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Despite the inconsistencies in the voting system on Urbanspoon, I still look to the "like" percentage as a rough guide. Now when I see a Chinese restaurant rated at 50% or lower, especially if it is located in Richmond, it really makes me wonder. Could it be a bunch of haters voting or does the food really suck? Well, there is only one way to find out - bite the bullet and eat there. Yes, it can be risky, but no more than trying to drive into Richmond during rush hour traffic with a scooter on #3 Road playing chicken with a luxury SUV. No, I didn't attempt this feat... I'm adventurous but I don't have a death wish.
But much like Chuck Norris, I did bring in my own Delta Force to sample the "under 50%" restaurant in question (being HML). If we had to judge the restaurant on looks alone, I could see why it was rated under 50%. The decor could use an overhaul. Onto the food, we started with the Soy Chow Mein and it was not bad. I liked how it wasn't "over-soy'd" with dark soy sauce. Therefore, the flavours were lighter. The lack of grease was good too. Next up was the Shrimp Spring Rolls which were fried a crispy golden brown. Unfortunately, the shrimp filling was dense lacking snap or bounce. It had the texture of being overcooked.
Off to a duo of offal dishes, we had the Honeycomb Tripe and Beef Tendon. The tripe was actually quite soft with very little chew. Despite exhibiting a good amount of garlic and spice, the entire dish was curiously bland. Maybe in need of salt or *gasp*, MSG? If we thought the tripe was on the softer side, the tendon was downright mushy. It barely made it onto my plate without disintegrating on contact. Again, it was garlicky with some sweetness, but missing that extra "oomph" of flavour. I guess those trying to avoid MSG will like these dishes.
Onto the most important item of all - the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings). These were fairly large with a doughy and gummy dumpling skin. However, once past that, there was a good amount of crunchy whole shrimp. We had a hard time distinguishing the natural flavours as they had dumped far too much salt into the mix (making up for the previous 2 dishes?). As for the Sui Mai (Shrimp & Pork Dumplings), they were also big, but featured a filling that had far too many chewy fat pieces. The meat was decently bouncy, yet was mild in flavour except for the bits of shiitake.
Trying to be a bit different, we decided to try the Scallop Rice Noodle Roll and wished we hadn't. Look at the picture! Was it a corn rice noodle roll or scallop? We had to really look for the scallop as the corn took over. And when we found a scallop, it was pretty soft with no distinguishing texture nor flavour. Furthermore, the rice noodle was soft and sticky. Not good. On the other hand, the mini Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice) was not bad. They were fairly large in size and featured moist, yet chewy rice with plenty of tender saucy meat, shiitake, Chinese sausage and salted egg yolk.
From the starches, we moved back to the meats with the Steamed Pork Spareribs. These were actually decent compared to some of the other dishes we had. Although the pieces of pork were a bit too fatty, there was a decent bounce texture. Moreover, there was plenty of garlic and seasoning. As for the Beef Meatballs, they too exhibited a nice bounce texture. We thought the flavour was pretty mild, yet not underseasoned. Aesthetically-speaking, the balls were pretty pale and possibly needed some dark soy or a visit to the tanning salon.
Lastly, we had the BBQ Pork Buns which were good. The fluffy bun encased a filling which was not too fatty and balanced in flavour. This was an okay end to a "meh" Dim Sum service. I'm not sure if HML deserves such a bad rating, yet at the same time, the food is not good enough to compete with all the others in Richmond. If it were located somewhere else, it might possibly be ranked higher. But for now, there are better choices nearby.
The Good:
- Fairly inexpensive, especially for early Dim Sum
- Service we got was decent
The Bad:
- Dim Sum isn't terrible, but ain't good either
- Decor looks tired
I was prepared this time. I had a list. Yup, a list of restaurants we could visit after softball. No scrambling for ideas or trying to navigate Urbanspoon or Yelp! on my Galaxy. But wait. I got an email from Yen Izakaya during the softball game indicating that they had just opened up where Soul Izakaya used to be. Well, we were near Richmond and most were in favour of Japanese food... Bear, being Japanese, hated the former Soul Izakaya for its lack of authenticity. Well, notice that "Japanese Korean Izakaya" for all to see on their front signage.
With that in mind, we weren't shocked to see Korean food on the menu. Authentic izakaya? Nope, and really, they weren't hiding the fact either. We ended up starting with an order of Salmon Sashimi. It looked alright and tasted okay as well. But it was a bit soft for our liking. On the other hand, the Tuna Tataki was the complete opposite. Generally, this dish features delicate tuna with a lightly seared exterior. Yes, the outside was indeed lightly seared, but it was strangely rubbery. Nothing particularly amiss with the rest of the tuna though. Moreover, the dressing was tart and appetizing.
Next up was a trio of their fried chicken offerings starting with the Soy Fried Chicken. Since it was tossed in a mildly sweet soy sauce, the chicken wasn't as crispy as it appeared. However, it was juicy and moist on the inside. As mentioned, the soy was not particularly strong. It was mostly sweet with only the mildest of savoury elements. The Sweet & Spicy Fried Chicken was exactly as advertised being sweet and spicy. I wouldn't classify it as really spicy, but it definitely had a kick. It was more sweet than spicy though. Naturally, with all that sauce, there was no crispiness left. Finally, we had the plain Fried Chicken and it was predictably crunchier. We found the seasoning to be light with only a hint of pepper.
Since Gyoza King decided to join us for eats, it was only natural to order a couple of orders of the Pork Gyoza. Um... These were the strangest looking gyozas we'd ever seen. Oh right, we were in a "Japanese Korean Izakaya". So these were really pan-fried Korean mandus. If we looked at them in that respect, they were pretty good where the pork and glass noodles added a nice texture. The good amount of greens brought brightness and flavour while the dumpling wrapper was super thin. Good mandu, not a gyoza though. We also decided to try the Lobster Gyoza (Robster Gyoza on the menu... Were these stolen or something?) as well. Again, these were more like lobster wontons than gyozas. In that case, they were good with properly cooked sweet lobster with the same thin wrapper. Again, not Japanese gyozas.
Bear loves Short Ribs, so I encouraged him to order 2 portions because one would be for him and the other for the rest of us. The short ribs were pretty good being meaty with a minimal amount of fat. They were tender, yet retaining a good chew (not over tenderized). Naturally, they were quite sweet, but not overly so. The sugars caramelized so there was a depth-of-flavour. Continuing on the Korean theme, we had the Japchae which was a decent portion for the price. There was a good noodle-to-ingredient ratio where the beef was moist and well-marinated. The noodles themselves were chewy and flavourful. Of note, the japchae at our other table (we split into 2) was not nearly as good as ours.
We tried some maki sushi with the Dragon Roll. It consisted of essentially a dynamite roll in the inside with spicy tuna and tempura bits on top. The ebi tempura was smoking hot. So much so, it made the rice around it quite warm. The rice was decently chewy while the overall flavour profile of the roll was sweet and spicy. There were good textures, especially the crunch for the ebi. The same couldn't be said for the Ebi Mayo though. I'm sorry folks, but this was not an ebi mayo. I don't care if they are fusion or whatever they call themselves, this was not good. The prawns were fried far too long and did not have enough batter to keep the moisture. It resembled more like a Chinese fried prawn. The mayo dressing was more like a spicy aioli where there was a dire need for more sweet mayo.
Moving onto a better dish, we had the Saba which was a pretty large portion. Although it was missing the head and strangely presented with the bone side up, the flesh was moist, flaky and well-seasoned. Shockingly, this was one of the better versions we've had of late. Our last dish was an order of the Yakiudon. We felt that the whole dish was a bit too wet and overly sweet. However, the beef was moist, veggies vibrant and the noodles were chewy. As we were finishing up, we had differing opinions about the place. Dark Helmet thought this meal warranted another visit back while Bear vehemently disagreed. For me, I would like to be a fence-sitter as there were some good dishes to go with the sub-par. I am willing to give them a pass on the unauthentic dishes because they do boldly advertise on the outside they are not a solely Japanese Izakaya. Besides, what I have noticed from all the Izakayas in Richmond is that they tend to blend several different cuisines that appeal to the locals. I guess you can't fault them for that.
The Good:
- Inexpensive
- If we ignore the menu descriptions, there were some good dishes
- Service wasn't bad
The Bad:
- Despite their assertion of not being truly authentic, some dishes completely threw us off and were not done right
- Will definitely offend authentic Izakaya aficionados
"The pork cracklings are freakin' awesome", Bam Bam exclaimed with much enthusiasm. This was during Monday night softball and he just couldn't contain his excitement about his visit to Tuc Craft Kitchen. Okay, when someone says something is "freakin' awesome" I take notice, especially when that someone knows their food. Hence, I made it a point to visit Tuc ASAP. As soon as possible meant a lunch date with Whipping Girl.
Since both of us already checked out the menu online, we ordered relatively quickly to get to the... Pork Belly Crackling. These little morsels of joy were lightly crisp on the outside with fatty goodness on the inside. What really made this dish work was the star anise red wine reduction as it provided the necessary acidity as well as sweetness and aromatics. I couldn't stop eating these even though I felt my arteries hardening with every bite. With a light dusting of the same cracklings, the Mussels and Clams were prepared really well. Both were plump and just done sitting in a light white wine cream broth where the alcohol had been properly cooked off. Accenting the dish was more of the cracklings and some crunchy croutons.
Whipping Girl decided on the Tuc Salad Jardinière for her main. It included arugula, spinach, basil, mint, vinaigrette, pickled vegetables and a tempura & bacon wrapped egg. The salad was pretty much typical salad with a balanced vinaigrette. Yet, the saltiness and crunch of the egg brought the salad to a different level. Since everything had the cracklings already, we thought it would've been good to add it here too. For myself, I had the Beef Brisket and Pork Crackling Sandwich
with smashed potato fries. This was a really good concoction consisting of medium-rare fatty brisket, Dijon, salsa verde, cucumber, pickles on whole wheat french bread. There was a nice acidity to the sandwich that cut through the heaviness of the juicy brisket. As much as the cracklings added even more fatty flavour, they were no longer crunchy due to the moisture. The fries were really crunchy and went well with the house-made coriander ketchup as it wasn't too sweet. Although we only sampled 4 items from their menu, the food was both good and interesting enough that we were already planning a dinner visit.
The Good:
- The items we had were well-prepared and just plain tasted good
- Spacious with high ceiling
- Friendly service
The Bad:
- Health food this is not (that's why it tasted so good)
I'm sure there is little disagreement that Chilliwack is not the hotbed of good eats. Sure, there are places to eat and some can be quite good, but nothing quickly comes to mind... except for one. Of all places, the Airport Coffee Shop is well-known for their pies. Having just left Harrison Hot Springs and fresh off a wonderful tour of Hofstede's, I thought that it was as good as any time to pay the place a visit. Sure, it was 3:30pm in the afternoon, but anytime is a good time for food right?
Miss Y and I weren't exactly hungry, but I insisted we share some food to go with our pie. First up was the Mushroom Burger which was blessed with fresh and aesthetically-pleasing toppings. We liked how the mushrooms were not cooked to death either. Surprisingly, it was a good burger with a soft bun and a moist hand-made patty. Next, we tried the Rueben with fries. For a grilled sandwich, we would've preferred to see it crunchier, but it didn't make or break the dish. The corned beef was a little dry but the sauerkraut and cheese helped alleviate it somewhat. Despite being the generic type, the crinkle-cut fries were super crispy.
Now for the main event, the reason why we were here - the pie! I gave the Bing Cherry a go first and I was impressed at the tempered level of sweetness. Within the flaky crust, there was a plethora of cherries. Of course we couldn't bypass the standard, being the Apple Pie a la Mode! Again, the crust was flaky, yet a touch dense. It was probably due to the moisture with the apples as it became doughy on the inside. We did like the tender slices of apple though and once again, the pie was not too sweet. Hey, nothing mind-blowing here, but solid eats with all things considered. We loved the honest friendly service too.
The Good:
- Seemed like genuine service
- Okay pricing
- Pies are solid
The Bad:
- Dunno if I would drive out to Chilliwack especially for it, but good to try if in the area
Having missed the buffet breakfast at the Terrace Cafe at the resort, we were a bit unprepared as to other eating options. We decided to take a stroll outside to see what we could find. In the end, we didn't walk very far as we stopped at the first place we saw being Yukiya. Sushi at Harrison Hot Springs? Yah, a bit daring, but we wanted something lighter to eat. Upon sitting down, we were served by the owner (?) who was almost overly-friendly. One look at the menu and we were shocked to see prices which were easily double what we would normally expect.
Whatever, we were hungry and Miss Y was treating... LOL... I decided to go for the Teriyaki Chicken and Sashimi Bento. Despite sliced quite thin, the salmon, tai and tuna sashimi were acceptable given where we were. I found the salmon to be a touch soft, but nothing was fishy. I wasn't a huge fan of the chicken as it was cut up into small pieces and subsequently overcooked while mixed with far too much sauce. As for the gyoza, they were not fried up crispy, hence the dumpling skin was a touch doughy. The filling was okay though with a good mix of meat and cabbage. Miss Y had the Tempura Udon which was served with a substantial amount of vegetables on top. Although not typical of an authentic udon, she welcomed it as she needed her veggies. The udon was a bit soft while the soup was not bad being balanced. The accompanying tempura was actually pretty good with a thin layer of batter. It was fried up light and crispy.
As a bonus, the friendly owner presented us with a plate of California Roll. We found the rice to be subpar as it was hard and pretty bland. On the other hand, the ingredients were alright including the ripe avocado. We were pretty indifferent about our meal and really didn't have any expectations. Given that it is located right on the lake, it has location on its side. But the prices are far too high for the quality of food.
The Good:
- Super friendly owner
- Acceptable food with all things considered
The Bad:
- Food quality does not justify the prices
- Not the most wonderful of ambiances
The original plan for our second day at Harrison Hot Springs was to check out the Lakeside Cafe for their buffet breakfast. However, we were too busy relaxing in the hot tub to make it before the breakfast ended. We ended up going on the self-guided Circle Farm Tour but due to many places not being open during the middle of the week, we only ended up at 2 places. The first was Farmhouse Cheese, which we had sampled the day before with our "welcome" cheese & fruit plate. We weren't able to get a tour though. Undeterred, we headed into Chilliwack to visit Hofstede's Country Barn.
Initially, we were a bit skeptical about a grocery store being on the tour. However, after over an hour with owner, Richard, we fell in love with his place. Little did we know that Hofstede's is not an ordinary grocery store. In direct contrast to the big box stores, Hofstede's focuses primarily on local produce and unique products. Some of which are non-spray meaning that they are pesticide- free. We were able to sample various fruits and veggies that really showcased what Hofstede's is about. Personally, I've never seen produce that nice in a big box store. Sure, prices are higher, but worth it in my opinion.
As for the dry goods, there were items I've never seen before. Many are local, but a lot are imported from Europe. Think of Hofstede's as a more rustic down-to-Earth Capers or Whole Foods. There is even an in-house coffee shop that features house-made soups and sandwiches. We didn't get to sample any since we were still full from lunch, but next time I'm in Chilliwack... And hey, if you're out in Chilliwack, it's worth giving them a look.
The Good:
- Quality, local produce
- Friendly staff
- Rare, hard-to-find imported dry goods
The Bad:
- Costs more
- With some of the non-spray produce, it degrades really fast
Posts
Despite the inconsistencies in the voting system on Urbanspoon, I still look to the "like" percentage as a rough guide. Now when I see a Chinese restaurant rated at 50% or lower, especially if it is located in Richmond, it really makes me wonder. Could it be a bunch of haters voting or does the food really suck? Well, there is only one way to find out - bite the bullet and eat there. Yes, it can be risky, but no more than trying to drive into Richmond during rush hour traffic with a scooter on #3 Road playing chicken with a luxury SUV. No, I didn't attempt this feat... I'm adventurous but I don't have a death wish.
But much like Chuck Norris, I did bring in my own Delta Force to sample the "under 50%" restaurant in question (being HML). If we had to judge the restaurant on looks alone, I could see why it was rated under 50%. The decor could use an overhaul. Onto the food, we started with the Soy Chow Mein and it was not bad. I liked how it wasn't "over-soy'd" with dark soy sauce. Therefore, the flavours were lighter. The lack of grease was good too. Next up was the Shrimp Spring Rolls which were fried a crispy golden brown. Unfortunately, the shrimp filling was dense lacking snap or bounce. It had the texture of being overcooked.
Off to a duo of offal dishes, we had the Honeycomb Tripe and Beef Tendon. The tripe was actually quite soft with very little chew. Despite exhibiting a good amount of garlic and spice, the entire dish was curiously bland. Maybe in need of salt or *gasp*, MSG? If we thought the tripe was on the softer side, the tendon was downright mushy. It barely made it onto my plate without disintegrating on contact. Again, it was garlicky with some sweetness, but missing that extra "oomph" of flavour. I guess those trying to avoid MSG will like these dishes.
Onto the most important item of all - the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings). These were fairly large with a doughy and gummy dumpling skin. However, once past that, there was a good amount of crunchy whole shrimp. We had a hard time distinguishing the natural flavours as they had dumped far too much salt into the mix (making up for the previous 2 dishes?). As for the Sui Mai (Shrimp & Pork Dumplings), they were also big, but featured a filling that had far too many chewy fat pieces. The meat was decently bouncy, yet was mild in flavour except for the bits of shiitake.
Trying to be a bit different, we decided to try the Scallop Rice Noodle Roll and wished we hadn't. Look at the picture! Was it a corn rice noodle roll or scallop? We had to really look for the scallop as the corn took over. And when we found a scallop, it was pretty soft with no distinguishing texture nor flavour. Furthermore, the rice noodle was soft and sticky. Not good. On the other hand, the mini Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice) was not bad. They were fairly large in size and featured moist, yet chewy rice with plenty of tender saucy meat, shiitake, Chinese sausage and salted egg yolk.
From the starches, we moved back to the meats with the Steamed Pork Spareribs. These were actually decent compared to some of the other dishes we had. Although the pieces of pork were a bit too fatty, there was a decent bounce texture. Moreover, there was plenty of garlic and seasoning. As for the Beef Meatballs, they too exhibited a nice bounce texture. We thought the flavour was pretty mild, yet not underseasoned. Aesthetically-speaking, the balls were pretty pale and possibly needed some dark soy or a visit to the tanning salon.
Lastly, we had the BBQ Pork Buns which were good. The fluffy bun encased a filling which was not too fatty and balanced in flavour. This was an okay end to a "meh" Dim Sum service. I'm not sure if HML deserves such a bad rating, yet at the same time, the food is not good enough to compete with all the others in Richmond. If it were located somewhere else, it might possibly be ranked higher. But for now, there are better choices nearby.
