L'Artista

It seems like whenever we meet up with Italian Stallion and Wolvie, we go for pasta. Is it due to some subconscious decision on my part? After all, Italian Stallion is well... Italian! Maybe he legitimizes the meal for some reason? Not sure, but once again, here we were eating Italian food. And much like other times, we were at a place (L'Artista) on Hastings in North Burnaby. Not a difficult thing to do since there are so many Italian eateries in the area. We were lucky to score a last minute reservation on a Saturday. They were fully booked and we had a 1.5 hour window to eat. We really had no problem with the time limit since we were warned in advance when making the reservation. We were just happy to get a table.

We started out with a plate of Antipasto which was pretty standard and did the job. It was a pretty decent portion though. For our first dish, we had the Gnocchi with meat sauce. We thought the texture of the gnocchi was a good compromise between being dense and soft. The sauce was very mild with only a light tomato tang. It could've used a touch more seasoning. It did have a nice consistency though as it clung onto each gnocchi. When the Risotto Alla Toscana was presented at our table, we looked at it in a bit of confusion. If someone told us it was a vegetable rice medley, we would've believed them. In fact, it was a good vegetable rice medley with more ingredients than arborio rice. There was plenty of flavour from the Italian sausage and cheese. However, this was not really a risotto in our minds. It was far too wet and brothy.

To spice things up, we went for the Spaghetti All'Arrabbiata prepared with tomato sauce, garlic, capers, chili peppers & anchovies. I've had this many times before except with penne rather than spaghetti. The pasta was perfectly al dente with lots of chew. The sauce was hearty and tart, yet not really all that spicy. I guess this would be due to our personal preference of having it spicier. Lastly, we had a meat dish being the Veal Pompei consisting of lightly breaded veal, topped with ham, fresh sliced tomatoes and mozzarella, then baked in the oven. I wasn't a huge fan of this dish. In general, the whole thing lacked flavour and since there was so much sauce, the breading became soggy and slid off the veal. The veal was moist though. The plate itself was a large portion and the flavours were non-offensive. I can envision this doing really well on an early bird special. If you know what I mean... So it wasn't terrible, just not overly exciting or impactful.

"Non-offensive" would be the best way to describe pretty much all the food. The gnocchi and spaghetti were pretty decent while the risotto and veal could be polarizing. You either would like it or not. Considering the portions sizes and the fact we were able to use the Entertainment card for this meal, it was acceptable. One thing to keep in mind is the food at L'Artista cannot be compared to more modern Italian eateries in town. So if it is judged on its own merits, it is an okay option along Hastings street.

The Good:
- Portion size is pretty good
- Service is friendly
- If you have the Entertainment Book, the price becomes pretty inexpensive

The Bad:
- Some of the flavours are muted
- Food is okay, but not really all that interesting either

Ali Shan

How I loathe thee Crystal Mall... For your circular parking lot with only one way in and out. For your pie shaped parking spots which only serve to confuse already confused drivers. For your narrow pathways leading to lower levels (with various scratch marks on the walls as evidence). I loathe thee enormously. However, you tempt me with your wares, in particular, good eats. Therefore, I can put up with the aforementioned challenges, including those who rush into the elevator before I can actually exit the darn thing. I can also put up with a door slammed in my face. And yes, I can even put up with the utter chaos in the marketplace (lineup anyone?).

Yes, on my quest to finally dine at all of the restaurants at Crystal Mall, it brought me to Ali Shan (incidentally located on the exterior of the mall on Willingdon). I had the option to park outside, but my Chineseness prevented me from putting coins into the meter. Therefore, I ran the gauntlet and parked in the circular lot. The things I do to save a buck... So with kiddies in tow, we weren't in the mood for any form of lineup. Naturally, there was one at Ali Shan which lasted about 30 minutes. Once seated, we quickly got down to ordering and started with the Chicken Nuggets. Originally, I had hoped that my daughter would nibble on some, but that was quickly quashed due to their spiciness. For me, I liked the spice and the hint of five spice powder as well. The nuggets were crisp and juicy in the middle.

Viv went for the Spicy Beef Wide Noodles, which as the name implies, had a good kick. The broth wasn't exactly meaty in flavour, yet it was plenty flavourful nonetheless. The wide noodles had a nice bite while the beef was tender albeit fatty. For myself, I went for another prototypical Taiwanese dish being the Chicken with Rice Noodle in Sesame Oil Hotpot. There was no mistaking the sesame oil in the broth. It was pretty strong while the broth was on the sweeter side, which I particularly liked. The thin noodles were on the softer side (which is pretty typical) while the good amount of chicken was tender and moist.

Lastly, we got a plate of the Seafood Fried Noodle, which was full of properly cooked seafood. The noodles were al dente and there was no absence of seasoning, yet the pool of water at the bottom was not appealing. What was even more unappealing was the long waits for service. The severs were clearly overextended and they did the best they could. However, they really must hire more people because it took forever for everything. Other than that, the food was both inexpensive and above-average. Moreover, my car suffered no dents while parked at Crystal Mall... Bonus!

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Overextended staff, long waits for everything
- Not the most spacious of setups

Fresh Restaurant and Lounge (Sheraton Guildford)

When one thinks of Sunday brunch, especially the buffet kind, Surrey doesn't normally come to mind. The usual Downtown hotels seem to be the most popular destinations. Well, that is pretty normal since we have several choices including the Pan Pacific, Hotel Vancouver, Sutton Place and Waterfront to choose from. Move into Burnaby and we have EBO at the Delta Burnaby and Metrotown Hilton. However, many may not know that the Sheraton Guildford offers up their Sunday Brunch at Fresh Restaurant. Since I live in the burbs myself and believe good food can be found outside of Vancouver proper, it was my duty to try this place out. Well, not really my duty, but it sounded a whole lot better than, "I heard of this place in Surrey and decided to try it...". *Yawn*.

So the whole family including the grandparents made our way across the soon-to-be-demolished Port Mann Bridge into Guildford. I foolishly parked on the street not knowing there was validated parking. So that is my public service announcement for everyone who intends to eat at Fresh. After we were seated, I attacked the spread with my camera. Yes, while everyone was getting food, I was getting photos. There was a decent selection of eats including various Salads: Mesclun Greens, Caesar Salad, Greek Salad, Crystal Noodle Salad with baby shrimp and peanut dressing, Potato Salad, Corn & Manitoba Rice Salad with white beans & basil pesto dressing, Field Tomato & Red Onion Salad with balsamic dressing and Spinach & Frisee Salad with stilton, walnuts & blueberry dressing. There was also the usual cold cut platter consisting of Roasted Tom Turkey, Black Forest Ham, Roast Beef and Genoa Salami. Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to this section.

What I really wanted to eat was the Seafood which included Green Lip Mussels with salsa fresca, Atlantic Red Crab, 3 types of Indian Candy, Oriental-style Salmon Gravlax, Absolut Vodka-cured Salmon Gravlax, Smoked Salmon and Peel & Eat Shrimp. Of all the items here, I liked the 2 types of gravlax. Although they were quite salty, I just enjoyed the different flavours. I really didn't like the crab as it was naturally the frozen variety. Hence the meat had a strange texture. Moving onto the Hot Food section, there was the usual Bacon & Sausages, a strange textured Scrambled Eggs (probably from a carton), Eggs Benedict, Xiao Long Bao, Haw Gow, Spring Rolls, Veggies and Roast Potatoes. There were 4 specific dishes in this section as well (which I will discuss later). As mentioned, the scrambled eggs were strange while the Eggs Benny was actually not bad. The eggs were poached beautifully runny while the thick Hollandaise was a bit too mild. It could've benefited from more lemon. The Dim Sum selection was most likely the frozen stuff where the filling of the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumpling) was rubbery and loose. The dumpling skin was dry and thick. The XLBs were actually not too bad considering everything. The dumpling skin wasn't overly thick and the filling was moist. There was a modest amount of soup in the dumplings. It tasted mostly like the meat filling,

Now onto the "dishes" in the same section, I tried the Butter Poached Pollack with olive & sundried tomato ragout and basil polenta. As with most buffets, the fish was overcooked. I'll cut them some slack because it is a real challenge to keep fish moist in a buffet setting. The flavours were nice though, especially the olives since they provided a distinct saltiness to the dish. I love polenta. Unfortunately, the polenta in this dish was too gritty. Next up was the Tequilla & Lime Grilled Chicken with chipotle honey butter and Spanish Rice. This was actually a pretty good dish, due in part that chicken keeps pretty well in buffets (especially dark meat). I'm not sure if I tasted any Tequilla, but I definitely got a whiff of lime. When I lifted the cover off the Whiskey & Demerara Rubbed Top Round with Au Jus, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Pre-sliced roast beef sitting in a chaffing serving tray... says it all. I realize that to have a hand-carved roast would be more trouble and cost, however, the result of having the beef served this way was pretty much disastrous. The meat was really dry and chewy. Even the au jus, which was still had a bit of alcohol taste, couldn't save it.

The last hot entree was the Grilled Pork Medallions with herb spatzel and calvados jus. The pork had appealing grill marks which resulted in a nice charred flavour. Surprisingly, the pork wasn't dry. The sauce was flavourful and benefited from the lardons. As for the spatzel, it was fluffy and we thought it was done quite well. There was also an option to request a made-to-order omelet from the kitchen as well. The last section, naturally, was a table full of various Desserts. These included fresh fruit, several cakes, cheese and waffles. I sampled one of the cheesecakes as well as the strawberry shortcake. They were pretty standard and did the job. In fact, the buffet here at Fresh essentially did the job, no more, no less. Nothing really stood out nor did anything really stink either (well, except for the beef). Considering the price is south of $30.00 per person, it is definitely an option for those who don't want to travel all-the-way into Downtown for Sunday brunch.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Very good service
- Comfortable digs

The Bad:
- No freshly-carved roast

Pearl on Victoria

Not being able to play any sports due to my concussion has put a real damper in my life. I ain't getting any younger and each passing day is another lost opportunity to play. However, I made it a personal goal of mine to support both my hockey and softball teams even though I cannot play. I planned to attend each and every game until I got better. That is what a good teammate would do! Nah, who am I kidding? I just want to join them for eats after the game! The sporting activity is merely a 2 hour delay from munching on food... So that is what I did for a Friday night, I met up with the team after the game. Gordo asked if I had saw his nice goal. I sheepishly replied that I wasn't even there watching! LOL...

The food adventure brought us to Pearl on Victoria for some good ol' HK-style cafe action. Since it was an early game, we were able to get there before they closed (which is 10:00pm). Gordo decided that by merely eating one dish was not enough and started with the Crispy Egg Waffle. This one was a bit overdone with a very crispy exterior. Inside, it was a bit chewier than we would've liked, but in the end it did the job and it didn't suck. For his main he went for the Curry Beef Brisket on Rice. The curry was very flavourful, bordering on salty. It had a nice thick consistency with a nice kick. The ample amount of beef brisket was sufficiently tender. Apu wasn't very hungry and decided that some Curry Fish Balls were enough. The menu stated that there would be 6 pieces, yet as you can clearly see, there were 10. Not that he was complaining or anything, it was just more balls than he was expecting. And while I was trying to take a picture of his balls, he kept trying to play with them. I had to resort to yelling at him to stop playing with his balls! He did try to offer me one, but I was good. Besides, they were generic fish balls. However, the curry was the same as Gordo's dish and it did well in flavouring the balls.

For myself, I went for the 3 Item Combo consisting of Ox Tongue, Chicken Steak and Beef Steak in a black pepper sauce with spaghetti and mixed veg. Although the beef steak was small, it was thick and cooked to a perfect medium-rare. It was sufficiently tender and juicy. The chicken steak (essentially a deboned leg) was also cooked nicely being moist and juicy. As for the ox tongue, it was a bit on the softer side. I tried offering my tongue to everyone with no takers except for Emilicious. She took my soft tongue willingly. I tried again with Gadget Girl, but she merely replied with a glare. There was plenty of black pepper sauce which was flavourful while not all that peppery. I wasn't a huge fan of the spaghetti as it was the thick variety.

Gadget Girl, Milhouse and Emilicious ended up sharing 3 items. The first to arrive was the Preserved Duck Egg & Salted Pork Congee. It was thick and full of ingredients. There was just enough seasoning to add flavour without making the entire thing salty. The congee remained thick until the last drop. They also had the Satay Beef with Flat Rice Noodles which was quite flavourful with a touch of spice. The beef was tender while the noodles were al dented. Despite the appearance of too much sauce, it was the right amount for the bowl. Lastly, they had the Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice (which I forgot to take a picture of!). It was good with chewy nutty rice which was not greasy. There was plenty of flavour without being overly salty. The salted fish was in good sized chunks and was fairly soft. Despite holding up their closing time, the staff remained friendly and attentive. Considering there are no real competitors nearby, Pearl does a decent job for a HK-style cafe. Prices are good, food is acceptable and the service above average.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Decent eats
- Good service

The Bad:
- Not a very big restaurant
- There is better, but not nearby and at that price

Triple-O's Peanut Butter Bacon Jalapeno Burger

We've seen this story before.  Slap something strange on a burger and voila, gourmet burger.  From short rib to foie gras, there are an endless array of toppings that can transform a "burger" into something either gourmet or exotic. Then how about a burger with bacon and jalapenos?  *Yawn* Boooring.  Okay, let's slap on some chunky peanut butter...  Huh?  Peanut butter?  On a burger??? But there is lettuce, tomato and beef!  The humanity!  Yah, something as simple as peanut butter suddenly puts a burger in the same league as one with foie.

Well, not quite, but it is different at least.  The good people at White Spot wanted me to try their creation and sent me a voucher to do so.  So I went to see if this combination worked or not.

To complete the peanut butter bacon theme, I decided to throw in some change to substitute the soft drink with a Peanut Butter, Bacon & Banana Milkshake.  No, that is not a typo.  So how does a milkshake with such ingredients taste like?  Well, it was quite rich as expected since the banana and peanut butter only helped make the whole thing

thicker and creamier. It was definitely sweet, yet the bacon helped balance the flavours with its saltiness.  However, the most interesting aspect of this shake was the crunchy bacon bits.  They did not soften in the liquid, hence there was a crispiness to each sip.  I didn't mind the milkshake, it tasted a whole lot better than it sounded.  Now for the main event, the Peanut Butter Bacon Jalapeno Burger.  Again, I honestly thought the peanut butter would get in the way of everything, but in the end, it took somewhat of a backseat to the copious amount of jalapeno slices.  The tang and kick from the peppers really amped up the burger while the crispy bacon offered up some sodium.  I'm not sure about the combination of mayo and peanut butter though.  I did appreciate the use of chunky peanut butter since it added texture and more peanutty goodness. And as per usual, I got a side of Triple-O Sauce for the fries.  A great way to complete this low-fat meal...

The Good:
- At the very least, they dared to be different
- Milkshake with the crunchy bits was not bad

The Bad:
- Low fat it is not

Pop Up Soda Shoppe presented by Swallow Tail

Ever since the disaster otherwise known as the "Summer of Love" presented by Swallow Tail, I was not expecting another invite. After all, I had essentially trashed them. There was no way around it. It was not a satisfying experience. Well, you gotta give them props for not only taking responsibility for the fiasco, but to actually send me another invite shortly after. I really respect that because I've had the complete opposite response before in a different situation. One restaurant (which I will not name) actually pulled my invitation after I had posted on them prior (it was a so-so post) to the "intended" meal. Well, I guess they weren't too confident in their product or they were just plain peeved. Whatever the case, I can't control that. I just have to be true to myself and say what needs to be said.

So the event hosted by Swallow Tail was the Pop Up Soda Shoppe which featured 5 vendors serving up desserts at a cost. To gain entrance into the event (which was being held at The Ridge Theatre), there was a $15.00 fee. In addition to partial proceeds to Growing Chefs, I guess that helped cover for the rental of the facility, logistics, supplies, wages and of course profit. For me, I personally would've liked to see a higher flat fee which would include the food. Give people stamp cards for each vendor so they don't go back 10 times. When I first arrived, I sampled some of their alcoholic beverages which featured Fernet Float, Chocolate Chartreuse Milkshake, Razzle Dazzle Soda and Albino Hemingway Daiquiri. I tried all of them and my favourite was the soda because it was not as strong as the others. Of note, the milkshake was truly herbal as mentioned in its description. These were not cheap ranging from $10.00 - $12.00. Operating from the concession stand was Earnest Ice Cream. Truthfully, I'd never heard of them before, but I'm glad I got the chance to sample their wares. They had 4 flavours to choose from including Cardamom with candied orange peel and corn flowers, Vanilla with hot fudge and buttered salted hazelnuts, Chocolate with hot fudge and maldon salt, and Cheesecake with brandied caramelized peaches & graham cracker. Of the 4, I liked the Cardamom the best because it was a bit different without being overwhelming (such as the Kulfi Ice Cream from Recipes to Riches). I thought the sweetness was under control while there was a welcomed density to the it.

Off to the right was a free sampling of Sayuri Sake with salted watermelon. Due to the dilution of the sweet sake with soda water, it was naturally quite weak. Personally, it wasn't a big deal but I can see some people wanting the sake straight up. Moving into the theatre itself, they were playing Grease on the big screen. That was a nice touch which not only fit with the theme, but one could actually sit down to watch the movie if they so wished (volume was a bit low though to not interfere with the vendors). The good people from Che Baba were there with a one-bite dessert for $1.00. It was an Almond Tart with chocolate ganache and a fresh raspberry. It was pretty good and happened to be the least expensive offering. As for their macarons, they had sold out. That was also the problem with Cartems as they sold out before we had a chance to sample their offering of 3 mini-donuts for $5.00. Well, I've had them before and I like them despite the grease.

Lastly, there was Beta5 with probably my favourite treats of the night. Their table was filled with a mix of free sample items and paid ones. The most memorable were the caramels, in particular, the passionfruit. It was buttery, smooth and the flavour of the passionfruit was unmistakable. I was given a sample box of their wonderful assorted chocolates which included such interesting flavours like Imperial Stout and Olive Oil. I found the sweetness of the chocolates to be just right as well as the velvety texture. Upon leaving, we were presented with a Chinese takeout box containing coupons along with a bottle of Boylan soda. As Bear and I walked away, we debriefed and came to the conclusion that one needs to give Swallow Tail credit for attempting an event such as the Pop Up Soda Shoppe. Vancouver sorely lacks fun activities and this is a step in the right direction. However, with a $15.00 entrance fee (which includes partial proceeds to Growing Chefs) that required patrons to pay extra for food (except for the sake/watermelon) could be refined. Personally, I'd much rather pay a higher flat fee for all of my food included. Just have a stamp card to prevent people from sampling too much from each vendor. Now on the topic of vendors, we thought they were good choices, yet there could've been 1 or 2 more. Yes, the Ridge Theatre (which is an appropriate venue considering the theme) isn't exactly large, but there was room for more. Again, a good concept which needs more refinement and change to an all-inclusive fee.

The Good:
- Neat concept
- Relatively good choices in vendors

The Bad:
- Entrance fee + a la carte pricing needs to be rethought
- Need more vendors/activities
- Several vendors ran out of items an hour before the event was to end

Salade de Fruits

I'll admit it. It is often difficult to do repeat visits to restaurants, even if they are personal favourites. Why? The main reason is that I (and others in my group) often want to try new places. This leaves very little time for return visits. Normally, any repeat visit would involve a certain amount of time passing (because things might've changed like the staff, menu, chef etc...). Sometimes it is to try more dishes beyond the ones on the original meal or it could be lunch vs. dinner service. This time around, our visit to Salade de Fruits was mostly based on the fact I haven't been back in 3 years. Furthermore, with a bigger group, we could try more dishes as well. And the most important reason? My mom really wanted to try the place and I had kept promising her for 3 years! Yah, I didn't want to keep promising her for another 3 years... LOL.

Although I had my sights set on the large pot of mussels (which would be quite filling), the Duck Rillette caught my eye. It arrived in 3 large pieces with gerkins and a caraway papadum. Although the rillette had a moist texture, I found it to be quite wet. That helped water down the flavours which would've been more pronounced if it were more dry. Despite this, we still enjoyed it. As mentioned, I only had my eye on one item, which was the large Moules et Frites. As evidenced in the picture, many of the mussels were large and plump. Only 3 of them were unopened. They sat in a flavourful (a touch salty) broth consisting of white wine, cream, garlic and onions. And when I say large pot, this was a substantial amount of mussels. On the side, the frites were equally substantial. They were crispy while a touch dense. They went well with the aioli on the side.

Viv decided to go for their sandwich special of the day which happened to be Steak Sandwich. It was done a perfect medium-rare where the meat was moist and tender. It came with caramelized onions, tomato and Dijon. I found the bread to be a touch hard, but then again, it needed to be in order to stand up to the ingredients. This was only $9.00! Continuing on the steak theme, my mom had the Steak Frites with a ginger marinade. Once again, it was cooked nicely medium-rare. Due to the cut of the meat, it wasn't super tender, but it wasn't tough either. Visually and tastewise, there was a subtle sweet ginger hit which really complimented the meat. The big mound of frites helped soak up the juices.

When lamb is on the menu, I have a hard time resisting. So... we also got the Souris d'agneau (lamb shank). The meat was mostly fall-off-the-bone tender except for a few spots which were a dry. The sauce had a nice balance of flavours with only a moderate red wine hit. By virtue of opting for rice, the dish looked much less substantial than if we had went for the frites. My dad wanted to eat something healthier, so he went with the Sole au Four. It was a beautifully baked piece of fish which was moist and flaky. It was dressed with a lemon butter caper sauce which was probably defeated the purpose of eating healthy (that's French food for you!). For the kiddies, we got them the Penne Fruits de Mer (or seafood penne). The penne was soft and not al dente, partly because it was swimming a aromatic and creamy saffron sauce. The seafood consisted of shrimp, mussels and fish. Another solid value at $13.00.

As you can probably guess, the big draw at Salade de Fruits are the reasonable prices, especially for French cuisine. It's true that the seating is tight and the service (although friendly) can be a bit sparse at times, but c'mon, look at the reaonable pricing. Furthermore, the food in general is solid, if not quite good. Considering that any of the chain restaurants in town would cost considerably more to dine at (with more generic and less interesting food), Salade de Fruits should be on everyone's list for either lunch or dinner.

The Good:
- Inexpensive French cuisine
- Generally good food
- The staff really do speak French

The Bad:
- Not the most comfortable places to dine at with a larger group
- Service is not bad, yet there could be long stretches without anyone checking on you