of restaurant. Now, if you look at the picture, I can honestly say that it was plated far nicer than what was shown in the menu picture. The lamb was fantastic. It was moist and tender with a nice caramelizing sear on the outside. I suspect that the lamb was tenderized, yet it didn't compromise the end product. The black pepper sauce was peppery and full of flavour.

The dish that I had my eye on and proceeded to order as my choice, was the Stewed Pork Hock with Peanuts. This arrived with an attractive shade of brown which looked rich and full of depth. The pork hock was moist and the fat was gelatinous. It lived up to its appearance with a rich flavour of brown sugar sweetened dark soy. Normally, I am not a huge fan of peanuts in any of my food, but these worked here. They had a soft texture and soaked up the stewing liquid. Another similar item was the Stewed Oxtail which was less successful in my opinion. The biggest issue was that the whole dish was not prepared in one shot. Rather, the oxtail and veggies were combined with the sauce after the fact. Hence, the carrots and peppers were still quite firm and did not take on any of the flavour properties of the stewing liquid. Interestingly, the cubed daikon was pretty salty and was obviously boiled before being added. The oxtail itself was in large pieces and could've used a touch more stewing. It was not chewy or hard per se, it just didn't detach from the bone as easily as I would've liked.

The most sinful dish of the meal was the Dong Bao Yewk or stewed pork belly. Naturally, the darn thing was super fatty, yet due to its preparation, the thing melted in our mouths. And I really mean that. The slow and low braising process rendered the fat into something that was easily eaten and forgotten as to what it was. The sauce was a good combination of rich sweetness (from the use of brown sugar) and saltiness (from the soy sauces) with a definite hint of rice wine. On that note, the sauce could've been even more rich (but that might not be possible considering the amount of time it is required to do so). Now for our next dish, it was all me. Really it was. When we were looking over the menu, I noticed that they had the prototypical "choose your meats" mixed grill meal a la HK-style cafe. Of course, I was drawn to the Ox Tongue... I asked if anyone wanted any tongue and that drew the usual snickering and weird looks. I was serious though and I requested an order of it with a serving of tongue for everyone! Laced in the same black pepper sauce as the lamb, the tongue was moist and tender. Oh yes it was... I took charge and offered it to everyone. Too bad it wasn't a beurre blanc sauce, then it would've been French tongue!

Romina was a bit worried with the high meat content of the meal and ordered our only vegetable dish being the Four Seasons Green Beans. The beans were still crunchy laced with enough tender ground pork, garlic, chili flakes, preserved vegetable and seasoning to create an impact. Lastly, we had the Dried Scallop and Salmon Roe Rice. The rice was pretty dry with some hard pieces. The copious amount of dried scallop added both flavour and aromatics (yet there could've been more seasoning). Interestingly, I enjoyed the regular items more than the signature dishes. That's not to say they weren't good though. All-in-all, the food was mostly properly prepared and seasoned.

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

The Good:
- Generally good execution
- Lots of variety, including HK-style cafe options
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- Is it just me, or are the CRA signature dishes overrated?

Cora Breakfast & Lunch

Usually going out for breakfast and eating healthy cannot be used in the same sentence. Take Denny's Lumberjack Slam for example: 2 buttermilk pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, 2 bacon strips, ham steak, hashbrowns and toast. Or if you even just kick it down a notch, try The Red Wagon's Crisp Pork Belly with 2 eggs, home fries, Hollandaise and toast. Defibrillator better be nearby! So when Cora Breakfast and Lunch finally made it out to the Westcoast, it boasted healthier eating for the first meal of the day. Or in my case, the second meal since I would've eaten something just past midnight...

So Cora started out as a little diner in Montreal serving healthier breakfasts and the concept apparently took off and now we see 130+ locations across Canada. The one in Coquitlam has been around since last year and I finally got the chance to check it out. Being a kid-friendly establishments, I dragged the kiddies out for this food adventure. For my meal, I selected the Sunshine Panini with ham, egg and Swiss rolled in a crepe and pressed. Served on the side was a massive pile of fruit which included strawberries, pineapple, honeydew, Asian pear, kiwi, cantaloupe, black grapes and banana. The crepe panini was stuffed full and I particularly liked the barely cooked yolk. My son ended up eating half of this. The significance? He hates everything, so it must've been good right?

Viv went for the Eggs Benedict with ham which was also served with plenty of fruit and roasted potatoes. The eggs were soft poached with a runny yolk and were completely smothered by a thick Hollandaise sauce. It tasted rich and had only a slight tartness. It was a so-so Hollandaise in my books. The roasted potatoes seemed to have an underlying flavour of rosemary and olive oil (which the potatoes were probably coated with). They were soft, yet could've used some more colour and "roasting". My son picked the French Toast off the kid's menu which was topped with... yes, fruit. He didn't eat the fruit, but dusted off all of the French toast. It was soft and not too eggy.

My daughter had the Kid's Breakfast with scramble eggs, 2 sausages and roasted potatoes. This was pretty standard except the portion of egg could've been larger. After it was all said and done, the meals at Cora were relatively more healthy than most other breakfast joints. I mean, there are still unhealthy elements, but the addition of fruit and the use of roast potatoes does help. By virtue of using so much fresh fruit, the prices reflected it. So eating at Cora ain't cheap. On the other hand, the kid's menu is reasonable where nothing is over $6.00 (includes beverage). If we compare to places like Denny's and IHOP, I would personally visit Cora instead. Yet, at the same time, I would visit other independent breakfast joints ahead of Cora.

The Good:
- Lots of fresh fruit (if you like healthy stuff...)
- Really kid-friendly
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Pricey for adult meals (but reasonable considering the amount of fruit used)
- Service was friendly for us, but our coffee and tea was never refilled

Broken Rice

As mentioned in previous posts, I am always on the lookout for new restaurants. So much so, I often do a double-take whilst driving if I spot something interesting. Yes, some men almost get whiplash from checking out chicks while I get that from drooling over new signage and awnings. So many months ago, I did spot a new Vietnamese joint out Hastings in North Burnaby. It had an attractive stone exterior with a "higher end" looking neon signage. There was a big "coming soon" banner on the outside which seemed to adorn the place for an eternity. Then it suddenly opened in early August which meant I was chomping at the bit to give it a go. I was thinking of bringing the family, but with a more "deluxe" fusion menu (which doesn't include a traditional Pho), it appeared that I needed a different group of diners.

Never fear, I just had to give the call out to the people who never fail me - my hockey team. Originally, we were supposed to head to Indochine (ironically somewhat similar), but when Polka King proclaimed he could join us for eats, we did everything in our power to accommodate him, including Eastward for food. This was the perfect storm of events which led us to the Broken Rice. As mentioned, the food offered here is not your typical Kingsway Pho joint. They do have one Pho, but it is a deconstructed version which does not even come close to resembling a traditional one. Ironically, we started with the pretty standard Spring Rolls. These were mostly crunchy (nice that they used rice flour wrappers) and had a meaty, oniony filling. These were not out of the ordinary, however, when we added some of the fresh mint into the bite, it brought some brightness.

Next up was Uncle Hing's Chicken Wings with butter and garlic. These were very flavourful with big hits of fresh chopped garlic, butter and some spice from the jalapenos. The wings were moist and juicy. They were no longer crispy due to the amount of "sauce". We also got a order of the Cassava Fries with house aioli. These reminded me of the ones from Vij's except slightly less crispy. Due to the nature of the cassava root, the fries were starchy and dense. With a dusting of seasoned salt combined with the aioli, this was not bad. Gadget Girl decided to go for the spring rolls as well (all to herself) and a Broken Rice Chicken Salad as well. It was a concoction of shredded chicken tossed with diced white and red cabbage, carrots, pickled daikon, herbs, crushed peanuts and ginger vinaigrette on a palette of crispy sticky rice. For $9.00, this was a pretty small salad, yet it was interesting and plated nicely.

For myself, I had the Pork Belly which was neatly served in a little pot along with rice, marinated boiled egg and fried mashed cassava. This was pretty good as the pork belly was uniform in shape (which indicates a slow and low braising method) and moist. The fat melted in my mouth and the belly itself had a good meat-to-fat ratio. The braising liquid had a good balance of flavours and exhibited plenty of depth. Both Polka King and Bear had the traditional Clay Pot Rice. Reminiscent of the one found at the former Saigon Restaurant (now long gone), this version was more neatly constructed. There was a good amount of tender chicken (dark meat), julienned carrots, ginger, bamboo shoots, cilantro and caramelized onions on top of the chewy, nutty broken rice. There was the requisite rice crust at the bottom as well. The flavours were good with a hit of sweetness, the aromatics of lemongrass and fish sauce.

As if this wasn't enough food, Polka King also ordered the Tamarind Duck. At first, I thought he was either pulling a Mijune or making up for lost time. In actuality, he was taking home some food for Polka Dot. I guess he would get a smack down otherwise... For me, this was the best dish at the table. On the menu, it stated that it was crispy duck finished with a red wine tamarind reduction. The duck skin wasn't exactly crispy, but it was nicely prepared where it didn't require a whole lot of chewing. The duck itself was tender with only the slightest amount of chew at the edges. The tamarind sauce was sweet, tart and syrupy good. The beans were crunchy with a nice mix of sweet and salty while the black rice was a touch soft.

Milhouse went for another Vietnamese classic in the Bo Luc Lac (or Shaken Beef). Each morsel of beef was tender and moist. There was a good caramelization from the wok toss (hence the name shaking/shaken beef). The usual flavours were there in the soy, fish sauce and sweetness from sugar. The menu said it would be served with tomato rice, but alas, it was just plain white rice. Lastly, Emilicious had the Steamed Fish, which was Snapper, topped with a sweet ginger glaze and scallions served on a bed of cellophane noodles, wood ear mushrooms and lily blossoms. I found the fish to be slightly past done. However, the combination of ingredients made up for it. I liked the crunch of the woodear and the gingery and syrupy sauce on top. As you can clearly see, most of the food at the Broken Rice is not what you'd expect from a Vietnamese restaurant. In general, we enjoyed it, but were concerned that the price point might scare off some customers. Their prices creep incredibly close to many of the near-fine dining bistros in town and it remains to be seen what the paying public will think of it.

The Good:
- Generally on point food execution
- Great service
- Interesting combination of classic and modern Vietnamese food

The Bad:
- It might seem pricey to some
- Food expedition is uneven and slow