Pho Newton

If you've been keeping track or paying attention, this eating adventure would mark the third time in 3 days I've eaten a bowl of Pho. To some, that might seem excessive. To me, I just love Pho. I actually had it 3 times in one day once. One of the reasons I chose to have a steaming hot bowl of soup noodle in some pretty warm weather was to do a comparison with Pho on Chopsticks (which I visited the day before). Paying $11.00 and $9.00 respectively for Pho and Banh Mi was a little unsettling (even if the decor and presentation were nice...). I wanted to experience the "usual" pricing of Vietnamese eats and at a place which was still in Surrey. That would be Pho Newton... in well, Newton.

I went with the usual being the Pho Dac Biet which consisted of most of the meats including brisket, flank, rare steak, meatball, tendon and tripe. There was a significant amount of meat atop the al dente noodles. All of which were sliced thin and tender. The meat was moist and not dry-at-all including the rare steak. As for the broth, I took a sample before adding all the condiments and it was very light, sweet and had a noticeable hint of daikon. When I started eating the bowl of Pho as a whole, the broth was quickly overwhelmed. I would go as far as saying it was pretty bland. Not happy with just a bowl of Pho, I also had the Newton Special Banh Mi. It was an interesting mix of the usual Vietnamese ham, pickled daikon and carrots, pate, butter-mayo and cilantro with a meat that resembled regular ham and shredded lettuce. Not a typical combination, but in the end, it did taste good. I like how the flavour of the pate came through, however, the pickled vegetable could've had more zip. The baguette was light, airy and crunchy.

Now, not long after, I went back to get takeout in the form of the Lemongrass Chicken on Rice. For $10.00, it wasn't cheap, but it was a significant amount of food. There were 2 large deboned chicken legs which were cooked up beautifully. There was both good colour and flavour. Furthermore, the chicken had a texture which I can only describe as "fully-cooked, yet not dry". I struggled to finish the whole thing. This was the best of the 3 dishes I had tried at Pho Newton. Although not my first choice for Vietnamese in Surrey, Pho Newton does the job, especially with the lack of good options nearby.

The Good:
- Friendly staff
- Clean
- Typical inexpensive pricing for this type of food

The Bad:
- Broth is on the blander side

Chopsticks on Pho

Alright. We are pretty familiar with the typical Pho joint right? Usually pretty crappy looking exterior with an equally confusing interior. The decor could resemble a Greek, Italian or Indian restaurant, but it is unmistakably a Vietnamese restaurant. Hey, I ain't complaining. The food usually speaks for itself and the prices are easy on the wallet. However, there seems to be a trend towards "nice-looking" or even upscale Vietnamese dining. Take Broken Rice for instance. The place is designed from the ground up as a Vietnamese restaurant. Furthermore, the food is both refined and no longer "value-priced". With that in mind, I was curious about the latest entry into the "classy" Pho arena - Chopsticks on Pho out in Surrey.

Joining me was Mrs. Spray Bottle, who shared a Tasting Platter at the end of our meal. Yes, we didn't start with it because it took awhile to prepare, but I'll talk about it first anyways. It included skewers of BBQ Nem Pork, Satay Chicken, Grilled Garlic Prawns, Spring Roll and Salad Roll. Although the spring roll was good with a crispy exterior and moist filling, I was dismayed at the use of a wheat wrapper. The salad roll was really good with a nicely textured rice wrapper and fresh ingredients. The pork and chicken skewers were carefully prepared, hence they were moist and tender. I particularly loved the pork skewer as it was quite flavourful. The snappy prawns were more like shrimp and they could've done a better job at deveining them.

Mrs. Spray Bottle ended up with the Banh Mi which was ridiculously priced at $8.95. It was made with lemongrass chicken with the usual condiments including pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, jalapeno and a house aioli (in place of the regular butter mayo). The sandwich was pretty good with a crusty baguette and crisp veggies, however, there could've been a more pronounced lemongrass hit. For myself, I had "The Works" Pho (aka Pho Dac Biet minus the tripe and tendon). I found the broth sweet and somewhat fragrant. It could've used more meat depth and savouriness. The noodles were al dente while the modest amount of meat was tender. In general, we enjoyed the food here, but there was one thing that kept bugging me - the prices. I realize the place is clean and modern while the food is neatly presented. Yet, that comes with a price, which is an average $3.00 premium over regular Vietnamese joints. We'll have to see if people are willing to shell out the extra money in the long run.

The Good:
- Clean and modern room
- Owner that cares about his business and customers
- Food is generally above average

The Bad:
- Prices are too high for this type of food

Hoi An Cafe

I think I underestimated Labour Day Monday. To think everyone was still coming back from out-of-town or doing last minute back-to-school shopping was a mistake. Originally, Viv and I (with the kiddies) were planning to try Lam Hoa Quan on Victoria. No dice. The place was packed. We even tried Western Lake, which was a total fail because of the 2 hour wait (like that was a surprise). So we decided to go across the street to Hoi An Cafe, where we snagged the last table. With all the restaurants closing down as of late, it appears small Asian spots are doing just fine...

So, I ended up with the Bun Bo Hue since Viv had already called dibs on the Pho. I asked for spicy which really didn't come to fruition. The broth was more fragrant than hot. Actually, this was one of the least spicy versions I've had lately. However, I could definitely pick out the lemongrass flavour and the soup itself was quite pleasant. I loved that they kept it traditional with the inclusion of pork knuckle and pig's blood. Moreover, the meats were moist and plentiful. The Pho was pretty typical with a decent amount of al dente noodles and meat. We did find the meat a bit dry and chewy though. The broth was sufficiently flavourful with a sweet finish. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. Apparently, I missed out on their signature item, the Mi Cao Lau. I need to try it next time!

For the kiddies, we got them an order of the Fried Chicken (which resembled Taiwanese fried chicken nuggets). These little nuggets were mostly moist with a few harder pieces due to the deep-frying. The flavour was quite mild with only a minor hint of black pepper. Lastly, we got some Banh Bot Loc in hopes that the kids would have some. Nope. That was a pipe dream. We tried to pass it off as sticky rice, but they didn't buy it. Viv and I enjoyed it though. The tapioca was gelatinous and soft with a piece of shrimp and fatty pork inside. Dipped into the sweet lemongrass fish sauce, it was one of the highlights of the meal.

While we were eating, I was really questioning why we were eating Pho on a hot Summer day. For some reason or another, I seem to do that quite regularly. On the other hand, it is pretty hot in Vietnam... And yes, it was pretty warm in the restaurant. Either the A/C was weak or they didn't have any. Whatever the case, the food was generally pretty good and the prices were pretty typical. Although the service was hurried, the staff were friendly and efficient. I'd return for another meal.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Not sure if it is a bad or not, but the washroom was very interesting...
- Not exclusive to this restaurant, but the seating is tight

City 1 Cafe

I truly think there should be a Chinese-version of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. Think of it, most, if not all non-fine-dining Chinese restaurants are a diner or dive of some sort. The food is generally inexpensive and some real gems are just waiting to be discovered. Instead of the catch-phrase "That's Money", maybe the host can say "Jeng!" ("Excellent" in Chinese). How about a fu-manchu instead of a goatee? And instead of a 67 Camaro, maybe the host could drive a Toyota Corolla courtesy car! Oh the possibilities... Well, on my version of the show (on a blog that is), we found ourselves at City 1 Cafe, tucked inside King Edward Mall in Vancouver.

From the outside, it would be hard to guess it serves up Malaysian cuisine. Indeed it does and the place was pretty full during a weekday lunch hour. After a brief wait, we got a table and quickly ordered. We started 2 of each meat with the Satay. These were rather small, but properly cooked where the meat was moist. There was a slight char that added a nice flavour as well as the curry marinade. The dip was peanutty and sweet with a smooth texture. Personally, I like a chunkier peanut dip. I decided to add a Laksa as well and it was a pretty modest portion. The broth was okay with lots of flavour, yet lacking a bit in depth. I did like the hits of coconut milk and dried shrimp though. There wasn't a whole lot of noodles and there was only the occasional ingredient to be found. An average Laksa in my books.

For the main event, we got a Half Hainanese Chicken with 3 bowls of chicken fat rice. By virtue of using free-range chicken, the meat was naturally chewier. It was sufficiently moist considering this. It was prepared fairly well where there was a layer of gelatin underneath the skin. The grated ginger and onion condiment was on the saltier side as well as the chicken rice. However, the rice had a nice chewy texture and a gingery/nutty quality to it. Lastly, we added an order of the Curry Beef Brisket with a side of Roti. Once again, the portion was small with only 6 pieces of beef mixed in with 4 large chunks of potato. The curry was thin and lacking in depth. It was starch-thickened which made it more of a Chinese curry than anything else. We did like the Roti though as it was crispy and light with good colour. However, it could've been a larger size as it was not enough for the amount of curry.

Okay, as you can ascertain from the post, the food was acceptable, but it definitely was Chinese-inspired. If you are an authenticity snob, then you'd best move along. Furthermore, the portion sizes are quite modest-to-small. Between Viv and I with the 2 kids (who don't eat a whole lot), we dusted off all of the food and could've eaten more. For those who don't really care, City 1 Cafe offers up cuisine that doesn't have a lot of competition nearby. Not my first choice for Malay food in Vancouver, but does the job considering its location.

The Good:
- Decent service
- Clean
- Okay pricing considering the neighbourhood

The Bad:
- Smallish portions
- Not authentic (if that matters to you)

Trixi's Crepe & Coffeehaus

While sweltering in the heat at Tokyo John's and being somewhat dissatisfied with the eats, our attention turned to dessert. Where should we go to rid ourselves of the bad taste in our mouths? At this point, Bear merely pointed to Trixi's across the street. Dessert crepes eh? Sure, that sounded fine but was there room for all 11 of us? Apparently not, but we made it work. And yes, no A/C again... At least we could sit outside where it was actually less warm. Then again, with restaurant facing West and the Sun beating down on us, there was no way to escape the heat.

I took a bit of time deciding what to order since many of the crepes were variations of the same thing. As I was pondering, Dark Helmet went for the basic Nutella Crepe. It was pretty typical since the filling is unmistakable. Hence, there were only 2 things we could evaluate - the crepe itself and the amount of filling. The crepe was thin, yet on the chewier side. Not a huge problem, just an observation. In terms of the filling, there was an okay amount. We could've done with more, but the addition of a side of ice cream helped solve that problem. For myself, I had the only savoury crepe in our group, however, with Brie and Cinnamon Apples, it bordered on a dessert. They didn't skimp on the brie where it melted nicely within the crepe. However, the apple slices were blander than bland. There was absolutely no apple flavour. Possibly because they didn't use a tart enough apple or maybe it wasn't ripe. There was an okay amount of cinnamon, but the whole thing didn't have much impact. I resorted in stealing some ice cream from Dark Helmet. The actual name of the crepe included almonds, but I left it out since there were only a few on top and had no impact at all.

Milhouse went for his usual diet drink being a Chocolate Milkshake. I took a sample and it was quite thin and milky. Flavourwise, it was rather mild and probably could've used more ice cream. Refreshing on a hot day, yes. A thick creamy milkshake, no. I'd stick to the crepes instead. They were pretty good and the owner was quite friendly.

The Good:
- Crepes are not bad
- Quaint place

The Bad:
- Place is extremely small
- Not that cheap

Island Spice

*Restaurant is now closed*

Let's see... What do we have here along Scott Road. Okay... Northern Indian, Southern Indian, Indian Chinese and ah yes... more Northern Indian. Alright, the lack of diversity along 120th is pretty apparent. Yes, there is the occasional Chinese joint mixed in with various other places, but really, it is all about the curries (or dosas). Whilst dining at one of the 3 Thai restaurants in the area (Thai-by-Thai), I noticed a really small place across the street. Island Spice eh? Fijian food? Okay, I've seen a few of those around the neighbourhood, however, most of them never seem open. Well, they're probably closed for good anyways.

So I decided to give it a shot. With less than 8 tables, the place is a small family-run operation. On my first visit, I tried their Fish Curry made with salmon. I asked for spicy and it did come as advertised. The curry had quite the kick with lots of salmon, onions and peppers. Honestly, it was to the point where I didn't really taste much other than the heat. I didn't mind it because I do like spicy. But for those who want more diverse flavours, I'd stick with medium. As for the fish, it was pretty well-done. I wouldn't classify it as dry, however, I wouldn't say it was moist either. On my second visit, I dragged Pops with me, for a little more diversity. Oh and yes, he is good company as well. This time around, I went for one of their thalis, specifically the Goat Curry. As you can clearly see in the picture, the meat was quite dry and chewy. It needed to be stewed longer. Flavourwise, it was spicy once again. The accompanying roti was nice though. It had good colour and was soft and chewy.

Pops had the Chicken Curry and yes, the meat was tough and chewy. Maybe if there was more "sauce", the meat might be less dry? Or possibly either cook it less or cook it more. Anyways, as with the other 2 curries, there was a definite kick. So much so, the other flavours were quite muted. In conclusion, Island Spice offers up something slightly different from the other spots along Scott Road, however, the meats are chewy and tough. Flavours are good though, especially the spice level. Love the friendly owners too.

The Good:
- Friendly people
- Good spice level

The Bad:
- Meats are dry and chewy

Western Lake (ChineseBites Dinner)

Another ChineseBites dinner... What a chore... Yah right. I know I'm fortunate to sample some of the best Chinese dishes in the city. Our most recent meal saw us visit one of my favourite restaurants - Western Lake. They manage to accomplish what most Chinese people seek when spending their hard-earned money: "peng, yau leng". Translated, it means inexpensive, yet good. Here you will find some of the best Dim Sum in town regardless of price point. As for dinner, the portions are large and the food is above-average at a reasonable price. That would probably explain the constant lineup out-the-door for both Dim Sum and dinner services (tip: make sure you make a reservation or the wait can exceed an hour).

For our ChineseBites dinner, the usual crew was present including Kevin, Rick, Alvin, Grace and new members, Queenie and Melody. We started with a Wintermelon Soup that was eerily reminiscent of the one I had at Top Cantonese recently. Since this was an invited dinner, I'm sure they amped up the ingredients as this soup was far superior. It was packed with shrimp, straw mushrooms, chicken, duck, Virginia ham, scallops, Basa, crab and dried scallops. Lots of ingredients which helped flavour the broth (which was quite delicate and mild). This was a soup that ate like a meal. Next up was a dish, Egg Whites with Shrimp, that was also quite familiar. We had something similar at our first ChineseBites dinner at Golden Swan. Again, this one was the better version. So much so, Rick went back for seconds (he was not a fan of the Golden Swan version). The egg whites were fluffy and seasoned lightly with a touch of sweetness. The shrimp had a nice coldwater snap as well as exhibiting a natural sweetness of its own. Underneath the egg whites was stir-fried pea shoots which were tender while maintaining a bite. They were not greasy at all. Oh and I'm sure that is not how they usually plate it...

I'm not sure what strawberries have to do with crab, but they sure like using it as a garnish. Anyways, the Fried Crab with garlic, black bean, green onion, dried scallops & shrimp, chilis and salt was really good. If you can imagine, the combination of the aforementioned ingredients would combine to offer up aromatics, saltiness and spice. Hence, this crab not lacking in any flavour. Now for the first dud of the meal. Well, partial dud that is. The Black Pepper Beef Tenderloin with fried milk was actually a solid dish except for the milk. It was dense, cold, gritty and bland. The batter was pretty thick too. Maybe they fried this far too early? As for the beef tenderloin, it was mostly tender with a mild pepperiness.

Okay, back to the good food with the Honey Walnuts and Salad Mayo Prawns. At first, I was concerned with the amount of mayo drenching the prawns (it reminded me of something else, but due to the suggestiveness of it, I'll refrain from saying it). In the end, the amount of mayo did not compromise our eating enjoyment. The large prawns had a nice snap and were sweet. The mayo sauce was also pretty sweet, hence combined with the honey walnuts, the whole dish was sweet (yet that is how it is). And there are those sliced strawberries again! Inexplicably, we went from one prawn dish to another in the Sauteed Prawns (not that we were complaining!). These were deep fried, then wok fried in a sweet chili sauce. The combination of ginger, onions and cilantro added a good amount of fragrance and flavour. Although the prawns were cooked nicely where they retained a good snap, the shells were too hard to eat and had to be peeled.

Then the most sinful of the dishes arrived... The Braised Pork Belly served with steamed buns enticed us with its artery-hardening persona. There was a good amount of sweet sauce on the plate (looked like a hoisin/oyster sauce mix) which could've used more savouriness. The pork belly itself was pretty good with a melt-in-our-mouths texture. The meat itself was moist as well. I really liked the steam buns as they were soft and went really well with the belly. Probably my favourite dish was the Roast Chicken. It arrived with in an aesthetically-pleasing and rich soy colour. The chicken was moist, juicy and slightly chewy. The skin was not only good to look at, it was super tasty (in a sweet soy manner) as well which helped flavour the chicken.

Our last dish was the obligatory carb item being the Fried Rice with dried scallop and seafood. The rice was dry and chewy (which was a good thing) with a some really awesome egg nestled within. The texture and appearance of the strands of egg were very appealing. The dried scallops added a nice salty seafoodiness to the dish. Okay, I must point out the obvious - the dishes were plated extra well for our hosted dinner. However, that should not overshadow the fact that the portion sizes and quality of food at Western Lake are generally quite good on any other night with any other patrons (I've had dinner here independently). Western Lake may not have the name like the big boys in town, but it most certainly holds its own at a reasonable price.

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

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Good portions
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- Dining room is small and cramp
- Service isn't bad, but it certainly is hurried