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In the GVRD, there are certain areas that feature specific cuisines. We have Chinese food in Richmond, Korean along North Road, Vietnamese on Kingsway, Indian food in Surrey and in North Van, Persian. But wait a minute. Palki Indian Cuisine? Okay, call me picky, but I've had some pretty average Indian food outside of Surrey. It's not that they don't try to make "real" Indian food, but the local clientele dictates what they serve. Last year, I had already tried their Commercial Street location and came away satisfied. I recently got an invite to try their North Van setup and was treated to a variety of food including their made-to-order curries.
We first started with some appetizers including the one order each of the Chicken and Prawn Pakora. The chicken was intermittently crunchy and not-too-greasy while being moist in the middle (it was white meat). As for the prawns, they exhibited a nice snap but were not as crunchy. These were sweet with a slight spice. Next, we were presented with a platter of Veggie Samosas which were crunchy, light and minimally greasy (since the wrapper was quite thin). The filling was loose and not heavy with a mild mix of spices. Served on the side was a sweet and spicy tamarind chutney and mint chutney.
On a separate dish, we had some Meat Samosas which were probably packed with too much filling. It was rather dry and crumbly. It was almost as if it needed to be greasier. I liked the sweet onion flavour in addition to the spices, but the peas were pretty hard and dense. The veggie samosas were our favourite in comparison. There was one dish that was not part of the original plan, which was the Curried Mussels. There was nothing inherently bad about the dish, but it wasn't exactly outstanding either. The mussels themselves were cooked just right in a spicy and nutty sauce. But the copious amount of salt overwhelmed everything.
Moving onto the main event, we had the standard, the Butter Chicken. All of our curries were served in their own chaffing dishes which kept them warm throughout our meal. The butter chicken was balanced between cream and tomato where there was a definite heat (we requested spicy). However, on a personal level, I could've done with even more. The big pieces of white meat were moist and tender. One of my favourite dishes arrived next, being the Lamb Rogan Josh. I thought the lamb itself could've been a bit less dry, but it was hardly chewy. Again, there was a good spice level and depth of flavour. Again, it was a bit heavy on the salt.
Probably my favourite of the bunch was the Saag Paneer. Unlike a palak paneer, this one was made with broccoli in addition to spinach. The best part was the paneer as it was buttery, soft and light. Smooth with little bits of spinach, the creamy sauce was mild and was a perfect compliment to the cheese. Continuing on with another vegetarian offering, we had the Aloo Gobi. The potatoes were fork tender while the cauliflower was slightly more firm. The spice level was noticeable while the predominant flavour was ginger. This was a nice break from the previous heavier dishes.
Our last saucy dish was the Prawn Goan Curry. It was spicy and aromatic (from the coconut). Again, there was a pronounced ginger flavour as well. The prawns were cooked just enough so they retained a snap while exhibiting their natural sweetness. Our last savoury dish was something I've never had before being the Chicken Hariyali. Similar to chicken tikka, but marinated with ginger, garlic and spices, it took on a rich green hue due to the use of cilantro and mint. For me, I could pick out ginger once again which still came through even though the dish was spicy. Although the chicken was moist, I personally prefer the classic tandoori chicken or chicken tikka more.
We were served rice, papadoms and Garlic Naan on the side. I really liked the Garlic Naan as it was charred well relatively evenly throughout. Hence there was a crunch and nuttiness to the bread. Once past that, it was chewy and soft with a good hit of garlic. We finished off this feast with 3 desserts consisting of Gulab Jamun, Rice Pudding and Kulfi Ice Cream. Personally, I've never been a huge fan of gulab jumun, but this one wasn't too sweet. The kulfi ice cream was not bad, yet I didn't get much in the way of cardamom. Overall, with the amount of dishes sampled, the meal could be considered good. The spice level and quality of food is pretty good for North Van and more so.
The Good:
- Legit flavours (assuming you ask for spicy)
- Nice dining space
The Bad:
- Some items were heavy on the salt
- Spice level was good, but personally I could've done with spicier
As you may have already noticed, I get on these personal food fads. In other words, I seem to focus on a particular type of food for a period of time, then get bored and eventually moving on - much like Tiger Woods and his women. Um... Bad analogy. Viv, you didn't just read that... Anyways, after my great experience at Donair Affair (how ironic of the name... uh...), I decided to try out Meditalia Gourmet Kitchen. Sure, they serve Gyros here, not Donairs, but you get the idea.
Much like last time, I picked up a Lamb & Beef Plate consisting of meat doused with plenty of sauce atop chewy rice. Completing the order was hummus and tabbouleh salad. I found the chicken a bit dry but the liberal amount of sauce helped matters. The hummus was quite good being smooth and flavourful with hints of garlic and a good amount of olive oil. I wasn't so fond of the cold, right-out-of-the bag pita bread though. I picked up a Chicken Gyro as well and the darn thing was massive. Yes, more massive than usual. Lots of crisp produce doused in the same tzatziki and hot sauce. The chicken was a touch dry, but it didn't make or break the gyro.
Lastly, I got 3 Falafels which were pretty forgettable. Due to being prepared in advance and sitting in a warming tray, then reheated, they were soggy and not at all crispy on the outside. But despite this, the rest of the food was decent and well-priced. The nice people who run the place add to the positives as well. I personally prefer Donair Affair more, but if I'm in Newton again, Meditalia is a viable option.
The Good:
- Large portions
- Well-priced
- Nice people
The Bad:
- Soggy falafels
- Meat is a bit dry
I'm not ashamed to admit it. Sometimes I indulge in Westernized Chinese food. Yes, it can be seen as sacrilegious, but really, food is food. No prejudices here. Well, maybe I won't set foot into a PF Chang's... or will I? Yah probably. This time around, I knew a long work day would require take out since cooking was out of the equation (also, I ran out of propane, so no BBQing!). So I stopped by Orange Blossom on my way out. Formerly King's Choice, this is your typical take out Westernized Chinese joint. However, rumour
has it that the food is actually decent, especially for North Delta. Considering the state of Chinese food in the area, that is not a stretch.
I ended up getting the Dinner for 4 ($40.00) which included 6 items. Starting with the Spring Rolls, they were a bit soft (even after throwing them into the toaster oven to crisp them up), probably from being packed full of veggies. I liked how they placed a paper towel underneath to soak up the residual oil because there was lots of it. The surprisingly large order of Fried Prawns were okay. The batter was a bit dense for my tastes, but when reheated, it was crispy. The prawns themselves had a meatiness to them and were not mushy. Again, the paper towel underneath was welcomed.
I found the Sweet & Sour Pork to be meaty while still tender with just the right amount of fat. The sauce had a noticeable tang which gave way to sweetness, a nice balance in my opinion. As for the Beef Chop Suey, the veggies were crisp and vibrant. The slices of beef were tenderized just enough so there was some remaining texture. There was a modest amount of starch-thickened sauce which was a bit garlicky and not in the least salty. Love the fact they do not use MSG. The Chicken Chow Mein was soft while not being mushy. The ample amount of large chunks of chicken were moist and tender. Again, the dish was flavourful without being overly seasoned.
The same could be said about the BBQ Pork and Shrimp Fried Rice. It was seasoned just enough that it could not be seen as bland, yet not salty either. The shrimp were cold-water crunchy while the finely diced BBQ pork was not fatty. I liked the ample amount of fluffy egg which added a nice texture to the rice. It was on the drier side though. Overall, this was more-than-acceptable for take-out Westernized Chinese food. Definitely an option out in North Delta.
The Good:
- Mostly well-executed dishes
- Friendly people
- Reasonable-pricing
The Bad:
- Some dishes were a bit greasy
- Purely take-out, only a few counter seats (not really a bad though)
We all know that Kingsway is often known for its bounty of Vietnamese food and similarly, the wealth of Korean food along North Road. Hey, if you want hand-pulled noodles, head to Broadway or take a stroll down Robson for some ramen. Quietly, Cambie Street has become a hub for HK-Style Cafes of sorts. First we had Gloucester, then Corner 22 (more Taiwanese though), continuing with the opening of Copa Cafe. Now we can add Soho Tea Room which makes it 4 within 5 blocks.
This post contains 2 visits because the first time, Choobee and I were not able to put much of a dent into the enormous menu. On my first visit, I gave the the Lobster Bisque a go. It was somewhat rich, but more tomatoey than creamy. But it was not bad since it was not overly salty. I enjoyed the lobster essence as well as the bits of nicely cooked meat. Choobee insisted I try the Chicken Filet with Mushroom & Lemon on Angel Hair Pasta and it was loaded with ingredients and a nice hit of real lemon. I found the chicken tenders to be slightly too large, but then again, it was probably intentional to keep its juices. As much as I appreciated the generous amount of ingredients, there wasn't enough pasta (which was al dente by the way).
Choobee went for the Singapore Laksa Hot Pot with Chicken which was served with rice, pickled veggies and some meat/bean sprout stirfry. Naturally, this was a thin (not enough coconut milk) and relatively less pungent version of laksa (with very little lemongrass or lime), but the individual components (seafood) were cooked correctly. Lastly, we shared the Honey Toast Box with condensed milk topping. This was a large dessert which took 20 minutes to arrive (as warned on the menu). It was pretty good with crunchy toast segments sweetened with honey. With 2 large scoops of ice cream, multi-coloured mini-marshmallows, fruit and a wafer stick, we could not finish it.
On my second visit, it was with my hockey team, so we did mange to put somewhat of a dent on the menu. I went for the Jumbo Mixed Grill which included chicken steak, pork chop, ox-tongue, sausage, bacon, wings and a fried egg. Of all the components, the only 2 items that could've used improvement were the pork chop (which was dry) and the bacon (which was not crispy enough). Included with the plate of meat was a choice of spaghetti or rice, sauce (black pepper in this case), soup (borscht or cream) and garlic toast. I wasn't a huge fan of the borscht, not because it wasn't really borscht, but it was lacking in ingredients and was quite bland. I did like the black pepper sauce as it was impactful.
Milhouse, by the power of my suggestion, had the Crispy Salt & Pepper Chicken on Rice. It's sorta like a Jedi mind trick when I state I want a certain dish and then say its okay that someone else orders it. Ah yes, "these were the chicken nuggets he was looking for...". And those nuggets were indeed crispy, salty & peppery. The chicken meat was moist and juicy, however, I never can understand how it goes with plain rice. Gordo, didn't fall for my mind tricks and independently ordered the Szechuan Beef Rice Noodles in Soup. As exemplified, the beef was rather fatty and only somewhat tender. He found the soup mild in spice and generally lacking in flavour. The flat rice noodles were not too soft nor clumpy. Ultimately, he was indifferent with it.
Lionel Hutz ended up with the Curry Brisket with Rice (boy, he really likes brisket... orders it every time!). He remarked that it was sufficiently tender while bathed in a coconut curry which was not spicy nor "curry-like". But it was fine for a HK-style version. The potatoes were fried a bit too much and did not integrate with the sauce very well. Gadget Girl opted for the House Special Fried Crispy Chow Mein and it was a pretty typical version consisting of baby bak choy, bbq pork, chicken, shrimp, scallop and squid bathed in a starch-thickened sauce. She thought the noodles were crispy enough, but the sauce itself was a bit bland. The individual components were fine except for the soggy bak choy.
Emilicious initially wanted the Laksa Hot Pot, but I guess our server didn't hear her correctly and brought out a bowl of Laksa instead. Predictably, it wasn't a real Laksa per se, but it did have components that appear in a Laksa. Once again, it was thin and lacking in the pungency department. As per usual, Milhouse went for a Chocolate Slush with pearls. It was a large portion that was relatively smooth, but a bit watery and lacking in flavour. The pearls were chewy and soft though. Well, there you have it - a decent HK-Style Cafe (with lots of Taiwanese influences) with a diverse menu smack dab in the middle of other similar restaurants.
The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Decent eats
- Lots of choice
The Bad:
- Even with a parking lot in the back, not a whole lot of parking around
- Many items lacking flavour
As mentioned before, Ladner does not have a diverse culinary scene, but for some reason or another, there are 4 Japanese restaurants. And although none of them would be mistakened for authentic Japanese food, they more or less do the job. I've been to Maguro, Go Go Sushi and Ladner Sushi and all of them are pretty typical of Japanese restaurants in the GVRD. The last one that I haven't been to is Mt Fuji Sushi. It seemed like a good place to meet up with Bubbly for lunch (since she lives in Tsawwassen). However, much like a recent meetup with Miss Y, Bubbly did not show. I waited and waited for half-an-hour and there I was sitting there all alone, with my food and camera. Well, it turned out she had to cancel and messaged me via Google Talk (???). Oh well...
Anyways, I still had to eat! I started with the Surprise Roll, which was neatly constructed and plated. My first impressions were pretty good as nothing seemed to be amiss. I did take a sample of the rice independently and it was a touch gummy and not really all that flavourful. But not a bad roll nonetheless. The Katsu Don was interestingly plated on a, well, plate. Since I was only armed with a pair of chopsticks, it was a bit hard to eat the last few bites of rice. Spoon anyone? However, the pork cutlet itself was crispy where the sauce hadn't penetrated. I found the meat to be on the drier chewy side, yet it didn't make or break the dish. The rice was chewy in texture and each grain was discernible. There was just enough sauce to flavour all of the components. I thought this was a good effort on their part.
On a subsequent visit, I had the Assorted Tempura and it was carefully prepared. Each piece was just cooked (veggies not completely soggy) and lightly crisp. However, the ebi was a bit soft for my liking. In order to sample the sashimi, I went for the Chirashi Don which was not attractively plated. In fact, some of the slices of fish were haphazardly prepared. Overlooking that, the sashimi was above average including sweet hotate and tender tako. The sushi rice underneath had some vinegar and sweetness while being a bit sticky. In the end, these 2 visits were above average and definitely more than acceptable for Ladner.
The Good:
- Decent for Ladner
- Nice people
The Bad:
- Seating is a bit tight
There we were, my son and I, traveling aimlessly down Main Street. Well, not really... It was after getting haircuts (which were matching by the way, LOL), we were hungry with no real ideas as to where to eat. Pathetic, I know. So I had just passed King Edward when I noticed that a Vietnamese restaurant had replaced Honolulu Cafe. Interestingly named Tonkin and with a grand opening discount, I made an immediate left turn into a parking spot. Hey, I'm Chinese - I couldn't pass up a discount AND a free parking spot. It's against my upbringing. So walking into the place, with all the various choices of tables, my son points to the one right in front of the window. It was a strange half-booth facing the window which was horrible for pictures!
Oh well, whatever, a happy kid in a restaurant = I can eat in peace. We started with the Banh Mi Dac Biet which featured dense, yet crusty bread. The ingredients were plentiful and complimentary. I particularly liked the impacful amount of pate. So many places either omit it or merely smear a minimal amount. In addition, there was no absence of fish sauce which added even more punch to an already flavourful combination. As for my bowl of Pho Dac Biet, it was served in a modern square bowl. The broth was meaty, dark and rich. It was not really all that sweet, rather it was more savoury. There was no absence of meat, but the rare steak was somewhat chewy.
Lastly, we had the Grilled Chicken on Rice. Being chewy and moist at the same time, the rice was very good. However, the chicken was dry and bland with no real distinguishing flavours. To my son's dismay, the fried egg had a completely cooked yolk (which kinda defeats its purpose). Despite the poor rice dish, the other 2 items we had were pretty good. Not bad.
The Good:
- Friendly people
- Okay pricing
The Bad:
- Food is not bad, but not outstanding either
It was a dark and stormy night... No, I haven't suddenly morphed into Snoopy typing atop a dog house. However, I think the lowering of my car may have earned me the dog house with Viv... Anyways, it really was a dark and stormy night after Friday night hockey. Hey, look at the picture if you don't believe me. Wait, we live in Vancouver, why wouldn't you believe me? So with that being established, what better than to hit a pub (St. Augustine's in this case) for some comfort food of sorts and a barley sandwich on the side, naturally... With that in mind, I did get a nice beer (similar to a Rickard's Red) to start which went well with my food.
About that food, I decided to split The Burger with Gordo. It consisted of a half pound fresh beef patty, sautéed mushrooms, cured bacon, apple wood cheddar, leaf lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickle and caramelized onion with miso aioli. This thing was large with a moist well-charred patty. Lots of fresh produce along with crisp bacon all on a nicely toasted bun. The side of fresh cut fries were crispy and light. Gordo and I also shared the Pulled Pork Tacos with salsa, guacamole and pickled onions. The pork was in large chunks being meaty and spicy. It wasn't particularly saucy, but that was a good thing since we were eating tacos, not a sandwich. We thought the pickled onions really brought the whole thing together.
On the topic of pulled pork, Lionel Hutz ordered the Pulled Pork Nachos... for himself. The monstrosity was comprised of hand-cut tortilla chips with black beans, corn, fresh salsa, sour cream, guacamole and of course pulled pork. Again, it was spicy which really added lots of flavour, yet the pork did not noticeably moisten the crunchy chips. For the first time since we had visited the now closed Three Lions Pub, Sweet Tooth had a Beet Salad consisting of candied walnuts, goat cheese fritter and arugula with citrus vinaigrette. And unlike that last experience, it was a good salad for $10.00. Everything on the plate did what it was supposed to do with the highlight being the goat cheese fritter - it was crunchy and cheesy.
Milhouse didn't go for a burger this time and decided to do something a bit healthier in the Turkey Meatloaf with whipped potatoes, tomato jam and fried brussel sprouts. I was able to sample the meatloaf and I found it mealy and very light. The tomato jam was impactful while the fried brussel sprouts were good. Lastly, we shared a couple orders of the Peanut Turtle Blondie. This was not very good our opinion. It was dry and quite bland. We didn't get much sweetness nor anything else. It was really too bad our meal ended on that note since most of the other eats were more than acceptable, especially for late night.
The Good:
- Decent eats
- Lively atmosphere
The Bad:
- Quite the tight squeeze in there
- Decent eats, but not Earth-shattering
Posts
In the GVRD, there are certain areas that feature specific cuisines. We have Chinese food in Richmond, Korean along North Road, Vietnamese on Kingsway, Indian food in Surrey and in North Van, Persian. But wait a minute. Palki Indian Cuisine? Okay, call me picky, but I've had some pretty average Indian food outside of Surrey. It's not that they don't try to make "real" Indian food, but the local clientele dictates what they serve. Last year, I had already tried their Commercial Street location and came away satisfied. I recently got an invite to try their North Van setup and was treated to a variety of food including their made-to-order curries.
We first started with some appetizers including the one order each of the Chicken and Prawn Pakora. The chicken was intermittently crunchy and not-too-greasy while being moist in the middle (it was white meat). As for the prawns, they exhibited a nice snap but were not as crunchy. These were sweet with a slight spice. Next, we were presented with a platter of Veggie Samosas which were crunchy, light and minimally greasy (since the wrapper was quite thin). The filling was loose and not heavy with a mild mix of spices. Served on the side was a sweet and spicy tamarind chutney and mint chutney.
On a separate dish, we had some Meat Samosas which were probably packed with too much filling. It was rather dry and crumbly. It was almost as if it needed to be greasier. I liked the sweet onion flavour in addition to the spices, but the peas were pretty hard and dense. The veggie samosas were our favourite in comparison. There was one dish that was not part of the original plan, which was the Curried Mussels. There was nothing inherently bad about the dish, but it wasn't exactly outstanding either. The mussels themselves were cooked just right in a spicy and nutty sauce. But the copious amount of salt overwhelmed everything.
Moving onto the main event, we had the standard, the Butter Chicken. All of our curries were served in their own chaffing dishes which kept them warm throughout our meal. The butter chicken was balanced between cream and tomato where there was a definite heat (we requested spicy). However, on a personal level, I could've done with even more. The big pieces of white meat were moist and tender. One of my favourite dishes arrived next, being the Lamb Rogan Josh. I thought the lamb itself could've been a bit less dry, but it was hardly chewy. Again, there was a good spice level and depth of flavour. Again, it was a bit heavy on the salt.
Probably my favourite of the bunch was the Saag Paneer. Unlike a palak paneer, this one was made with broccoli in addition to spinach. The best part was the paneer as it was buttery, soft and light. Smooth with little bits of spinach, the creamy sauce was mild and was a perfect compliment to the cheese. Continuing on with another vegetarian offering, we had the Aloo Gobi. The potatoes were fork tender while the cauliflower was slightly more firm. The spice level was noticeable while the predominant flavour was ginger. This was a nice break from the previous heavier dishes.
Our last saucy dish was the Prawn Goan Curry. It was spicy and aromatic (from the coconut). Again, there was a pronounced ginger flavour as well. The prawns were cooked just enough so they retained a snap while exhibiting their natural sweetness. Our last savoury dish was something I've never had before being the Chicken Hariyali. Similar to chicken tikka, but marinated with ginger, garlic and spices, it took on a rich green hue due to the use of cilantro and mint. For me, I could pick out ginger once again which still came through even though the dish was spicy. Although the chicken was moist, I personally prefer the classic tandoori chicken or chicken tikka more.
We were served rice, papadoms and Garlic Naan on the side. I really liked the Garlic Naan as it was charred well relatively evenly throughout. Hence there was a crunch and nuttiness to the bread. Once past that, it was chewy and soft with a good hit of garlic. We finished off this feast with 3 desserts consisting of Gulab Jamun, Rice Pudding and Kulfi Ice Cream. Personally, I've never been a huge fan of gulab jumun, but this one wasn't too sweet. The kulfi ice cream was not bad, yet I didn't get much in the way of cardamom. Overall, with the amount of dishes sampled, the meal could be considered good. The spice level and quality of food is pretty good for North Van and more so.
