Double Double Chinese Restaurant

Signature dishes - these seem to define many of the restaurants in this town.  Not a bad strategy if you ask me.  Think of it, make something well and people will remember it, even if the rest of the food is forgettable. Or better yet, hype up a signature dish, even if it is pretty "meh".  And not surprisingly, people will still flock to try it because of the endless promotion.  I'm not saying we are all lemmings, but it is pretty obvious customers can identify with a certain product, it is forever memorable or associated with that restaurant.  Case in point, the former location of Double Double out on Kingsway was synonymous with their Yau Ja Gwei (Salty Donut).  Unfortunately, it met an untimely end due to a kitchen fire.  For many years, their outstanding salty donuts were nothing more than a fleeting memory.

Fast forward to the present and they have reopened (about half a year ago) in Richmond offering up the same things (and some others) that made them famous.  Once again, we made the trek out to driving hell for some grub (curse you good grub!).  And without further ado, we started out with their Yau Ja Gwei. What a complete letdown...  First of all, it was not fried to order, so it was stone cold.  Second, it was fried too long, where it became chewy and heavy.  This was not what we were looking for and really, there was no excuse for not making to order.  It's their signature item for heaven's sake!  Suffice to say, their Sweet Donut was not any better as it was even colder and more dense (because it is thicker).  Not impressed at all.  I realize they were packed and very busy, but if these are your signature items, put the effort to make them right.

Thankfully, another one of their more popular items was mostly prepared right, being the XO Fried Daikon Cake.  These were cut into strips, deep fried, then wok-fried with XO sauce and other seasoning.  That other seasoning was MSG as the whole dish was very salty and far too flavourful.  It was really too bad since the daikon cake was soft in texture with lots of daikon.  The exterior was lightly crisp kissed with a nice spice level.  Moving onto the Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls, we found it a bit unusual for there to be slivers of Mo Gwah (Hairy Cucumber) mixed with the crunchy shrimp.  Whatever the case, they were soft and added so veggies to the dish.  As for the noodle, it was buttery soft with some elasticity.  I found it to be just the right texture.

Now with the 2 orders of donuts, it was only fitting to get a bowl of the Minced Beef Congee.  It arrived steaming hot and really thick, however, it appeared to be due to the addition of starch.  That made the congee a goupy thick rather than a smooth thick.  The plethora of tender beef mixed with fried mung bean thread was good, but we couldn't get over the amount of MSG they used.  Boy was this far too flavourful... And along with the congee, we got another specialty being the Wonton Noodles.  This was good with chewy al dente noodles nestled in a flavourful sweet broth. The wontons featured whole crunchy shrimp which packed a whole lot of natural flavour.  While we were perusing the menu, we noticed that the Sweet & Sour Pork was described as "soooo good!".  Okay, we'll see about that...  Yes, they were pretty good being crispy on the outside while juicy on the inside.  There was probably too much sauce on the plate, but at least it was balanced where the sweet and sour were distinctive.

We added a few things at the end including the Stir-Fried Crystal Noodles with Beef.  It arrived glistening like a teenager's forehead.  And yup, it was super greasy and OMG salty.  Both MSG and soy were used liberally in this dish.  Too bad since it was good otherwise with nicely textured noodles and tender beef. We finished off the meal with something sweet (with no MSG) in the Steamed Sponge Cake.  It was semi-sweet, rich (from the lard I'm sure...) and fluffy.  Thankfully this was a mild finish to an extremely salty meal.  Don't get me wrong here, there were some good eats, but with the salt and MSG content in the food, it eroded our overall experience.  Not to mention, the disappointing donuts.  We had high hopes, but ultimately, they failed to deliver a complete meal.

The Good:
- Despite the MSG/salt content, there is good food here
- Quick expedition of dishes
- Really large menu (if that is what you like)

The Bad:
- Too much MSG and salt
- Not made-to-order donuts
- Servers were friendly, but completely over-extended

Crystal Palace

Once upon a time...  There was this restaurant named Tasty Village.  It was located in a corner mall which also housed #1 Beef Noodle House and a sushi restaurant.  Unfortunately, that location was the kiss of death as there are absolutely no close by parking spots along Willingdon nor Moscrop.  Sure, there was a parking lot, but with only enough spots for a 7-11, many would just drive up the slope to Metrotown for more accessible eats.  Well, as you can guess, Tasty Village bit the dust, much like the sushi restaurant.  Now, the newest restaurant attempting to make it work is Crystal Palace.  And guess what?  We couldn't find parking when we tried to visit the place!  Predictable.  Resorted to parking at the street behind and blindly making our way through the mini-forest to the restaurant.

Being a Shanghainese joint, we ordered accordingly starting with the Braised Pork Shank. Huh? How did this dish come out so quickly??? I was a bit skeptical.  Naturally, this dish was pre-made, but for me, I expected a longer period of time for them to heat it up.  My suspicions were correct as the meat was lukewarm at best.  Hence, the texture wasn't exactly moist, although it was far from being tough.  On the positive side of the ledger, the skin/fat was nicely done with a soft gelatinous texture with a rich colour.  However, the sauce was more salty than anything.  It was too "dark soy" tasting.  Something I didn't expect to be one note was the Hot & Sour Soup.  Despite the dark, rich colour, the soup had no depth.  Instead, there was far too much black vinegar which put the flavours out-of-balance.  It must be noted that we requested it to be less spicy, but even with that taken into account, it was far too sour. Moreover, the seafood was fishy and severely overcooked. Up next was something for the kiddies being the Noodles in Soup with Chicken.  Naturally, this was a really mild dish with a slightly sweet broth.  Viv thought it was rather bland, but that could've been the whole point.  The noodles were nicely chewy though and the dark meat was cooked just right.

Something that was far from being cooked right was the 4 Seasons Green Beans.  Sorry, I can't candy-coat this one - it sucked.  The beans were woefully overcooked (probably oil-blanched and/or wok fried too long).  Therefore, the beans were mushy and not appealing at all.  The flavours were rather muted as well since there was no meat in the dish.  There was no depth, not much spice and completely flat.  Next to hit the lazy Susan was the Beef Pancake Roll.  Despite the appealing pan-fried spotting, the pancake itself was far too thick and dense.  Therefore, it negated whatever crispiness that was achieved by the pan fry.  It was really too bad since the thinly sliced beef shank was moist and tender with just enough hoisin to taste.  Served with steamed buns, the Smoked Tea Duck was both good and bad.  First off, I really liked how there was a noticeable smoky flavour (unlike many other places).  However, the duck was fried too long rendering it into an oily mess with meat that was dry and stringy.  

Lastly, we had the Xiao Long Bao which were disappointing.  The dumpling skin was thick and doughy while there was a general lack of soup (which was sweet without any other distinguishing flavours).  Furthermore, there was a bunch of cabbage mixed in with the meat which not only made for a weird flavour, the texture was not right either.  Well, there is no nice way to say it, so I'll say it.  The food is below average here and considering the parking issues, I fear they have an uphill battle that is much worse than the climb up WIllingdon...

The Good:
- Decent pricing
- Although not very attentive, staff was friendly

The Bad:
- Food is below-average
- Parking sucks 

Winner of Doolin's Draw!

Congratulations to Brian S for winning the $50.00 gift card from Doolin's!  Please email me at admin@
shermansfoodadventures.com and provide me a mailing address.

Tairyou Ichiba

"That restaurant with the big wood door", exclaimed Mr. X as queried where Tairyou Ichiba was located.  Oh yah, the place formerly known as Kura right next to Bubble World on Kingsway.  Heck, I never got to try Kura before it closed...  Oh well, I guess Tairyou Ichiba it is.  I always assumed that the inside would be nicely appointed because the big wood door looked so majestic.  However, when I walked in, the place looked much more sparse than I could ever imagine.  It's like someone with caked-on makeup, waking up the next morning could result in a total surprise!  Anyways, I was here to try the food, so the decor was not really all that important. 

Another thing I realized pretty quickly was the relatively low prices.  This could mean one of 2 things, either this would be a great deal or mediocre food.  I guess we'd need to eat to find out!  We started with the Toro Nigiri, which was okay in terms of the fish - it had a pleasing texture and taste.  But the rice was not my cup of tea.  It was dry and salty.  Yes, salty.  Not something one would associate with good sushi rice.  That was further exacerbated by the overwhelming amount of it in the Aburi Salmon Oshi.  I gotta declare that Miku and Minami have nothing to fear with this version of the dish.  In fact, they might want to encourage people to try it at Tairyou Ichiba so they can see for themselves how good they have it at Miku and Minami.  This one here had enough rice to make 2 portions let alone one.  Yet worst of all, they put slivered raw onions atop the barely seared salmon (only 2 pieces and on one corner).  The sharpness of the onions, as well as the plethora of pickled ginger in the pressed sushi, totally overwhelmed the salmon.  Moreover, there was an absence of moisture which made it hard to eat.  It really need some sauce. This was a complete fail in my books.

Moving on from the terrible roll, the meal was actually half-decent.  The Assorted Sashimi (for a reasonable price of $28.00) was better than we expected.  Nothing on the plate was bad, in fact, some of it was quite good.  I especially liked the Amberjack and Hamachi.  Not really all that enthused about the Tuna as it was not a good mushy. The fried shrimp heads were a treat though. Although the batter for the Ebi Mayo was not crispy enough for our tastes, the dish as a whole was decent.  The shrimp were large, deveined and had a decent snap.  I would've preferred to have more mayo because there was an overall lack of flavour and moisture. Lastly, we had the Grilled Saba and it was done nicely.  It had a nice char while still being moist inside. For the items we tried, most were acceptable except for the sushi as the rice was not very good.  Personally, I believe the one thing that will attract customers are their low prices.

The Good:
- Low prices
- Good portion size
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Sushi rice needs some work
- Aburi Salmon Oshi should be avoided

Pho Tau Bay (Newton)

My first experience with Pho Tau Bay was back at its original location near Guildford.  I can't say that I came away impressed despite the rave reviews by others.  The broth was overly ladened with MSG for my tastes.  Now with a new location in the heart of Newton, it seemed like a good time for me to make a redo of sorts, albeit with much nicer digs.  Yes, the place is new from the ground up, hence, it's clean, modern and inviting.  A total opposite of the other location with bench seating that was shifting as I was eating.  On a side note, the modernness of this location could give Pho on Chopsticks a run for its money, yet at the same time, charging significantly less money at the same time...

Much like last time, I went for 2 dishes, which surprised the friendly server.  He looked at me like I was nuts.  Well, I guess he had good reason since the Pho Dac Biet was a healthy portion.  It had a good amount of noodles and tender slices of meat.  I found the broth to be much lighter on the MSG this time around, yet still exhibiting some meatiness.  Unlike many other lighter versions, I could really taste the star anise and cloves.  An all-around solid bowl of Pho in my books.  I particularly liked the addition of saw leaf herb atop the usual sprouts and basil.  

The Grilled Chicken on Rice was even larger which ultimately led to leftovers.  The three moist pieces of grilled chicken were charred nicely which was both aesthetically-pleasing and tasting.  I really got the smokiness of the char while the chicken was seasoned just enough.  The broken rice was firm while still soft. This was a pleasing end to a meal that was both inexpensive AND served in a clean and modern environment.  Makes me wonder how Pho on Chopsticks can charge almost double for essentially the same thing (with both places being similar and somewhat closeby).

The Good:
- Clean, modern digs
- Very friendly service
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Not really anything unless you don't like Vietnamese food...

Doolin's Irish Pub

My original visit to Doolin's could be summed up with one word - foggy.  No it wasn't misty outside nor was I concussed.  Rather, I barely remembered it (you guess why) and we only shared a few appies.  Hence, I enjoyed my experience (and why wouldn't I???).  With it being a gastropub and all, I regretted never being able to sample their "real" food rather than some wings and nachos.  Well, that was all going to change as I was given a $50.00 credit to use.  I dragged Viv along because taking photos of my food at a pub alone would look outright strange.  And no, a beer at my table wouldn't help things because I would be a drunk weirdo taking pictures.

So we started with some appies beginning with the Duck Bites which shared some similarities to the Chicken Grenades (from Recipe to Riches).  This is actually a compliment because I happen to like the grenades.  The pieces of duck were wrapped with crispy bacon and kissed by a chipotle & ginger marinade.  The flavours were further amped by the a sweet sesame soy glaze and spiced up with pickled jalapenos.  We liked how they filled the rest of the plate with a salad as it gave the impression of more food.  Next up were the Pan Seared Scallops with Roasted Chorizo Sausage.  We liked the plating as each scallop was served on a crispy thin-sliced piece of chorizo.  It was finished off with pesto, shaved Parmesan and a red pepper reduction.  The scallops were buttery soft, yet could've benefited from a touch more sear.  We liked the contrast of natural sweetness with the saltiness from the sausage and Parmesan.  Although the red pepper reduction looked spicy, it was mostly sweet.

For our last appie, we tried the Ahi Tuna Wonton Tacos consisting of lightly seared tuna served on crispy wonton shells with fresh mango salsa and topped with light wasabi cream.  As described, the tuna was  appealingly rare while the wasabi cream was there but not overpowering.  Of course the sweet mango was a nice compliment to the nicely prepared tuna, but the wonton crisps were a bit clunky to eat as they broke apart really easily (and these were not one-biters).  For her main, Viv selected the Smoked Salmon with a balsamic butter sauce served with Dauphinoise potatoes and seasonal vegetables.  We found the salmon to a little dry, yet nicely smoked. The balsamic butter sauce was smooth and only slightly tart (wished there was more of it).  The veggies were just barely cooked retaining a crunch.  As for the potatoes, they were not as rich as one would think (which we liked). We liked the soft texture that was not mushy either.

For myself, I had the Lamb Shank drizzled in lamb jus with a touch of red wine served with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables.  Although there was more sauce than a "drizzle", I personally didn't mind because it had depth and indeed had a rich red wine flavour.  The lamb shank itself was massive with plenty of tender, gelatinous meat. For dessert, we shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding which was moist and full of sweet sticky dates.  We found it quite sweet, but that was not unexpected.  The vanilla bean ice cream (although sweet itself) helped cut through the heaviness.  So after finally eating a complete meal at Doolin's (including a barley sandwich), we were satisfied with the items we had ordered because it exemplified what a gastropub is supposed to be.

The Good:
- The items we tried were above average (except for the dry salmon)
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- They try to balance traditional pub food with modern fare, but more "newer" items would be nice

Taste of Vietnam

Is there a difference between Westside Pho and Eastside Pho?  I posed this question to Rich Guy as we were having lunch at Taste of Vietnam.  Really, there are not a whole lot of Vietnamese restaurants on the Westside of Vancouver.  Of course the cost of rent and doing business is one reason and another could be the demographics.  Then, realistically there should be, at the very least, some tweaks in the menu to appeal to the locals.  That basically will lead me into my usual rant about how restaurants tailor their menu to the common denominator. They are not really all that interested in pleasing a few bloggers, food snobs or haters in general.  They are out to make money (to feed their own family) and will do whatever it takes to attract customers.  So as we ate our meal, we tempered our expectations.

We started with the Banh Mi which was somewhat similar to the ones from Viet Sub in that there was some sweet sauce slathered throughout.  Rich Guy wasn't fond of it and longed for a more Ba Le type version. I personally didn't mind it as there was enough butter-mayo and plenty of crunch from the carrots (were a bit bland though) and cucumber.  Furthermore, the bread was toasted nicely being crunchy and airy. The amount of meat was chintzy though.  Arriving with considerable sauce, the Fried Chicken Wings were not what we were expecting.  However, it turned out to be pretty tasty with a sauce that had all the flavours including salty, sweet, tart and spice.  The wings themselves were moist and juicy, but the amount of sauce made the skin wet.

For our mains, we shared the Lemongrass Chicken on Rice first.  This looked pretty typical and did the job.  The portion size was decent with 2 pieces of boneless chicken.  It was charred properly, tender and flavourful.  Nothing exciting, yet nothing bad either.  And of course we'd get a bowl of the Pho Dac Biet.  Well, at least I did and Rich Guy had some.  He was pretty full at this point...  Pfft...  Well, the broth was pretty light and didn't have much impact.  We got a bit of sweetness, but not much else.  There was a modest amount of rice noodles and meat. It was pretty average. In the end, Taste of Vietnam did the job at a reasonable price (considering its location).  Obviously there is better Vietnamese to be found on the Eastside and in Surrey, but they are a serviceable option for the lunch crowd.

The Good:
- Okay food
- Reasonable pricing considering the location

The Bad:
- Pho is pretty average
- And of course due to the higher operating costs, portions and prices can't compete with East Van joints