4 Brothers' Pizza

I've had it.  Playing sports usually means I get to eat out with the team afterwards.  But with certain groups, either nobody wants to go out or it is the same ol' restaurant over and over again (like Alleluia on Saturday nights).  Thus, I decided to eat late night all by my lonesome.  But wait, I wasn't planning on being that creepy guy at 2:00am taking pictures of his congee in the corner.  No way!  I would only do such a thing during daylight hours... Therefore, I decided to head to 4 Brother's Pizza for some slices instead.  I went for 3 for variety reasons and honestly, I could eat that much.
 
Of course I had to get the Beef and Blue Cheese as a comparison to Uncle Fatih's and it was naturally different.  Although the crust was thin and crispy, it was noticeably less airy than Uncle Fatih's.  To state whether it was better or not as good would be completely subjective.  I can definitively say I liked the crust.  As for the topping, it was very similar with bits of crispy beef and blue cheese dressing.  I would've liked to see more dressing as it wasn't very impactful.  I did like that the pizza was not salty at all.  My next slice was the Capicollo and it did not disappoint in the spice department.  Combined with the cheese and mild tomato sauce, it created a zesty concoction of flavours.  I liked how the entire slice was covered with meat.

Lastly, I had the Ham & Pineapple which was pretty standard in taste.  It did have lots of pineapple which added a good amount of sweetness.  The ham was lean and completely covered the slice.  I didn't really notice the tomato sauce very much, but then again, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  Hey, for 2 bucks a slice and open until 3:00am, 4 Brothers did the trick.  I'd hit it up again for some slices when I'm all alone.

The Good:
- Priced right
- Crispy thin crust
- Decent amount of toppings

The Bad:
- Sauce could've had more impact

Burnaby Empty Bowls Fundraiser

In anticipation of attending the Burnaby Empty Bowls Fundraiser, I'd like to draw attention to the wonderful event for a worthy cause.  On Thursday, April 18th, 2013, the 7th annual fundraiser (at the Hilton Metrotown Hotel) will benefit the less fortunate in the community.  Bites for the event will be prepared by celebrated local chefs, including Chef Scott Jaeger of The Pear Tree Restaurant, Chef Tong Lim of the Hilton, Chef Alana Peckham of the Hart House Restaurant, Chef Daniel Craig of EBO Restaurant, and Baker Jack Kuyer of The Valley Bakery.  Tasty samplings will also be created by the Burnaby School District's ACE-it Culinary Program, led by renowned culinary instructor Steve Wade.  If you would like to attend and support a good cause, visit their website to buy tickets.  See you there!

YM Food Ltd

Whenever I need to shop for Chinese groceries, I tend to go with T&T despite the relatively higher prices compared to markets in Chinatown, Crystal Mall and Richmond.  Blame it on convenience factor and in the end, predictability.  However, since we were already in Richmond, I decided to brave the Public Market for once. Thinking back, I don't think we've ever really shopped at the Market.  We've only been here for eats and that was a long time ago.  While perusing the meats and other items for hot pot, I came across YM Food Ltd which featured Chinese BBQ.  There and then, I decided to try them out since I really didn't think I'd be back anytime soon. Reason?  The parking lot.  Heck, when has there ever been a good experience in an Asian mall parking lot???

Anyways, I decided to go for the big 3 starting with the Roast Pork. It was fairly lean, hence it wasn't exactly fatty and moist.  However, the skin had a decent colour and was crunchy without being hard.  Next up was the BBQ Pork which featured a nice bark where it was "stiff" in texture while exhibiting sweetness.  The meat itself was a little dry, but the overall texture was not chewy. With an appealing roasted colour, the BBQ Duck was, in my mind, prepared beautifully.  The fat was nicely rendered while the skin was not soggy.  The meat, including the breast, was super moist and flavourful without being salty. Not bad.  Not bad at all.  I wouldn't put it in the same class as HK BBQ Master, but really, there are not a lot that qualify.

The Good:
- Decent BBQ
- I asked for 1 pound and I got more or less that

The Bad:
- Parking sucks (but that is a given right?)

Congee Noodle King

Believe it or not, my first ever post on this blog was Congee Noodle King.  Yah, not the most exciting place, but hey, I like the food there.  And much like the first post, the same crew was here for this re-visit.  After all these years, Milhouse, Lionel Hutz, Polka King, Emilicious, Gordo Gadget Girl, Mr. Blueberry and Sweet Tooth (along with Polka Dot), have continued to stuff their faces on my food adventures.  Kinda nostalgic and brings a tear to my eye...  Wait, I think that was just some dust on my contact...  So what's so good about CNK?  Well, as the name implies, they specialize in congee and wonton noodles.

As such, Gordo and I decided to split both of those aforementioned items. I gave the Wonton Noodles a try first and yes, it was as good as I remembered.  Now, we've been back to CNK quite a few times since 2008, and I have to say the noodles were spot on every time.  As exemplified in the picture, the all-shrimp wontons were large and texturally on point with a pronounced snap.  The noodles were chewy while the soup was flavourful (with hits of sweetness and shrimp shell) and clean.  A very solid bowl of wonton noodles.  Onto the Preserved Egg and Salted Pork Congee, it also did not disappoint.  It was thick and remained mostly so until the last drop.  There was no absence of ingredients with large chunks of preserved egg and tenderized pork slices.  The pork itself was not really all that salty though.

As a side, I decided to add a plate of Assorted Offal which included tripe, brisket and tendon atop boiled lettuce.  I found the tripe to be too soft, but then again it was late in the day, so it could've been sitting around.  The tendon was good though while the brisket was quite meaty and slightly chewy.  Flavourwise, there was depth since the stuff had been sitting in the braising liquid for quite some time.  Milhouse, being the health conscious person that he is, got a side of Salty Donut to go with his congee.  I took a sample and it was obviously not fried to order (but I wasn't expecting it to be either) and was a quite dense.  It was no longer that crunchy either.  But when dunked into the congee, it really didn't matter too much.

Polka King (in a cameo appearance) and Polka Dot shared 2 items including the da lang portion of the Sweet & Sour Pork.  Exhibiting a shade of radioactive red, the pieces of pork were meaty and fairly moist  The exterior was crunchy in spots while the sauce was mostly sweet.  At least there wasn't too much sauce though.  They also had the Seafood Fried Noodles which was topped with an appealing array of ingredients.  Polka Dot found the noodles a bit bland while the cornstarch gravy was slightly thick and a bit slimy. Although the seafood was cooked quite well. The fish and scallops were cooked perfectly and still moist in the centre.  The squid, on the other hand, was a bit chewy. The Shanghai bok choy was a bit stringy and were cut into slightly too large pieces. One half of the noodles were crispy and surprisingly not burnt.

Lionel Hutz ended up with the Rice Noodles with Brisket. He thought it was okay where the texture and firmness of noodles was fine.  The taste and texture of the meat was okay, but he has had better. Moreover, the vegetables seemed to be fresh.  Mr. Blueberry went for the Yeung Chow Fried Rice which exhibited good wok heat.  It had crunchy shrimp and was well seasoned.  He thought it was exactly how it should be.  And really, most of the food was predictable and more than acceptable, especially for late night eats.  In fact, I find their wontons to be some of the best in the city.  Definitely a solid choice for congee, noodles and Cantonese fare any time of the day.

The Good:
- Reliable eats
- Good wontons and congee (like the name says)
- Open late

The Bad:
- Service is lacking in attentiveness

Hyoga

*Restaurant is closed*

Even since I started blogging in 2008, I've been fortunate to meet some really cool people who share the same passions.  To think of it, none of it wouldn't have happened if I didn't commit myself to taking pictures of everything I eat!  Recently, I was contacted by Ricky Shetty, who runs the blog daddyblogger.ca.  Essentially, he documents the trials and tribulations of being a dad.  Very cool, since most blogs out there are mommy-run and related.  Good to see a dad in action!  Anyways, he wanted to meet up as a form of networking and since he mentioned lunch, I was game. I suggested we try Hyoga on Kingsway because it is one of the rare Japanese joints that is run by actual Japanese people.

We got a few things to share starting with the Assorted Sashimi. Although small in portion size, it made it up in quality and presentation.  We liked how it was served atop an ice ring, which kept the slices cool as we ate. It consisted of 2 pieces each of hamachi, ika, hokkigai, salmon and tuna.  The nice sheen and neutral smell indicated freshness (as fresh as flash frozen fish can get).  Next up was the Fire Red Dragon Roll consisting of unagi tempura and cucumber on the inside with smoked salmon, avocado on the outside finished off with a spicy mayo concoction.  The roll wasn't exactly large in size, yet again, it was constructed with care.  I found the sushi rice to have a nice chewy texture with a hint of vinegar and sweetness.  There was just enough crunch from the unagi for a textural contrast.  However, there was far too little unagi to make any impact.  

Lastly, we shared the Pork Okonomiyaki which was large and quite thick.  Hence, it was on the denser side and slightly lacking in moisture.  However, it was panfried well with plenty of body and meatiness.  I would've liked to see some pickled ginger to go with this though.  From the items we tried, it was pretty clear that the food was legit (Ricky lived in Japan for a year).  Give it a try when you're in the area.

The Good:
- Real Japanese food (for those who care)
- Food made carefully
- Friendly people

The Bad:
- Some items are a little pricey
- Super small restaurant 

Pho Sunrise

It's no secret that I love Pho.  Heck, I love Vietnamese food in general.  And what's not to like?  Usually plentiful tasty food at low prices.  Therefore, it is a regular cuisine of choice while I'm with friends, family and alone.  In fact, it is one of my go-to destinations when I'm dining all-by-myself (think Eric Carmen).  Yes, the casualness and relative affordability are determining factors.  Now, good Vietnamese food is not really all that hard to find in Vancouver and Surrey, but not so much everywhere else (especially out further in the burbs).  Hence, I was intrigued with Pho Sunrise as it is located in a mall complex in White Rock.  Yah, Pho and White Rock doesn't roll off the tongue that much, but hey, gotta try to know right?

To get a good handle on the food, I decided on 3 items to the utter shock of the waitress. I explained that I was very hungry (which was true).  I started with one each of the Spring and Salad Rolls ($5.25).  Despite the use of a wheat wrapper, the spring roll was actually quite good.  It was crisp, hot and packed full of moist pork.  I liked the sweetness of the onions and the slight hint of fish sauce. As for the salad roll, the rice wrapper was a pleasing texture of chewy while soft.  On the inside, there was there was sprouts, lettuce, vermicelli, ham and shrimp.  Nothing was amiss, but I would've liked to see some basil.  The dipping sauce was sweet while lacking in peanut flavour.

My first entree was the Pho Dac Biet (Small $6.95) which was chock full of meat and chewy noodles.  I found the steak to be slightly chewy due to some gristle while the brisket and tendon were tender.  The broth was light and mostly sweet.  I liked the modest use of MSG, but in the end, it was in need of more depth. Lastly, I got the Lemongrass Chicken and Fried Egg on Rice ($9.50).  The rice itself was a bit clumpy and dry, but the runny egg yolk did help its cause.  The chicken exhibited a nice char and smokiness while being slightly dry.  It did have a good lemongrass hit though.  Believe it or not, I almost finished all the food to the bewilderment of the waitress.  It was not bad considering the location of the restaurant.

The Good:
- Super friendly staff
- Decent pricing given its location
- Clean and modern

The Bad:
- Pho broth on the lighter side

Winner of Lay's Do Us A Flavour Contest

Just a quick note.  Since the original winner of the Lay's Do Us A Flavour contest did not claim their prize.  I drew a new winner and it is Jodelene W!  Please email me at admin@shermansfoodadventures.com to claim your prize!  Congrats!