Jitlada Thai

Every now and then, Choobee pesters me to have lunch with her.  Hey, I'm not trying to avoid her (well, actually that's probably true...), but with our busy schedules, it's just hard to coordinate a time to meet up and eat.  Finally, the planets aligned and her persistent texts paid off. In fact, by sheer coincidence, we were roughly around the same area when she texted her usual lunch request.  Her suggestion was Jitlada Thai, which was formerly the location of CRU.

We started with a Spring Roll plated nicely as an appetizer.  I know it's a small detail, but we liked how it wasn't served on the same plate as our mains.  The spring roll itself was light where the filling of cabbage and cellophane noodles were not packed too tightly.  It was certainly crispy but slightly greasy.  The first dish to arrive was the Pad Thai and it had all the requisite ingredients such as pickled turnip, pressed tofu, sprouts, crushed peanuts and egg.  However, we found it a touch too sweet with a liberal use of palm sugar. It needed tartness in the form of more tamarind.  This was alleviated somewhat when we requested some lime wedges.

The Green Curry arrived sporting a stunningly vibrant colour as they must've used a good amount of fresh cilantro and basil in the paste.  Visuals aside, the curry itself was lacking some pop even though it had a good spice level.  It was missing that pungency from fish sauce and shrimp paste.  However, the flavours were quite bright, which went along with the colour.  Lastly, we had the Basil Pork Stir-fry.  I thought this was prepared very nicely as the pork was caramelized with plenty of sweetness from the palm sugar.  Naturally, there was also a nice hit from the ample amount of fresh basil.  "Not bad" was our opinion of the place.  Certainly deserves another look sometime, possibly for dinner.

The Good:
- Food appears to relatively authentic
- Nice digs
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Some of the flavours could've been more powerful

Duotian Fish Noodle Soup Restaurant

Apprehensive as I was, returning for Sunday morning hockey.  It ended poorly for me last year as I was hit 3 consecutive weeks leading to my concussion.  Was I going to be back?  Was it worth the risk?  Was something going to change?  Oh who am I kidding...  Would I pass up Sunday eats???  Besides, the culprit, who gave me my concussion, didn't even sign up for this year.  After our game, the usual suspects, Milhouse and Kaiser Soze joined me at Duotian Fish Noodle Soup (think Deer Garden Signatures...).

Arriving in a huge bowl, the Fish Noodle Soup with rice noodles, brisket and fish was a substantial portion (not merely being a big bowl of soup and nothing else).  I found the soup flavourful in a MSG kinda way, but I did pick out some natural fish flavour.  The noodles were still chewy while there was a good amount of napa cabbage.  I found the fish to be moist and not overcooked, but the brisket was pretty chewy.  Not bad, however, Deer Garden is better (and with that being said, Deer Garden is only okay in my books).  I got the maximum 2 sides which were Fried Chicken Wings and Maggi Pork Chop.  The wings were fried golden brown and juicy on the inside.  It was brined just enough to remain tender and flavourful.  As for the pork chop, it was moist, yet a touch salty from all that Maggi.

Milhouse had the Satay Beef Rice Noodles and it was also a massive portion.  Lots of beef, peppers and pineapple atop soft, yet not mushy flat rice noodles.  The sauce itself was not all that spicy, rather it was mostly sweet.  The beef was fairly tender, but certain pieces were not tenderized enough.  Kaiser Soze opted for the Frog Legs Hot Pot Rice which was also a decent portion with plenty of toppings.  They didn't skimp on the frog legs which were moist and tender.  The abundance of Chinese sausage and pickled mustard greens added additional flavour and texture.  As for the rice, it was chewy and there was a nice crust on the bottom of the hot pot.  Overall, it was an acceptable meal at fairly okay prices.  Sure, there were some deficiencies, but we weren't sure why the place is rated so low on Urbanspoon.


The Good:
- Decent portions
- Acceptable eats


The Bad:
- Not bad, but not great either
- Parking lot sucks

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