Le Saigonnais

*Restaurant is now closed*

Whenever I have to eat alone (and I do hate eating alone), there are several "go-to" types of restaurants. These mostly include small Asian joints specializing in Ramen, Pho or Wonton Noodles. Sometimes all 3 in one place, but we all know that's not the way to go! There are several reasons why I choose these restaurants - price, simple menus and no one really cares you are taking a picture of your noodles. Well, generally most people won't care, but some will stare. What's wrong with a person taking a picture of their wontons? Anyways, I was passing through New West and needed to grab a quite bite. I noticed that Le Saigonnais had replaced Royal City Thai (which had previously replaced Royal City Cafe where the sign still exists).

As I walked into the place, I was happy they kept the high-back booths since it would help "hide" my obsessive picture-taking. I proceeded to order their lunch special which included a choice of Pho and a Spring Roll. Okay, I know I'm nit-picking here, but for an "Authentic" Vietnamese restaurant (as they claim), would it be too hard to use rice paper wrapper? In actuality, I don't really mind the wheat wrapper, but it just seems like such a small thing to get right. The spring roll was fried crispy with a slightly different filling which included julienned rutabaga. This added a crunch which I didn't mind. The rest of the filling was moist and a bit loose with a definite hit of fish sauce.

As always, I went for the Pho Dac Biet which featured al dente noodles and plenty of tender meats. Again, I was a little irked at the use of a lemon wedge rather than using lime (maybe they couldn't find any limes? I'll give them the benefit of the doubt). The first thing I noticed about the broth was the apparent hit of daikon. Moreover, there must've been a healthy dose of MSG because it was pretty flavourful and sweet (in not a natural way). Decent Pho though. Of course I had to add a Lemongrass Chicken with Rice just for some diversity. The rice was chewy and nicely prepared while the moist chicken was adequately charred. There was a decent lemongrass hit with the properly seasoned chicken. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the chicken being pre-sliced. It tends to dry out. In general, the meal was not bad and the booths were quite comfortable. Le Saigonnaise is just another one of the many Vietnamese restaurants in town which serve up standard eats.

That Good:
- Comfortable and classy digs
- Okay food

The Bad:
- Okay food

Garden Villa Seafood Restaurant

There once was a time where Chinatown was the schiz niz when it came to good Dim Sum.  Well, that ship has definitely sailed... and probably sunk.  Now we are left with Floata, Jade Dynasty and Garden Villa.  No, that lineup of restaurants does not strike fear into any of the really good Dim Sum joints in town.  How the mighty have fallen.  It used to be all about Ming's, Park Lok and even yes, Floata.  I guess the newer generation of Chinese folk don't want to waste their time circling for a parking spot, only to be spat on by lil' old Chinese ladies.  So it definitely was a walk down memory lane when we had a random food adventure at Garden Villa.  Hey, we were at Science World and it just seemed like a good idea to search for eats in Chinatown.

Since I was pretty young at the time, I vaguely remembered eating at Garden Villa (when it was something else).  Apparently, not much had changed as the interior was pretty ol' skool and a little sketch looking.  We ordered some items from one of the 2 ladies working (they were doing their very best, but were super-busy).  Looking haphazardly-prepared and soaked in grease, the Spring Rolls didn't appear to be appetizing.  Well, the grease was off-putting, but the filling was quite tasty consisting of moist ground pork and lots of shiitake mushrooms.  Next was another fried item being the Shrimp Mousse Stuffed Eggplant.  Although the eggplant was cooked nicely (not being mushy), the shrimp mousse was a bit tough on the outside and somewhat chewy on the inside.  There was just enough seasoning from the black bean sauce to accent the shrimp.

When the Chicken Rice arrived, it was definitely ol' skool with large pieces of bone-in meat. I found it to be somewhat moist except for the white meat.  In terms of flavour, it was quite mild and definitely benefited from the addition of sweet soy.  The rice was not too wet, even after the dousing of the aforementioned soy sauce.  Surprisingly, the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) were large and "modern-looking".  It was a pity that the dumpling skin was very thick and doughy.  On the other hand, the shrimp filling had a nice snap with large chunks.  This was all for naught as there was practically no flavour.  It was as if they forgot to season it.  This was somewhat alleviated by some hot sauce.
 
The Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll suffered a similar fate with possibly the same shrimp filling.  Much like the haw gow, there was a plethora of large shrimp pieces mixed in with mousse.  Mostly, the shrimp had a nice snap, yet it was flavourless.  Thank goodness there was soy sauce!  As for the rice noodle, it was unusually thick, but it was super soft.  Despite this, I would've preferred it to be thinner since it made the whole thing too heavy.  Onto another Dim Sum staple, the Sui Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling) were lacking in texture.  The ground pork was over-processed which made the entire dumpling too soft.  Normally, the pork should be bouncy with a bite.  However, the shrimp had a nice snap while the shiitake added flavour. The pork itself was rather bland.

And the bland trend continued with the Steamed Spareribs.  There was little distinguishing flavours.  On the positive side, the ample amount of pieces were meaty and there was little in the way of fat nor cartilage.  It could've been the luck of the draw, but we weren't complaining.  Furthermore, the meat was tenderized just enough that there was a good chew and bounciness.  For our only offal dish, we had the Szechuan Beef Tendon.  There was very little in the way of spice, so it really didn't do its namesake justice.  In fact, it was downright bland except for some garlic.  In terms of texture, the tendon was on the stiffer side, yet still soft enough that we didn't need to gnaw at it.

Lastly, for my son, we had his favourite dish being the Soy-Fried Rice Noodle Rolls.  Without even describing them, you can easily see that there was far too much grease going on.  It was as if they oil-poached the darn things as they were soaked with grease, yet curiously exhibiting very little pan-frying.  Compounding the problem was the soft texture of the noodles where we couldn't even pick it up without it falling apart.  This was a terrible attempt. Well, that was a disappointing end to a pretty average Dim Sum meal.  Well, we really didn't have huge expectations for this random food adventure.  After all, the place is located in Chinatown where it screams out ol' skool.  I guess it is okay for the "lo wah kui" (older generation of Chinese folk), but for us, we'd take a pass.

The Good:
- Um...  It brought back memories of my childhood?
- Good portions
- Friendly enough staff (albeit only 2 of them)

The Bad:
- Food needs more seasoning
- Food is unrefined
- The place needs a cleaning or reno...

Myoung Dong Khal Kook Soo

As mentioned in previous posts, the multitude of Korean restaurants along North Road can be truly confusing to many (including myself).  Not too long ago, I decided to embark on a mission to try every one of these establishments. Helping me navigate through the maze of hard to pronounce restaurant names is Big D.  You see, his wife is Korean and he knows all the best spots and signature items as well.  So it was a good thing that he suggested we head to Myoung Dong Khal Kook Soo for lunch.  Um, come again?  Yah, see what I mean by confusing? Try to explain that to someone who isn't familiar with the area.  You'd have better luck finding someone understanding how a traffic circle works... Oh and it doesn't help the place is within a small little mall with no real evidence on the outside in the form of obvious signage.

If Big D hadn't met me at the front, I would've still been looking for the restaurant several hours later.  Once inside, it was quite apparent where it was since there was a counter and an eating area.  But the name was only in Korean!  Looking over the menu, I found the prices to be quite reasonable and once the food starting coming out, it was evident that this was a well-priced authentic Korean joint.  We started with the Dolsot Bibimbap served with a heaping plate of kimchi and a side of soup. The stone bowl was hot enough to create a crispy rice crust while providing a pleasant sizzle for our ears.  The rice was not mushy, yet moist enough to withstand the hot stone bowl.  Mixed in with the hot sauce and well-prepared ingredients, this was a good start.  Unknowingly, we had ordered the Kim Bop even though Big D had explicitly said Wang Mandoo.  Maybe his Korean needs some work?  Well, the Kim Bop was like a smaller, yet longer version of a futomaki.  It was fine for what it was...  a good side dish.  

As for the Wang Madoo (which is confusing because it should really be a steamed bun), we finally got it after the confusion and they were absolutely massive.  A plate of these would easily fill most appetites.  They were filled with pork, chives and seasoning.  In addition to using the supplied vinegary soy sauce, the chili sauce at the table added the necessary kick to the mild dumplings. We also tried their Kal Gook Soo (authentic knife-cut noodles in soup).  These noodles were pretty good being a tad chewy while enjoyable to slurp with the mild-tasting soup.  Again, I went back to the chili sauce for some added flavour. In the end, we were stuffed and didn't end up finishing our food.  This place is definitely a great value considering the portions, prices and food quality.  Now if I could only remember the name!

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Good portions
- Good food

The Bad:
- It's like a little food fair, nothing fancy if that matters to you
- Hard to find and hard to pronounce (oh and menu has no explanations either)

Forage

Ever since my uncle headed back to Hong Kong, I haven't seen him as much as I would like.  With the impending one-month birthday of his grandson, he made his way back for a brief visit.  We had already had lunch at Shanghai River and then the one-month banquet at Victoria Restaurant.  So, I thought to myself, "self, why are we eating at Chinese restaurants when he lives in Hong Kong?".  Sure, the Chinese food in Vancouver is very good, but c'mon, he can eat Chinese food anytime he wants!  Hence, I decided to treat him for brunch instead.  Ultimately, I decided on Forage, partly because it I've never been there before and partly for its reasonable pricing.  For a relatively and centrally located restaurant in Downtown, most items hover around $12.00 (and also considering the fact they adhere to a sustainability philosophy).

Despite having a main dish in mind already, I couldn't resist ordering the BC Spot Prawn and Seafood Chowder with soft-poached egg, smoked chicharrón and pork hock.  This was an ample portion of creamy chowder served in an iron skillet atop a branded wood plank. Diet food this was not. The runny eggs were a luxurious addition to an already rich concoction. I liked how there was a smokiness from the smoked cod and saltiness from the pork hock.  However, the pork cracklings were a little hard and did not offer up the textural contrast I was looking for. For my main, I had the Rangeland Game Burger with caramelized onion preserve, house-cured bacon and Golden Ears cheddar served with fries. I really liked the burger patty as it was super moist and just barely cooked.  There was a pleasing gaminess which was accented nicely by the sweet onions and mustard (which cut some of the gaminess).  The poppy seed brioche bun held up to the ingredients and was light which didn't get in the way of the other ingredients. Although the fresh-cut fries were not as crispy as I would've liked, they were still pretty good.

As if this wasn't enough food already, I added a side of Fresh Cheddar Scones served with honey butter.  These were straight from the oven being cheesy, soft and warm.  The addition of the honey butter was icing on the cake. My dad decided on the Alpine Juniper Duck Confit Frittata with Neufchåtel, roast garlic and arugula.  The edges were really crispy while the overall texture was a touch rubbery, however, the frittata as a whole was decent.  The duck was moist and flavourful while the Neufchåtel was there, but not overly so. As much as the multigrain toast on the side would normally be overlooked, this was not the case here.  The fresh bread was very good and toasted up nicely.  Viv had the Two Rivers Turkey Sausage Hash consisting of autumn vegetables, free-range eggs and mustard Hollandaise. It was evident from the first bite that there was not a whole lot of sausage in the hash.  We could only pick out a modest amount of super thinly-sliced sausage from the mix of veggies.  Therefore, the flavours were mild and it became more of a light veggie hash than anything else.  The perfectly poached eggs and solid Hollandaise saved the dish though because it was the much needed body that the veggies needed.  We liked the zing in the velvety Hollandaise (which would probably be from the mustard and lemon).

On the topic of Hollandaise, it was the basis of a pretty good Classic Eggs Benedict with real back bacon (which was not dry).  As you can clearly see, the egg was perfectly runny and free-range.  As mentioned, the Hollandaise ensured the dish would be good. My uncle decided to get some Buttermilk Pancakes to share (I  
like his style!). It included valley blueberries, honey butter and maple syrup.  They were aesthetically-pleasing to look at with a nice shade of brown.  The best way to describe these would be "fluffy enough".  What I mean is that they were not exactly super-fluffy, but hardly dense either.  So somewhere in the middle.  Hidden inside each thick pancake was a plethora of sweet blueberries. Lastly, the kids shared the standard breakfast plate consisting of Two Free-Range Eggs, crispy potatoes, toast and sausage.  We also got a side of bacon because my daughter loves it.  That a girl!  A food-lover in the making!  Although the plate wasn't exactly big, the inclusion of 3 lean turkey sausages made it a hearty breakfast.  The scrambled eggs were nicely done - barely cooked and fluffy.  Overall, we thought our brunch was above-average and well-priced (with all things considered).  We agreed that a return visit (for dinner) is imminent. 

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing with all things considered
- Above-average eats
- Carefully-prepared food

The Bad:
- Seats aren't the most comfortable
- Although it was neat, the skillet on wood plank thing made things a bit difficult to eat

Shanghai River

Over 4 years ago, I had this belief that Shanghai River was the best Shanghainese restaurant in town.  Then I started blogging and hit up most of the other joints.  It's always nice to compare and contrast the different restaurants to see if my initial thoughts were valid or not.  That's why I often hesitate to declare anything the "best" because that is just not possible.  Without trying everything else, it would both be premature and not representational.  Consequently, I often say "there is better" because really, there logically should be and in the end, I go back to compare anyways (much like this post).  Yet in reality, food is subjective, so my "best" may not be someone else's "best".  But if there is a significant amount of people who like a place, then at the very least, it is a starting point.  And if you agree with that or not, that would be up to your own individual experiences.

So with my uncle back in town, we met up with him at Shanghai River for some lunch.  As always, Shanghai River was busy and luckily we had made a reservation (which only put us into another lineup I must add), hence, we were seated with just a short wait.  By virtue of our large table, we were able to order quite a bit of food, to my overwhelming joy of course!  We started with the Bean Noodles & Chicken with Sesame Sauce.  I personally love this dish and this one was solid.  The noodles had the classic slippery texture, yet was a bit soft while the shredded chicken was moist and tender.  The crunch of the fresh cucumber acted as a textural contrast.  What brought it all together was the aromatic sesame dressing which was just enough in my opinion.  Next up was the Chicken in Wine Sauce where there was a good mix of dark and white meat (the white meat was underneath).  The chicken itself was prepared correctly with a layer of gelatin underneath the nicely textured skin.  Being free-range, the meat was naturally a bit more chewy, but it was not dry, even with the white meat.  The flavours were mild with only a modest amount of xiaoshing wine. I would've actually liked to see more impact from the wine.

And much like any Shanghainese meal, the carbs began to hit the table hard and heavy beginning with the Chee Fan (Chinese donut, pork floss and preserved vegetable wrapped in sticky rice).  The success of this item is generally based on the rice and the donut as the other 2 ingredients are pretty standard.  In this case, the donut was fried in-house and to order, so that was a good start.  As for the rice, it was not too dry and more importantly, not wet (and not too thick either), so ultimately, it was good.  On the topic of the Chinese Donut, we got one on its own because the kiddies love fried dough.  This was served hot from the deep fryer and was really crispy on the outside (without being overly greasy) and soft on the inside.  It was also properly salted as it had flavour on its own.  One thing that could've been better was the interior, where it was on the denser side.  Now, what defines a Shanghainese restaurant is their Xiao Long Bao.  The ones here, to me, are some of the best in town.  Not the best, but you can't go wrong either.  The dumpling skin was relatively thin except for the twirl on top (but that is pretty common).  There was a modest amount of soup inside which was mostly sweet with only a hint of ginger.  The ample amount of meat was moist, but a touch dense.

Another kid favourite is Peking Duck, so we got an order of it.  Unfortunately, this was a fail.  Although the skin exhibited a rich colour, it was far from crispy.  Furthermore, there was an unappealing layer of fat underneath that was chewy (not the right type of duck used).  What really completed the trifecta of failure was the doughy pancakes.  I would strongly suggest against ordering this here. Moving along, the Hot & Sour Soup arrived with the chili oil on the side (so we could control the heat).  The soup was full of ingredients including crunchy shrimp, pork, wood ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots.  With a silky thickness, the soup had depth but was not sour at all.  Even with the addition of chili oil, the soup did not taste like a hot & sour soup.  With that being said, it was still tasty.  Onto another soupy dish, the Szechuan Beef Noodles hit the table.  The noodles were still chewy while the soup was full-bodied and spicy.  Unfortunately, the meat was rather dry though.

The second half of the Peking Duck was the Duck Lettuce Wrap and thankfully, it was much better than the first course.  It had an appealing colour and flavour exhibiting good wok heat with crispy veggies.  However, the duck itself was rather chewy.  We liked how the lettuce was trimmed properly and were intact.  Lastly, and again more carbs, we had the Shanghai Stir-Fried Rice Cake.  Exhibiting good wok heat and a rich colour, the rice cake slices had a soft, yet chewy texture.  There was no absence of seasoning including a big hit of sesame oil.  The accompanying pea shoots were crisp and vibrant.  As you can see, the meal was decent, with some issues.  Hey, nothing is perfect and overall, we enjoyed our meal.  Shanghai River continues to be one of the better Shanghainese restaurants in the GVRD, albeit at a price.

The Good:
- Nice dining space
- Decent service
- Solid food

The Bad:
- A bit pricey
- Too busy (which is good for them) which means long waits
- Parking can be tricky

Gawa Sushi

To say that North Delta is the black hole of Japanese food would be an understatement.  Let's see here, we have Minori (best of the bunch, but not a great value IMO), Akari (not bad, but lacking in the authenticity department, if you care) and...  that's about it.  Sure, there is Nordel Sushi and Toyko Sushi Express, but they are on the Surrey side of Scott Road.  Oh and let's not include New MaCaw's because that ain't Japanese or Yami Yaki because that is more of a fast food teppanyaki place.  So imagine the excitment it brought when I saw Gawa Sushi opening up near Pho Stanley.  I was as giddy as a little boy receiveing Lego for Christmas.  Wait, I still get giddy about that... 

I decided on the Chicken Katsu Don which looked completely perplexing on arrival.  Rather than being served in a bowl, it was nicely arranged on a plate much like you'd find at 29th Ave Cafe.  However, the chicken-to-rice ratio was really off.  I appreciated the generous amount of fried chicken cutlet, but the little mound of rice was not even close enough to what the dish required.  The chicken itself was really crunchy and somewhat overcooked.  It was pretty average.  I got a side of Appetizer Sashimi and it was a decent portion.  It wasn't cut particularly nicely, but it was decent in texture and taste. 

On another visit, I tried one of their lunch boxes which included Green Salad, Beef Teriyaki, Dynamite Roll, 3 pcs Nigiri and Spring Roll (???). Well, the teriyaki was pretty dry and oversauced while the roll was not too bad.  The rice could've been less dry and more flavourful, but I wasn't expecting much.  The ebi tempura was crispy though.  The nigiri was okay while the spring roll was completely perplexing. I dunno, the food here was edible, but hardly giving an excuse to escape from the black hole.  I guess in the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, "these aren't the rolls you're looking for.  You can go about your business, move along, move along..."

The Good:
- Friendly proprietors
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Food is so-so
- If you were looking for authentic, you won't find that in North Delta...