Oriental Buffet

Oh my.  This is what you call scraping the bottom of the barrel.  We haven't been to Oriental Buffet in Guildford for at least 18 years.  18 years?!?!?  Yah, not a very memorable meal that's for sure.  The only thing I remembered was that we had watched Timecop in the movie theatres.  Yes, that was a heck of a long time ago, especially given the fact that Jean-Claude Van Dam was still popular (and in shape).  Loved the line where he said (with his trademark accent): "If I cannot go back to save her... this scumbag is not going back to steal money!".  Hey, if I could go back in time to make money, there are a few things that I would do.  One - I would open up the best auto collision shop in Richmond, complete with a full fleet of courtesy cars. Second, I'd invest in some real estate (duh...).  Third, I'd probably just be lazy and win the lottery... Well, apparently, there was no lottery to be won at Oriental Buffet since it didn't really appear they had cleaned it in 18 years.

On the inside, everything looked pretty much the same too...  Much like Timecop, it really did feel like going back in time!  Back when there was actually a selection of Chinese buffets.  However, fast forward to the present and the choices have dwindled to only a few.  So for $10.99 (lunch), we could help ourselves to as much mediocre and greasy food as we could handle.  For myself, one and half plates was as much as my body could take.  The selection was not bad considering the price.  There was a modest selection of Sushi available, but it was not very good.  The avocado had turned brown since the sushi had probably been sitting around for awhile.  It really didn't look appetizing and in fact, was quite poor. The rice was gummy and the fish didn't seem too "fresh".  On the side were some New Zealand Mussels and Shrimp.

There were 2 full sections of Hot Food consisting of Stir-Fried Broccoli, Pork Hock, BBQ Pork, Corn, Fried Potatoes, Fried Chicken, Chow Mein, Sweet n' Sour Fish, Spring Rolls, Mushrooms, Sweet n' Sour Pork, Orange Pork Chops, Spareribs, Fried Vermicelli, Stir-Fried Rice Noodles and Fried Mock Scallops.  Later on, there was a modest selection of Dim Sum which included Haw Gow, Sui Mai and Xiao Long Bao.  The only items worth mentioning was the Fried Chicken and Pork Chops.  The chicken was moist, well-seasoned and fried just right while the pork chops were tender and full-flavoured (if not very greasy).  Otherwise, the other items were pretty forgettable.  The Dim Sum was basically your average frozen variety.  There was also a Grill-it-Yourself section which I didn't get to try since they were constantly out-of-meat.  I did try the Hot n' Soup Soup and it was pretty much as expected - starch-thickened water with lots of sodium and some ingredients.  I won't even talk about the Desserts because they just didn't look appetizing.  I do give them credit for offering hard ice-cream though.  But in the end, the place only served one purpose: to fill someone's tummy for cheap.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Decent selection

The Bad:
- Food is "meh"
- Decor has seen better days

Aroy Thai Kitchen

For many, Port Moody will never be considered a dining destination except for the locals.  But hold on there.  For those who know, there are gems to be found, if you know where to look for it.  Case in point, the best roti (in the Lower Mainland, we're not comparing to the Caribbean for heaven's sake) can be found at Rehanah's while some pretty darn good purin is available at Cake-Ya.  Fuji Sushi has recently relocated here and it serves up authentic Japanese fare. And let's not forget Kurumba with its wonderful Malaysian cuisine. Whether you like it or hate it, Rosa's is a popular destination restaurant (for pro hockey players) as well. With the aforementioned restaurants, it is almost shocking at the diversity of cuisine available and furthermore, it is not crappy either. Therefore, Port Moody needs a bit more attention from just the people who live there.

Naturally, I have no problem giving a bit of love for PoMo since I will travel for food!  And apparently, Big D, Slick and Smiles were up for it too...  if I picked them up.  Fine, anything for some eating company!  Rich Guy joined us too because he lives nearby and really, he is always up for eating.  The place we decided on was Aroy Thai...  Yes, there is competition for Little Thailand.  We decided to split a bunch of lunch specials beginning with the Pad See Ew. Although in abundance, we found the beef to be chewy and dry, however, the veggies were crunchy and vibrant.  The noodles were seasoned nicely with dark soy, but I swear I tasted Maggi sauce in it.  Onto another noodle dish being the Pad Thai, it was pretty good. It was not ketchupy and had a good level of spice.  There was good caramelization of flavours while the noodles were al dente.  As you can clearly see, they were not shy about adding ingredients into the dish.  

Next up was the Peppery Pork which was very flavourful and after a few bites, it was just plain salty.  This could've been a good dish since the pork had a nice chewy, yet moist texture and there was definitely a good amount of pepper.  Yet in the end, there was just too much sodium.  Moving onto the curries, we had one of each starting with the Pork Red Curry.  Noticeably spicy with considerable depth, the curry was thick and rich from the coconut milk.  It was on the greasier side, but then again, that is probably why it was tasty.  Onto the Chicken Green Curry, it had a nice consistency where it was neither too thick nor watery.  Again, there was a good level of spice and we could really taste the shrimp paste. Hence, there was plenty of depth and once again, quite enjoyable to eat.

Completing the trifecta of curries, we had the Chicken Yellow Curry. Unlike many yellow curries (my least favourite by the way), this one was complex with a good amount of spice.  The potatoes were soft while still maintaining their shape. However, there wasn't a whole lot of chicken though.  The fried shallots on top added another level of flavour. Portions were on the smallish side, considering the fact that the lunch specials were $10.00.  However, we were actually pretty happy with our meal at Aroy considering the fact we went in with no real expectations.  The food was generally flavourful and well-prepared (except for the salty pork dish).

The Good:
- Good spice level
- Flavourful
- Friendly people

The Bad:
- Portions are on the smaller side
- A little heavy with the salt

Yuko Maki

Having just returned from Whistler (with the front of my car resembling fly paper), we were in search for eats. I originally wanted to hit up Pho Saigon since I usually get this urge for soup noodles after any time away from home. Epic fail because the place closed at 8:00pm. 8:00pm??? That's a bit early in my books... Did they have an "early bird" special as well? Anyways, we were hungry and didn't want to stray too far. Hence, we drove up Lonsdale in search of random eats. That's right. We were simply going to walk up to a restaurant without looking on Urbanspoon, Yelp or any food blog site. We were kickin' it ol' skool. So the place we decided to try was Yuko Maki. It was brightly lit and seemed bustling with activity.

We walked in and we waited. No eye contact from any of the staff. They seemed too busy to seat us. However, finally someone noticed and we sat in one of their large booth seats. As we perused the menu, the pricing really stood out. After our expensive foray at Sushi Village in Whistler, the prices at Yuko Maki seemed almost rock bottom. Right after we had just put in our order, the Assorted Tempura suddenly arrived. It came faster than a pubescent male ogling a Playboy magazine. When we started to dig in, it became clear why it was prepared so quickly. Each piece was oil-soaked with the spring rolls (yes, very authentic eh?) practically inedible due to the grease. The veggies were sliced thick, yet it didn't help dissipate the oil.

Next up was the Spicy Combo consisting of a Spicy Dynamite Roll, Spicy Scallop Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll. The rolls lived up to their namesake where there was a definite kick. We also liked how the Dynamite Roll had 2 crunchy ebi tempura. However, they were poorly constructed, falling apart on contact. We did like the minimal layer of rice though as it was not heavy to eat. And about that rice, the texture was a bit gummy, but the strangest thing of all was the taste. It was somewhat salty... That was not right. Continuing with the rolls, we had the Dragon Roll which was reasonably-priced at $7.95. There were large fatty pieces of unagi atop a stuffed California Roll. Not bad, but the unagi sauce was really sweet. Viv only ate one piece and didn't touch it after that.

Of course we had to get some sashimi, so we opted for the Salmon and Tuna. These were some really large slices and at first wowed us. One bite later and we were not impressed. The salmon was poorly cut which led to a certain chewiness which spoiled the enjoyment. Then, the tuna was overly mushy and bland. Quantity yes, quality no. Lastly, we got a bowl of Chicken Udon for the kiddies. This was also a large portion consisting of many veggies not normally found in a traditional udon. No matter, we didn't mind and the chicken was super tender (it was prepared in a Chinese-style though). While we were there, Viv remarked that the place reminded her of Daimasu during our University days - cheap, unauthentic Japanese food. And judging by the clientele, Yuko Maki does exactly that for people who really don't care. We do though, so no return visit imminent.

The Good:
- Really cheap
- Large portions

The Bad:
- Food is just wrong
- Place is a bit dirty

Splitz Grill (Whistler)

Here's the situation.  We were in Whistler at Chill and Bubbly's place.  There were a total of 5 kids.  What does one do for lunch?  Bubbly suggested we cook something.  Pffft... What would I take a picture of?  I didn't drive up to Whistler to eat instant noodles!  So off we went into the village looking for eats.  Yes, I realize there are other options outside of the village (and inside too like the Famous Warehouse), but we needed to be down there anyways.  The first thing that popped into my mind was Splitz Grill.  Kid-friendly, predictable food and relatively reasonable pricing.

For me, I had to get something interesting, so I selected the Bison Burger with fried egg, cheese, babaganoush and a bunch of veggies.  Naturally, with bison, the patty was not exactly juicy, yet it wasn't dry either.  I guess the addition of a runny egg and sauce helped alleviate that.  Not the best burger I've ever had, but enjoyable nonetheless.  I also liked their fresh-cut fries.  They were crispy and potatoey, however, they were a touch greasy as they didn't drain them properly.  For Viv, I got her a regular Beef Burger with caramelized onions and tzatziki. As expected, the beef patty was more moist and the addition of the onions added sweetness.  She liked the thick tzatziki on her burger and as a side for the fries.

So what did my son and daughter have at a burger joint?  Doing their best Miss Y impersonation, they had the...  Chicken Strips. *sigh*  Well, these Sysco/GFS chicken strips were fried up nicely and well, they did the job.  And really, Splitz came through and did the job for the adults and kiddies.  Not the really all that cheap, but cheaper than many other places in the village.

The Good:
- Burgers are pretty good
- Customizable
- Okay pricing considering the location

The Bad:
- Despite the aforementioned "good", prices are still high

Jeggs and Hatley

Having a bit of time to kill until we had to pack up and leave Whistler, we descended on the village to check out the Farmer's Market (which has already long ended).  The first thing that caught my attention was Jeggs which was serving up freshly made Okonomiyaki.  Upon closer inspection, they were cooking up the vegetarian version.  Oh well, I was hungry and that didn't really matter to me.  Or did it...  Well...  I can honestly say I did miss the meat and/or seafood.  The whole thing was mostly cabbage, green onions and of course eggs.  It was topped with sauce and bonito flakes.  It felt more like a cabbage omelet more than an okonomiyaki.  Can't say I actually enjoyed it too much despite being somewhat of a novelty.  
  
While walking around looking for more food, we sauntered into Hatley's because Bubbly was raving about their gelato. Um...  It's a kid's clothing store you know...  Apparently, they thought it would be a good idea to stick a gelato stand amongst stainable clothing.  Yes, gelato + kids + new clothes = ???  Whatever the case, we tried 3 flavours which they were nice enough to put into 2 cups.  We tried the Raspberry Lime Sorbet, Blueberry Gelato and Cheesecake Gelato.  The sorbet was really refreshing and not overly sweet.  It was a tad icy though.  As for the gelato, it was not really that rich and it was kinda dense.  I preferred the richness of the cheesecake over the blueberry.  Acceptable gelato, it did the job and we weren't expecting anything mind-blowing.  Of course, this post was back when the weather was a lot nicer.  The village is probably covered in snow right now!  But you can still get the gelato (if you want in the cold), but you gotta wait til next year for the okonomiyaki (sorry it took so long to post this!).

The Good:
- Well, both are novelties and that's what tourists like?  Maybe?

The Bad:
- Hey, it's the Village, things are expensive
- Both were "meh"

Shanghai Elan (ChineseBites Dinner)

Ever since we started this bi-weekly ChineseBites dinners (highlighting the very best dishes at local Chinese Restaurants), there has been a constant theme - Cantonese food.  Okay, I'm not complaining...  Alright, yes I am...  And yes it definitely qualifies as #firstworldproblems or #foodblogger- problems.  But the repetition of eating the same stuff over and over again, despite the joy of it all, gets a little boring.  Therefore, Raymond decided to change things up a little for this meal as we headed to Shanghai Elan for a change of pace.  Located in the former location of Pittsburg Restaurant (ew...), Shanghai Elan intends to offer up a cuisine that has very little in the way of competition out in Burnaby.  Of course I was overjoyed with the change in cuisine, but not-so-much about my arch nemesis - the Crystal Mall parking lot (cue the Psycho shower scene music here).  Since it was a Monday night, it was almost bearable to park there.  Finally.  A good experience.  Was it an omen of things to come???

Joining myself and of course Raymond, the usual crew of Rick, Janice, Alvin, Queenie, Kevin, Grace, Diana, Sean and Amy helped devour 14 courses of food...  We were able to order whatever we wanted, which was a brave thing for the restaurant to do.  We started with the Spicy Chicken which was somewhat spicy where the chicken was firm, yet cooked nicely.  The flesh was tender while the skin was gelatinous.  Next up was the Jellied Pork which was nicely arranged on a long plate.  I found the meat to be firm as well, but still moist.  It was flavourful with a meaty taste while the gelatin on top was soft and jiggly. Coming fast and furious (these are not hidden messages I swear!), we had the Jellyfish which was served with sliced cucumber and vinegar dressing.  I found the jellyfish to be crunchy and firm which was much like the cucumber.  The dressing was a bit understated though.  What is a visit to a Shanghainese restaurant without Xiao Long Bao?  It would be like going to the washroom and not witnessing the aftermath of poor aim.  Wait..  Bad analogy...  Well, we got 2 steamers worth and they were decent.  The dumpling skin was relatively thin except for the twist at the top (which is quite normal).  The amount of soup was alright, but it could've stood for more.  It was flavourful though, yet on the sweet side in need of more ginger. The meat was slightly gritty while still moist and tender.

I'm sure everyone has ordered a dish before because they saw a picture of it in the menu or at another table.  Well, the award for the "it looked better in the picture than it tasted" award went to the Wild Greens with Bean Curd and Pine Nuts. It wasn't like the dish was terrible, it was just underwhelming.  The predominant flavour was of sesame oil with a touch of saltiness.  The texture was slightly crunchy along with the softness of the crumbled bean curd. A dish that I love to eat, but rarely see anymore is the Moo Shoo Pork.  This dish usually consists of julienned pork wok-fried with hoisin and bean paste, then wrapped in steamed flour crepes.  Although they were heavy on the hoisin, hence rendering the dish sweet, the pork was flavourful enough to stand on its own within the crepe.  The pork itself was super moist and had a nice bounce texture.  The crepes were a little thick, but were far from chewy.  They worked nicely with the pork filling and didn't fall apart or dry out.  

Seeing how we only had one veggie dish so far (and it was a small one), we decided to try the Stir-Fried Potato and Eggplant.  It exhibited good wok heat visually and tastewise. None of the veggies were overcooked where the peppers had a snap while the eggplant retained its shape.  I guess the oil-blanching helped in that regard.  The potato was obviously fried too, but that helped it from becoming mush while being soft on the inside.  The flavours were mild and didn't overwhelm the ingredients. A Shanghainese Dim Sum classic is the Beef Pancake Roll and we certainly couldn't go without it.  For me, I endear myself to the panfried version, so when it came out deep fried, I was a little dismayed.  You see, when it is deep fried, the pancake gets quite greasy albeit being really crispy.  With that being said, the filling was really good.  The slices of beef shank were plentiful and moist with just enough hoisin and crunchy cucumber.  I could've done without the large amount of scallions, but it was easily removed.

Normally, I would avoid Sweet & Sour Fish as much as a lineup at the checkout at T&T, but something was different about this one...  Yes, it was good.  No joke.  I normally hate this dish, but they did something right.  The fish was fried really crispy but the flesh was still fish-like and relatively moist.  Furthermore the sweet & sour sauce was balanced and impactful with a nice consistency.  And I was not the only one to go for seconds either. With any Shanghainese meal, carbs are a must, so we had the Stir-Fried Rice Cake with spinach and julliened pork. Much like the other stir-fried dishes, there was good caramelization and wok heat.  Pleasing in appearance and taste, the sliced rice cake was moist yet still slightly chewy.  The spinach was still vibrant while the pork was tender.  This was followed by more carbs prepared in a similar manner being the Shanghai Fried Noodles also with spinach and jullienned pork (and some cabbage).  As usual, the dish was greasy (so the noodles don't stick to the wok) with good wok heat and caramelized flavours.  The noodles were al dente while the other ingredients were on point.


Lastly, we were served the Duck and Taro Soup with fried wontons.  Although a bit salty from the duck, the soup was full of flavour and had a certain smoothness from the soft taro (with edamame and chinese herbs).  The duck itself was really moist and flavourful (from the salt marinade).  To counteract the saltiness, our dessert was pretty sweet being the Glutinous Rice Balls filled with black sesame in a sweetened soup (with added mochi). I didn't really eat the soup as it was stingingly sweet but I loved the small morsels of soft mochi.  The rice balls were also soft and filled with aromatic black sesame.  Okay, I realize this was another hosted dinner by ChineseBites, but we were allowed to order whatever we wanted on a busy night.  Hence, this was a pretty good indication of what they are capable of.  On average, the food was pretty decent with very few slip-ups.  Sure, the big boys in Richmond have a word to say too, but if we look at Burnaby only, there is no competition for Shanghai Elan.

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

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- A bit greasy
- Tight seating

Sushi Village

Boy, I hadn't made a trip up to Whistler in quite some time. In fact, it was before this blog existed! That last visit was with Chill and Bubbly. We remember it vividly because we had invested in some stock during the trip which required us to fax important documentation. Huh? Why am I mentioning this? Well, we eventually lost over $10,000 each on it. Yes, we will probably remember it for as long as we live. Or until the next time we lose even more money... So as we arrived in Whistler Village, we met up with Bubbly and Chill for eats at the highly-rated Sushi Village. Similarly to most of the other restaurants in the village, the prices are pretty high.

We actually started with the Edamame which we didn't order, rather were "offered".  Hence, we had a surprise on the bill at the end.  Whatever, it didn't make or break the meal since we were a group of 16 and half were kids.  The edamame kept them busy... Viv and I ended up ordering a bunch of things to share amongst ourselves because it was just impractical to share with 16 people.  We started with the Mixed Poke consisting of red tuna, albacore tuna, toro and salmon.  This was a delicately constructed dish where the fish was fresh (as much as frozen fish can be fresh) while the sesame ponzu sauce was impactful, in particular, the sesame oil. As always, we went for the Assorted Tempura, which was neatly plated. The batter was relatively thin which meant it was light and crispy.  It was served hot from the fryer which was nice.  The oil must've been the right temperature as the tempura was not greasy, as you cannot see much oil on the bottom of the plate. The enoki mushroom was a welcomed addition to the plate, but was pretty hard to eat though.  

We also go an order of the Pork Gyoza which were fluffy with a crispy bottom.  The pork filling was moist and flavourful while the dipping sauce had a good balance between tartness and spiciness.  Even though we weren't sharing dishes at the table, we did still trade some items.  Chill's cousin had ordered the Hot Volcano Roll. It consisted of seared Hawaiian tuna, mango, jalapeños and topped with tobiko.  This was quite expensive at $14.95. Price withstanding, the roll itself was quite good.  From the nicely seared fish to the spicy kick, the mayo-ladened roll was a pleasure to eat.  The roll that we traded was the Double Hawaiian which consisted of Hawaiian tuna, crunchy tempura bits, cucumber and spicy-mayo wrapped with thinly sliced Hawaiian tuna. We found this roll kinda plain, yet there was plenty of fish and the sushi rice was pretty good leaning towards the dry side (flavours were good though).  The roll on the left was the SASSs which stood for shrimp tempura, avocado, scallop and salmon rolled with a soya bean sheet. Again, not the most exciting of rolls, yet again, there were some good components at play.

Our last dish was the Chicken Teriyaki which featured 2 whole chicken breasts lightly dressed in sauce.  The chicken was not as dry as we feared but the lack of sauce made it rather bland. However, Japanese cuisine is based on balance and nothing should really be too extreme.  One thing we do know is that the food at Village Sushi is solid.  Naturally, one would be paying village prices (and more so).  So it would really depend on the an individual's cost threshold.

The Good:
- Quality eats
- Careful preparation
- Good service

The Bad:
- Expensive