Pachamami Sabor Latino

As much as some parts of Surrey are pretty homogenous in terms of food diversity (see: Scott Road), King George Highway is another story. From one end in South Surrey all the way into Whalley terminating at the Patullo Bridge, almost every cuisine is represented. Mixed amongst every conceivable chain restaurant, one would find Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Korean and of course Indian cuisine. However, we can add one more -Spanish. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a place such as Pachamami Sabor Latino opening up shop on KGH near 80th Ave. Furthermore, I was taken aback when they were offering a lunch buffet for $7.99.

As always... a buffet would never be the best way to experience the food, but for the price, I was game. As I walked into the brand new restaurant, I noticed it was clean, tastefully appointed and welcoming.  Similar to Sunny Noodle House, the chef did the cooking, cleaned the tables, served the customers, made coffee (which is included) and tended the till.  Maybe it was a good idea to have the buffet after all...  The first thing I tried was the Chicken Quinoa Soup.  Well, it was basically a chicken soup with lots of celery and chicken.  Flavours were mild and slightly sweet.  As for the main part of the buffet, it featured items such as Green Salad, Pasta Salad, Onion & Tomato Salad, Picante de Gallina (Spicy Chicken), Saice (Ground Beef), Rice, Majau (Rice with Shredded Beef), Black Beans and Chancho al Horno (Roast Pork).

The one thing that stood out was the Chancho al Horno.  It was moist and fatty with a nice bark.  There was a mild roasted flavour with only a subtle hint of seasoning.  I thought the Picante de Gallina was nothing but.  Although the meat was moist and tender (being dark meat), it was pretty bland.  The Majau was not mushy nor hard (even sitting in a chaffing tray) and was flavourful due to the meat. The Saice was pretty much seasoned ground beef.  It went well with the plain white rice.  Lastly, there was some store-bought Coffee Cake for dessert.  It was pretty typical.  As for the rest of the food, most of it was decent with the roast pork being the highlight. Considering the buffet goes for the low price of $7.99, this is a buffet worth trying.

The Good:
- Inexpensive buffet
- Friendly chef/server/barrista/cashier
- Clean and tidy

The Bad:
- Flavours could be more impactful
- Since there is only one person there (at least when I went), service is sparse

Firepots

It seems, on the surface, that I don't do a lot of cooking.  Au contraire, I actually do love cooking and do so quite often.  However, there are times when it just ain't practical to do so.  Now, going out to eat is all fine and dandy (since I do a lot of that anyways), but it isn't the healthiest option most of the time.  Therefore, I look to Japanese restaurants, Pho joints and sometimes wonton noodles.  I know, I know, there are bad things to eat at these places too as well as the sodium content, but they are better choices than fast food.  This time around, we thought hot pot would satisfy the somewhat "healthier" criteria.  And besides, it's like cooking your own food anyways. Now, not an AYCE place either because that defeats the purpose of eating healthier.  So, we ended up at Firepots, which features individual hot pots, much like Gokudo Shabu Shabu in Richmond.

Now, unlike Gokudo Shabu Shabu, Firepots doesn't offer up pork's blood or tripe.  Rather, their appeal is to a much broader clientele.  Their menu is simple: pick a broth, pick a meat, pick some veggies, pick a noodle and various sauces.  Each item is priced a la carte, so if you don't watch it, it can get up there.  For myself, I had the Fire-Roasted Meat Broth with Lamb, Shiitake and Oyster Mushrooms, Shanghai Bak Choy, Ramen Noodles (which looked more like Shanghainese thick noodles) and a selection of sauces). Viv had the Satay Broth, Chicken, Sui Choy and Vermicelli.  We found the portions to be modest for the price.  

There was nothing amiss with the ingredients as we found them to be fresh and vibrant.  The meats were tender as well.  My broth was on the saltier side and it wasn't as flavourful as the name would suggest.  With all the food you see in the pictures (except for my veggies), the total before tips was more than $31.00.  Compare this to Shabu Shabu (which costs around $10.00 and Posh (which costs only $15.88 for AYCE), this was not a good value.  Too bad really since the concept is okay and the food and service wasn't bad.

The Good:
- Service is attentive and friendly
- Food quality is decent
- Comfortable surroundings

The Bad:
- The a la carte pricing is too high
- Broth is salty and in need of more distinguishable flavours (considering it does cost $4.00)

Cactus Club (Coquitlam)

Recently, I participated in the Chevy Spark event where we drove one of those micro cars around doing a semi-Amazing Race sort of challenge. Boy, it was pretty embarrassing asking complete strangers to help us with our tasks! What? Who wouldn't want to be photographed filing their nails??? Yah, imagine asking some random person to do that! In the end, we finished last due to a time-consuming detour. No matter, we all were winners because everyone got some gift cards and lunch at Dockside. However, Viv and I scored (no, not like that!) since we won a $150.00 gift card to Cactus Club. Well, I guess I scored because that would be a reason for a foodgasm. So what to do with it? Go eat of course! We gathered up the family including the grandparents and high-tailed it to the Coquitlam Cactus Club. Technically, we are closer to the Brentwood location, but the lack of parking and the long lineups were not something we wanted to deal with. Honestly, there is not even remotely enough parking for both Cactus Club and Boston Pizza at that location (even if most of the cars there are for Cactus Club... LOL). Although Cactus Club does not give the appearance of a kid-friendly joint, there were pencil crayons and colouring sheets for them.

We started with 2 appies being the Thai Wings and Dry Ribs. I remember when Cactus Club would have their wing special and we'd go nuts with several dozen for each person. At times, the wings would be moist and sometimes it would be fried far too long. I guess with Chef Feenie at the corporate helm, consistency has gotten better (we've had the wings a few times in last little while and they have been good) as the Thai wings were crispy on the outside and still sufficiently moist on the inside. I wouldn't classify them as juicy, but for non-Asian prepared chicken wings, these were not dry at least. The Thai glaze was just barely clinging on each wing (which is the right amount) and had a nice balance of sweet, spicy and salty. The Dry Ribs lived up to their namesake and were pretty dry on the outside. They were not that dry on the inside where there was some meat juices (or was that fat) flowing still. They were pretty typical, but did the job and went well with the Ugly Ale.

For my main, I went for one of my standbys whenever I'm at Cactus Club being The Burger. A Rob Feenie creation, it consisted of a seasoned certified Angus chuck patty, aged cheddar cheese, cured bacon, sautéed mushrooms and red pepper relish. It may not sound like anything that interesting (and in fact, it isn't), but it was a solid burger nonetheless. The patty was substantial and moist while the bacon was thick and all of the other ingredients were fresh. My dad had something lighter in the Fish Tacos. I've had these before and again, a very solid offering. Let's not get into the authenticity debate and where we can get these cheaper. For what they are, they are prepared nicely. The fish was not wet while the fresh ingredients kept it light.

Viv had the Shortrib Sandwich with caramelized onions, beef jus and Emmental cheese on toasted sourdough, which was pretty much consistent with the other times I've had it. Essentially an upscale beef dip, the shredded short rib wasn't exactly moist (a bit dry this time), but it was easy to chew. When dipped into the "gravy", any dryness issues were alleviated. Yet another sandwich I've had before was the BBQ Duck Clubhouse with pan seared chicken and crisp prosciutto on pecan fruit bread. As like last time, the meats were a bit dry and chewy, so it wasn't the easiest thing to eat, but the flavours were nice - sweet and salty.

My mom had the biggest meal of the bunch being the Four Mushroom Sirloin consisting of a 7oz Certified Angus Beef with shiitake, portabello, button and crimini mushroom demi. The sauce was flavourful, woodsy and rich. It went well with the creamy mash potatoes. As for the steak, it was not as tender as we would've liked. Yes, we realize that sirloin is generally not as tender as striploin or tenderloin, but this was a bit too chewy for our tastes. It was prepared a perfect medium-rare though. For the kiddies, they split an order of Chicken Tenders with honey mustard dip and sea-salted fries. Please note that the picture is only a half-order since they literally split it in half (even the odd numbered chicken strip). The chicken was moist while the panko breading really made it crunchy. Despite not appearing to be a kid-friendly establishment, they did a pretty good job accommodating the kiddies. In fact, we had a good time at Cactus Club (it didn't hurt that most of it was paid for either...). Despite my aversion to chain restaurants, I will say it and say it again, Cactus Club does a good job (even though it ain't cheap).

The Good:
- Generally good eats
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Food was pretty good except some proteins were either dry or chewy
- Menu could use an update

TacoFino Cantina

As most people can see for themselves, food carts are the latest rage in the Vancouver food scene (among other fads...).  The variety, accessibility and sometimes good value (some are way overpriced) allow people to experience various types of food in one shot.  Not satisfied with a filling wrap from Mangal Kiss, I made my way over to TacoFino (another recommendation by Whipping Girl) for 2nd lunch (Merry and Pippin would be proud...). Originally from Tofino, hence the name, the good folks here serve up California-style fish tacos.  So for those seeking authentic Mexican fare, better best move along.  For me, I don't really care, as long as it tastes good.

I went for 3 starting with the Fish Taco consisting of a piece of tempura battered ling cod with chipotle mayo, shredded cabbage and salsa fresca on a fire toasted flour tortilla. This was money. First of all, the fried fish was super crispy yet still moist and flaky inside. The crunch didn't stop there because the tortilla was crispy as well. It held up well to the ingredients. I really liked the Tuna Ta-Taco as well. There was no shortage of barely seared sesame-soy albacore tuna in a soft corn tortilla. There was a mix of wasabi-ginger mayo, shredded cabbage, mango salsa and wakame salad as well. On my first bite, I got a good hit of sesame oil from the soy as well as the wakame salad. The bits of jalapeno added a nice spicy zing. The basically rare tuna acted like a blank textural canvas for the other flavours.

Lastly, I decided to try a non-fish taco being the Pork Gringa with melted cheese, sour cream and mango salsa. Although this was not bad, it paled in comparison to the 2 fish tacos.  I found the meat to slightly dry.  The sauce had plenty of depth, spice and flavour.  And who could complain about the plethora of melted cheese?  Okay, once again, Whipping Girl was right.  Why do I even doubt her?

The Good:
- Fresh ingredients that work well with each other
- Vibrant flavours and textures

The Bad:
- A little pricey for the size, but then again, every other food cart is charging more

Mangal Kiss

Last summer (2011), we walked past Mangal Kiss on our way to Feastro the Rolling Bistro. For a microsecond, I considered trying out one of their wraps. But no, I wasn't going to eat more than I could handle. Yes, I do have my limits! Besides, how good could a wrap be anyways? Well, it turns out that that I seemed to have missed out according to Whipping Girl. She spent the next year harassing me about trying the place out since it is one of her favourites. Fast forward to late Summer (2012), I finally relented and met her at the VAG (the art gallery!!!) for some Mangal Kiss. I

I got the featured Lamb Kebab consisting of ground Peace River lamb, lettuce, cucumbers, radish, daikon, fresh mint, hummus and sweet pepper & harissa aioli all wrapped in a pita. One bite and the textures and flavours hit me like the HST on a car purchase. The crunch from the greens, daikon and radish added both a brightness and necessary textural contrast to the moist lamb and soft pita. The fresh mint added an extra hit of brightness that complimented (as mint does) the lamb. The lamb itself was super moist and flavourful. The onions and spices really amped up the flavour with sweetness and a slight kick.

Whipping Girl isn't a huge fan of lamb and opted for her standby being the Fraser Valley Rib-Eye with hummus, tahini, purple cabbage, beets, pickled turnips, pickles, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, spice moroccan carrots, radish and tabbouleh. This was an attractive and colourful array of ingredients which danced on my tongue like someone playing DDR. The balance of acidity, sweetness and savoury elements were accented by the herbiness of the tabbouleh. The rib-eye was nicely charred and moist.  Alright.  I'll admit it.  Whipping Girl is right.  Mangal Kiss is everything she said it would be and more.

The Good:
- Pronounced flavours
- Good value

The Bad:
- Limited choices (but they specialize in one thing and do it right)
- Long wait time

Tap & Barrel

Emilicious has taste, she really does.  Take the location of her new pad - down on the South side of False Creek.  The development there has been brisk and all the usual services have followed suit.  Sure, there is Save-On-Foods, Canadian Tire, Bestbuy, Home Depot, London Drugs and Urban Fare joining the party, but for me, I'm more interested in the new restaurants!  Luckily for me, Emilicious is a bonafide foodie (even though I'm not a big fan of that word) and she has been doing some food scouting.  Hence, it was her call for after- hockey Friday eats.

Destination: Tap and Barrel, located in the former Olympic Village right near the really large bird statues...  Boy, they give me the creeps...  Even before we even had a chance to sample the food, we were impressed with its location right on the water.  With Gordo, Milhouse and Lionel Hutz, we were determined to eat everything that was unhealthy.  Well, there wasn't anything considered "healthy" on the menu anyways (well maybe a salad...).  On that note, we started with the Bacon Chips.  Yes, that's right, chips made out of large, meaty slices of bacon!  Served with house made chunky ketchup, these were exactly what I would've imagined them to be.  Despite eating what was essentially fried bacon, they were not greasy and they really did eat like a chip.

Feeling a bit guilty eating bacon chips, we moved onto some vegetables in the form of Quebec St. Poutine.  Yes, it's a stretch, but potatoes *are* vegetables.  The fresh cut fries were somewhat crisp, but really how would we know when there was so much red wine gravy on top?  I would've preferred less myself, yet everyone else disagreed.  Heck, what do I know?  The gravy was thick and a bit clumpy with a definite kick of red wine.  There was only a modest amount of cheese curds and most of them were completely melted.  More curds and less melted please!  Okay, more veggies please, in the form of the Infamous Sticky Yam Fries with burnt marshmallow fluff.  The fries on their own were pretty good.  They were crisp, not greasy and naturally sweet (with a smokiness from the deep-fry).  As for the marshmallow, I was indifferent.  I found it too sweet, yet as the same time, interesting and gooey...

Okay, back to the meat...  The Southern Fried Chicken Wings were pretty darn good. They were breaded and fried just enough that the exterior was crunchy while the meat was moist.  The spiced honey drizzle was the kicker, it added a sweet stickiness that had some zip.  These were a table favourite.  Okay, with the looming bacon shortage, we thought that the some peanut butter and bacon dip would be in order.  It went with the Original T&B Monster Pretzel along with the other dip (grainy mustard).  The warm house-baked pretzel was fairly soft and went well with the mustard.  I'm not exactly sure if the peanut butter & bacon was a natural fit with the pretzel, but then again, I liked the dip on its own.  It was sweet, crunchy, and slightly spicy.  So it really should go with anything!

Lastly, we shared 2 pizzas. First was the Roasted Pork Belly with soft cooked eggs, caramelized onions and smoked mozzarella. Despite being on the mild side, we really liked this pizza.  The fatty pork belly was a treat while the runny eggs added a welcomed creamy messiness to the crisp thin crust pizza.  As mentioned, there could've been more impact with the flavours as there was enough sweetness, but lacking in saltiness.  The second pizza was the Local Wild Mushrooms with smoked mozzarella, baby arugula and truffle oil. Without even taking a bite, there was an intoxicating aroma of truffle oil.  Therefore, combined with the mushrooms, the pizza had considerable Earthiness to it.  This was a pretty decent pizza where the bitterness of the arugula complimented the other ingredients.  Once again, the pizza could've benefited from some more salt.  However, in general, we enjoyed the food that we ordered.  Combined with a lively atmosphere and killer location, Tap & Barrel could be a regular hangout for Emilicious...

The Good:
- Nice location with view
- Lively atmosphere
- For what we ordered, it was both unique and appealing

The Bad:
- Although we enjoyed our food, nothing could be considered health food
- Parking is an issue

Grand Dynasty (ChineseBites Dinner)

From the moment that Grand Dynasty opened its doors in late 2010, I've enjoyed their generally good food and nicely appointed dining room.  In fact, I was there for Dim Sum during their opening week and even then, I was impressed with the food quality and service.  I returned on Chinese New Year to try out their dinner service and it was equally as good. Now all of this didn't come without a cost, literally.  The place is pretty expensive, yet there is no immediate competition nearby.  I guess by virtue of being located in the Villa Casinos complex, there will be a steady stream of customers (those who won money or those drowning their sorrows).  The last time I visited the place was part of the CRA signature dish tour and honestly, it was less than impressive.  Maybe my expectations for the place were too high?  Well, I returned once again for some signature dishes, with ChineseBites this time around.  Joining me were the usual crew of Rick, Janice, Kevin, Grace, Diana and Queenie with Ann and Dave.

We started with 2 versions of their Pan Fried Jumbo Prawns.  The first was the Salted Duck Egg Yolk and the second was the House Spicy Sauce.  Reminiscent of the golden crab at Ken's, the salted egg yolk sauce was quite mild while still exhibiting a creamy understated saltiness.  Interrupting the smooth sauce were bits of onion and garlic.  The prawn itself was meaty and naturally sweet.  As for the house spicy sauce, it appeared to be mainly sweet chili sauce with the addition of more garlic.  It was sweet with a slight kick.  Next up was the Boiled Live Lobster in Superior Broth.  The sliced lobster meat was presented on a platter which included blanched flowering chives and bean sprouts.  The broth was heated in a hot pot atop a portable gas burner.  It was subsequently ladled onto the lobster, hence cooking it (ever so gently).  Naturally, the fresh, barely-cooked lobster was sweet and exhibited a beautiful bounce texture (except for the claw meat).  The broth was mild with a good hint of ginger.  For such an exquisite offering, I felt that there should have been more "lobster" flavour though.

The Baked Chicken Stuffed with Sea Cucumber was a dish that came completely out of left field.  First, we thought it was roasted duck.  Second, we expected it to be stuffed with sticky rice. Nope.  It was indeed a roasted chicken with sea cucumber segments and snow pea tips. The chicken itself was moist and benefited from a good brine.  It had a rich roasted flavour which was evident from the beautiful exterior colour. The sweet onions helped balance the overall flavours.  As for the sea cucumber, it was prepared properly being soft and gelatinous.  The dish as a whole was nice, yet seemed to be missing something.  I personally would've liked something added to the filling such as roasted pork for some impact (sea cucumber is not really an impactful stuffing).  After those unique dishes, we were presented with something more familiar in the Live Jumbo Ling Cod Hot Pot.  Essentially a glorified "Banh Nam Bo", this was definitely better than the ones you'd find on a regular Chinese menu.  I loved the rich colour and resulting flavours.  There was just enough sauce that had a good balance of salty and sweetness with a hint of dried orange peel, lots of roasted garlic, shiitake mushrooms, roasted pork and ginger.  The cod itself was indeed jumbo and really meaty.  It was fried up beautifully where it was moist on the inside while a touch crisp on the outside.

Naturally, with most multi-course Chinese meals, there would be a vegetarian offering.  The Sauteed Wintermelon and Pumpkin with Wild Mushrooms filled that quota. A mix of shiitake, button and oyster mushrooms lay atop fanned out slices of wintermelon and pumpkin.  For me, the pumpkin was more like golden squash (which was quite hard and undercooked).  The mushrooms benefited from good wok heat which added both good caramelization in flavour and appearance.  The entire dish could've used less salt though.  We finally got our sticky rice (which we thought would be in the baked chicken) in the form of Deep Fried Chicken with Sticky Rice.  I wasn't a huge fan of this dish as the rice was hard and dry (with dried shrimp and Chinese Sausage).  The accompanying sauce with shiitake and garlic didn't do much to alleviate the dryness either. The rice crust on the top was fairly crisp though. As for the chicken, it was surprisingly moist and had hint of 5-spice.

We ended the savoury portion with the Live Lobster & Seafood with Crispy Rice in Soup. The broth had a relatively more pronounced seafood/lobster flavour than our first soup.  It mild, yet sweet and the seafood was just cooked.  The crispy rice added a nice crunch to the soup (yah, crunch in a soup...).  Finally, for dessert, we were presented with the Shredded Coconut Creamy Tart and Black Sesame and Coconut Pudding Cake. I found the tart to be rather crumbly and lacking in flavour while the pudding had a nice texture and aroma. Overall, a pretty solid meal that was lacking a bit in the "wow" department.

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

The Good:
- Generally solid eats
- Upscale decor
- Generally good service (as experienced in past visits, this one doesn't count)

The Bad:
- Pricey