Rakuraku

Recently, after Sunday hockey, Gordo and I went to Au Wing Kee for some late night eats.  It was an impromptu decision which meant I did not have my camera with me.  Well, no biggie, since there was no need to blog about the place again anyways.  But there was something empty about the whole thing.  There it was - food in front of me - and not picture-taking!  It was like going cold turkey!  Upon leaving, we noticed Rakuraku next door which sported signage stating they are open late until 2:00am on Fridays.  Great, we filed that into our book of possible late night eats in the future.  That future would be the following Friday night as our game was a late one.  Despite the claim of being open until 2:00am, they are actually open only until 1:00am.

Arriving in a hot stone bowl, the Albap was decent with not overly mushy rice and enough ingredients.  As hard as we tried, by pushing the rice to the edges, we weren't able to get a good crust going.  We felt there was an ample amount of ingredients, which may have contributed to the added moisture in the rice.  Although the Japchae tasted okay with chewy noodles, it was pretty greasy with a minimal amount of ingredients.  The portion size was disappointing as well.  For the life of me, I can never understand why Japchae is so expensive.  I've made it at home and the raw material cost is modest at best.  Oh well, I digress...

Our favouite dish was the Kimchi Fried Rice.  The rice itself had a pleasing chewiness while not being oily.  There was a good amount of kimchi flavour and spiciness. We liked how the fried egg on top was buttery soft with a runny yolk. The Seafood Pancake was a fail in our books.  Consisting barely of any seafood, it was more of a green onion pancake.  It was rather greasy as well.   Lastly, we had the Grilled Skewers and much of it was pretty dry. Nothing more to say than "meh".  In fact, other than the kimchi fried rice, the food was pretty forgettable.  Not inedible by any means, but there is certainly better.

The Good:
- Open late
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Food is pretty "meh"
- Service was okay, but they never refilled our water

Jagerhof Schnitzel House

Quick, when you hear "the HOF", what immediately comes to mind?  A young loner on a crusade, to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless - who drives a talking car?  No, that is David Hasselhof.  The place where all things hockey are displayed?  Nope, that's the Hockey Hall of Fame.  What I am referring to locally is Jagerhof Schnitzel House in North Van.  Recently I revisited Old Bavaria Haus and it inspired me to try the other schnitzel joint 
(there is the Alpen Club too).

After dropping off my car at the Automall for servicing, Rich Guy picked me up and we headed over to the "hof". He had the special of the day which included a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup.  This was a pretty standard version with plenty of sodium and soft noodles.  I was indifferent with it.  The featured dish was the Schnitzel Alfredo which came with potatoes and red cabbage.  The pork schnitzel was lightly crisp while the meat was tender and as moist as it could be for white meat.  The Alfredo sauce was quite salty and cheesy (in a Parmesan way) which easily became the dominant flavour.  The pan-fried potatoes were soft with some crispy spots.

For myself, I had to get the biggest, baddest dish on the menu being the Jagerhof Platter consisting of a Pork Chop, Jagerhof Schnitzel (with mushroom sauce), sausage, sauerkraut, potatoes and red cabbage.  The schnitzel was lightly crisp like the one before topped by a rich mushroom sauce.  It was mild which let the schnitzel do its thing (strangely, the sauce reminded me of the one you'd find at a HK-style cafe).  The sausage was meaty and juicy while the pork chop was flavourful without being overly salty (think of it as a dry ham).  If I had to do a head-to-head comparison with Old Bavaria Haus, I'd give the slight edge to Jagerhof because the schnitzel is a bit lighter while the sides are more carefully prepared.

The Good:
- Lightly crisp schnitzel
- Well-made sides
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- A touch greasy, but it is what it is
- Not that it mattered to us, but the dining space is dated

Old Bavaria Haus

Going for eats with Miss Y is always an entertaining proposition.  She loves to yak and her stories are both amusing and interesting.  And in some cases, the jokes on me because she is usually fashionably late.  Let's not forget the time she was an hour tardy for our afternoon tea at the Hotel Vancouver.  The staff there thought I was stood up or something.  But not to fear this time as I picked her up and hence, dinner would be on time. We decided to go to one of her favourite joints in New West being the Old Bavaria Haus (and on a Schnitzel Wednesday too!).

I decided to try their Goulash first and it was really thick. Tasting somewhat like a mild chili with plenty of paprika, this was a meal in itself.  There was lots of meaty morsels nestled within the rich tomatoey concoction.  For my main, I had the Schnitzel Cordon Bleu.  Naturally, it was stuffed with Swiss cheese and ham. The pounded pork was not exactly moist per se, but it wasn't extremely dry either (not supposed to be juicy anyways).  The exterior was nicely browned and lightly crunchy.  I thought the meat was properly seasoned where there was flavour, but so much that we couldn't taste the meat. It was served with a mushroom gravy and on the side was veggies, red cabbage (a little mushy) and pan-fried potatoes (soft).

Miss Y had my first choice being the Schnitzel Champignon. I couldn't order it as it would be boring talking about only one dish!  It was a plain pork schnitzel topped with sauteed mushrooms and Bearnaise sauce.  The sauce was thick, buttery and rich which helped provide moisture to the crunchy pork.  A light meal this was not. Lastly, we shared an order of their Apple Strudel.  It was a little dense and being not really all that hot didn't help things.  Hence, the flavours weren't really strong. It wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination, it just wasn't memorable either.  Dessert withstanding, the schnitzel was decent and reasonably-priced, especially for a Wednesday.

The Good:
- Food is predictable and consistent (it's been the same every time I've been here)
- The service we got was friendly
- Okay pricing, especially on Wednesdays

The Bad:
- Dining space is charming, but dated and musty

Reel Mac and Cheese

Of all the things to eat in the world, my son's favourite food is Mac n' Cheese.  And we're not talking about lobster mac n' cheese here, just the plain classic type.  In fact, he's been known to do Kraft Dinner for consecutive meals regularly.  Alas, I want to open his eyes to other delicious eats in the world, but if he insists on Mac n' Cheese, then so be it.  I'll just have to expose him to "better" versions.  Thus, I paid one of the newer food carts, Reel Mac and Cheese, in town in search for the good stuff.

On my first visit, I decided to start with the standard, being The Main Event consisting of a 5 cheese blend with butter, whole milk and spices topped with either crispy or caramelized onions. I thought that the macaroni was firm enough while there was just enough sauce clinging to each piece of pasta.  The flavours were mild while the textures were creamy and rich.  For me, I probably could've done with a bit more sharpness.  As for the crispy onions, they were more like crisps (with not much onion flavour) where they added a nice crunch.  I also tried Slumdog Millionaire which was appropriately laced with mild curry and peas.  There was definitely enough curry to make an impact and it was indeed mild.  Personally, I would've liked more spice (but that's just me).

I had to return a second time because they had ran out of the Run Fat Boy Run the first time.  These fried balls of mac n' cheese were quite "hashbrown-like" on the outside with a light crispiness and creamy on the inside.  They were greasy as expected, but my son absolutely loved them.  Enough said.  As a whole, I think Reel Mac n' Cheese does a good job with their product (definitely better than other mac n' cheese joints in the city).  Nothing ground-breaking, but not bad nonetheless.

The Good:
- Not too saucy
- Firm pasta
- Great people

The Bad:
- A bit pricey (but in-line with most other food carts)
- Sauce is cheesy but could use more impact

Dinner @ Ming Dynasty

*Restaurant is now closed*

There was a time when we would meet Costanza and Elaine for regular eats.  Heck, we would go catch a movie and grab late night bubble tea as well.  Ah yes, that was before the kiddies arrived.  Oh the memories...  Now, in order to meet up for dinner, it requires moving heaven and Earth to get that scheduled.  We finally thought there was a day that worked for all of us, yet ultimately Viv couldn't make it.  Whatever, I decided to go anyways.  Passing up an eating opportunity is akin to giving up a prime parking spot to someone else at Parker Place.  Not gonna happen.

Since I brought my son with me, it was a given we'd order the Peking Duck. It was pretty obvious that it was oil basted (or fried) since it came out so quick, but in the end, the skin had a nice rich colour and was lightly crispy.  They left a substantial amount of meat, which was moist, on each piece.  The layer of duck fat was neither horrendous nor negligible - it was somewhere in between.  The crepes were a touch chewy, but not dried out and did not stick to each other.  We got another kiddie favourite (and we had 3 kids at the table) being the Shrimp and Scrambled Eggs was a pretty decent dish with crunchy butterflied shrimp and mostly soft eggs.  It was probably overdone by just a few seconds which left some clumpier pieces that were not as soft.  It was aggressively seasoned, yet hardly salty.

Next up was the Seafood & Tofu Hot Pot which consisted of a well-prepared seafood included basa, shrimp, squid and scallops.  The tofu had a silken quality to it and was fried just enough that there was a "skin" on the exterior to prevent breakage. Costanza's kids really love the Peking Pork Chops, but for some odd reason, the English name in the menu was Pork Chops with Worcestershire Sauce.  Yes, there is Worcestershire in there, but weird name nonetheless.  Luckily Elaine could read the Chinese name. We found the dish well-executed with manageable pieces which maintained their tenderness despite being fried.  The pork was properly tenderized where it was easy to chew while maintaining a meatiness.  Although there was a bit too much sauce, it was well-balanced with a nice shade of red, nice tang, a hint of Worcestershire and sweetness.

Getting our veggie intake, we got the Stir-Fried Gai Lan with Garlic which was chopped up in an interesting style where each stalk was cut diagonally into thin strips.  This way, it was probably cooked a lot faster.  However, the main benefit from our end was the size of each piece - very easy to eat.  Loved the fact they did not overcook it where each slice retained a crunch.  Interestingly, there was more ginger than garlic. Lastly, the Duck Lettuce Wrap was generously graced with big chunks of moist duck meat.  The dish exhibited good wok heat with no pool of water on the bottom of the plate while providing a mild flavour.  The thing we didn't like was the rather haphazard presentation of the lettuce, especially the top piece which was discoloured. Overall, the meal was pretty solid at a reasonable price ($88.00).  We wondered why the place was not busier...

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Decent eats
- Decent service

The Bad:
- The place was pretty empty for a weekend night, it was very strange
- Parking lot is small, but there is lots of street parking

Jule's Cafe

Sometimes, we need to step back and really re-think the price of restaurant food as we know it.  Sure, most smaller Asian joints are good value, hence no real issue there.  But for your typical chain restaurant, it has slowly crept up to some lofty numbers.  Most items cannot be had for less than $12.00 and many are between $15.00 - $20.00.  I know, there is overhead such as food costs, staffing, rent, advertising and so on.  But what if you just wanted to get some decent food for under $10.00 (how about under $6.00)?  Oh and the place is not a dive nor located in a sketchy area?  Well, we were about to find out as we visited Jules Cafe after Sunday hockey.

Since Jules is an "order-at-the-counter-first" operation, it was imperative we found a table.  So as we were waiting for the first available seat, I looked over the menu.  The low prices encouraged me to order not one, but 2 meals.  I started with the Eggs Benny since it was the most interesting breakfast item. The hollandaise sauce was almost like a foam where it was super light and frothy.  Flavourwise, it was not very rich as you can imagine.  I did pick out some lemon and a touch of butteriness, yet it could've benefited from more zip.  As for the egg, it was poached nicely with a very runny yolk.  The English muffin could've been toasted a bit more in my opinion as it became quite mushy with sauce and yolk.  The fried hashbrowns were golden brown and crispy with a soft potatoey interior.  For my next course, I had Jule's Bacon Cheeseburger which looked, at first glance, like any other diner burger.  Oh how wrong I was.  One bite in and it was super moist and light.  The homemade patty was not greasy and just barely cooked.  The house-cut fries were golden in colour but ultimately were soggy.  And if you were wondering, I did finish both dishes.

JuJu, not to be outdone, had 2 dishes as well starting with the French Toast.  It looked appealing and was ultimately quite good.  There was enough egg to coat both sides of the bread without making it soggy.  It was moist though with a dusting of cinnamon and icing sugar.  I personally would've preferred that it was browned a bit more on the outside for some textural contrast and flavour.  For his second act, he had the Grilled Hot Dog with a side of fries.  As you can see, they weren't messing around with this hot go as it was split and fully dressed with a considerable amount of grilled onions on top.  This was pretty standard except the onions could've used more time on the pan.  The large mound of house-cut fries were the same being not crispy enough.

Milhouse totally wimped out and ordered only a Super Traditional Breakfast consisting of 3 eggs, 3 slices of bacon, 3 sausages, hashbrowns and toast.  It was carefully prepared where the scrambled eggs turned out soft and fluffy.  After it was all said and done, we were amazed at the prices combined with decent food quality.  The people were super friendly while the place was well-kept.  We realize that the operational costs of this cafe is far less than some other restaurants, but you really can get decent grub for cheap - if you look for it.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Decent eats
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Decent eats, but don't expect to be blown away either (remember the low prices though)
- Expect to wait for a table

Sushi Bay

Normally, Japanese restaurants (non-Izakaya) are never in our repertoire for late night eats.  Most, if all, close quite early which kiboshes any hope from escaping the dreaded late-night greasy Chinese eats (or greasier burger).  However, with an early game looming, it was our chance to hit up Sushi Bay on Kingsway.  Well, that idea died before it even had a chance.  Our game was delayed by 45 minutes because of a scheduling error at North Shore Ice Sports.  In the age of computers, how does one double book a sheet of ice???  Anyways, we waited for our next early game to finally make it out to Sushi Bay.  Some were not familiar where it was actually located, to which I answered, "it's near the ol' Consumer's Marketing".  That drew a few crickets, as the place has been closed for a looong time...

Milhouse, Emilicious and I decided to share some items starting with the Agedashi Tofu.  This was pretty straightforward with lightly fried tofu which was soft on the inside.  It was dressed ever-so-lightly with a mild tentsuyu broth.  Nothing amazing, but solid nonetheless.  Next was another bowl of Chirashi Don (yes, I seem to be ordering this a lot lately).  It was a pretty substantial portion for the price featuring vibrant-looking sashimi (Atlantic & Sockeye Salmon, Tuna, Tako, Ebi, Amaebi, Tamago and Hokkigai) which was equally pleasing to eat.  As for the sushi rice, it was chewy and nicely seasoned.  We decided to share a couple of specialty rolls including the Rainbow and the Double Dragon.  As you can see in the picture, the rolls were full of ingredients and minimal rice.  Moreover, the avocado was aesthetically-pleasing and ripe.

Onto some cooked food, we had the Gyoza, which were not very gyoza-like.  There was quite a bit of greens combined with the ground pork.  Hence, it was more like a Korean mandoo.  Despite the visuals, it wasn't as crispy as the colour suggests.  Lastly, as the picture clearly illustrates with the bright sheen, it was greasy.  The last item we shared was the Yam and Prawn Tempura.  It was "alright" as the batter was a bit dense, yet ultimately still crispy and not as heavy as it appeared.  Yet, due to the amount of batter, it did affect the texture of the ebi. Lionel Hutz and Truditini ordered enough food for 4 people for themselves including an assortment of Nigiri (Tobiko, Unagi and Inari).  They were neatly prepared with a good rice-to-ingredient ratio.  Again, the decent sushi rice only added to the already good nigiri.

They went on to share a plate each of the Atlantic and Sockeye Salmon Sashimi (but I'm not going to talk about it much since we already had a Chirashi Don).  The slices were large (yet not in an unmanageable size) and nicely textured.  They also got a Beef Teriyaki.  If you haven't already made the comment in your mind, the large amount of sprouts made the dish look funny.  In fact, there was far too much of it compared to the beef.  It was pretty tender though with a minimal amount of sauce.  They also got Sushi Bay's version of the Awesome Roll consisting of imitation crab, avocado, cucumber with BBQ salmon, tobiko, bonito flakes and green onion on top drizzled with special sauce.  The roll was quite large and an excellent value for $6.95.  Pretty standard stuff, but could've used more sauce.

Another roll worth mentioning was the Hockey Pucks on Fire because we had just played a game.  Ironic yes and also quite tasty.  It contained spicy salmon and imitation crab wrapped in seaweed with no rice and deep fried.  With the combination of sauces, the roll was zesty and crispy. After our meal, we all agreed that the value was definitely apparent with good portions at low prices.  Sure, the stuff ain't completely authentic nor was it the best sushi we've ever had.  But Sushi Bay is better in comparison to other similarly priced places.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good portions
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Although friendly, service can be over-stretched
- Not completely authentic, if that bothers you