The Diner

As much as there has been a significant British influence in BC (hence British Columbia), there are not a whole lot of dedicated English restaurants.  I'm not going to include Fish n' Chip joints because they only serve one thing and many are not even run by actual English (from England) folk.  However, there is one near UBC called the Diner which has been around for 50 years.  And yes, it is run by an old English couple.  Choobee and I decided to experience this place on a whim while we were searching for eats along W. 10th.

We were started off with a Mulligatawny Soup which was more like a hearty chicken vegetable soup with the trademark flavours of curry and lemon.  I thought it could've used more curry, but in the end, it was not devoid of flavour or ingredients.  A crusty bun with butter arrived next and we were "scolded" for not eating it since it would get cold.  We obeyed and quickly started eating it with our tails between our legs.  Our one piece Haddock n' Chips arrived with a large helping of crispy steak fries.  The piece of fish was fairly large and graced with a slightly thick batter.  Despite the thickness, we liked the batter as it was crunchy and surprisingly a lot less heavy than it appeared.  Besides, it served its purpose by keep the fish flaky and moist.  We were slightly disappointed by the prepackaged Kraft tartar sauce though.

What's a visit to an English joint without trying the Steak & Kidney Pie, so yes, we got that too.  It was doused in gravy that hid the inconsistent crust.  I say that because the reheating resulted in some parts being dry and hard while the rest of it flaky.  There was no absence of meaty chunks of steak inside which were mostly dry and chewy.  I personally didn't any kidney in any of my bites.  Either they did a stellar job in rinsing it or there wasn't any.  Lastly, and to the shock of the lady, we ordered a 3rd dish being the special of the day - Roast Beef Sandwich.  Smothered in the same thick gravy, the generous slices of beef were super tender and meaty at the same time.  We really liked how it required no effort to chew.  The soft bread was a nice compliment as well. I wouldn't go as far as saying the food was not good (even though English food is what it is), but the experience was neat and the older lady was a blast.

The Good:
- Quaint
- Lady is fun (in a sarcastic way)
- Good portions

The Bad:
- It is what it is, don't expect Earth-shattering food
- Some prepackaged stuff (like the frozen veg and Kraft tartar sauce)

Hopewell BBQ

For the longest time, in an act of sheer convenience, I would get my Chinese BBQ from T&T (specifically the Renfrew & 1st location).  Not the worst stuff one could get, but certainly there is much better for sometimes less money.  This time around, I found a parking spot on Renfrew (which meant I didn't have to suffer the parking hell downstairs), meaning I would walk right past Hopewell BBQ.  Having tried their stuff before, I decided to finally blog about it and thus, staying away from the T&T BBQ. 

Their Roast Pork has some similarities to HK BBQ Master as they only use the pork belly and ribs rather than the entire pig.  This way, the employment of this meat ensures more flavour, fattier and moist meat and the most important thing of all, a better crackling.  However, we found the crackling to be quite different than HK BBQ Master.  Rather than a light and airy crunchiness, we got a more firm crunch.  As for the meat, it was juicy, nicely seasoned and dripping with fat - wonderful. The BBQ Duck had a nice hue with a well-rendered skin.  The meat itself was really moist including the breast.  It wasn't overseasoned, but it wasn't lacking in flavour either from the star anise and five spice.

The piece of BBQ Pork we got was on the leaner side so it wasn't exactly fatty and moist.  However, it wasn't dry either and had a decent bark with a slight sweetness.This one pales in comparison to HK BBQ Master as there was a lack of charring on the outside and lack of intense flavours.  However, with all thing considered, the stuff at Hopewell is definitely above-average and one of the better ones in Vancouver.

The Good:
- Above average BBQ
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Bad parking lot

Thai Son (Renfrew)

As much as I love a good bowl of Pho, I've gained a new found appreciation for Bun Bo Hue.  For the longest time, I've been ignoring it since I was focusing my efforts on finding the best Pho in town (which is Pho Tam IMO).  More recently, I've decided to revisit many of the more popular Pho joints in search of the best Bun Bo Hue.  And on the topic of most popular, Viv and I visited Thai Son (1st & Renfrew location).

Viv had the Pho Dac Biet at my urging, since I wanted her tendon (that sounds weird...).  We found the broth to be quite flavourful in an unnatural way - MSG.  Now with that being said, we still liked it since there was a good amount of depth as well.  The noodles themselves were al dente and plentiful while the meat were tender and sliced properly.  As for my Bun Bo Hue, it was equally flavourful, if not more so.  I got an immediate hit of lemongrass as well as some fermented shrimp.  There was a moderate amount of spice despite the oil slick on top.  I found the noodles a touch soft while the meats were in a abundance and prepared properly.  Kudos for the pork knuckle, but they were still missing the pork blood.

To get our fill, we got the Lemongrass Chicken on Rice as well.  It was a good portion with a large piece of grilled chicken on top.  It was super juicy and moist with a good amount of seasoning.  We found it more sweet than anything else.  In fact, it overwhelmed any lemongrass they had used in the marinade. Above average - is the word I would used to describe Thai Son.  Usually does the job with predictable food, nothing more, nothing less.

The Good:
- Predictable
- Decent portions

The Bad:
- Pretty generic, so don't expect to be blown away
- A bit sparse with the service

Don Francesco

For those who read the South Asian Post, you'll notice some of my content has been published in their newspaper.  Hence, I received an invite to try out Don Francesco on their behalf.  I was all game for the dinner since I've actually never been (to the shock of many).  Once again, I must remind everyone that there are a lot of restaurants in Vancouver and really, there will be ones I've never been before.  Shocking but true.  Since this was mainly a print media event, I was a fish out of water where the only other person I was familiar with was Michelle from the Georgia Straight.

We ended up sitting in a large square table situated in the upscale dining room complete with live entertainment.  We were given a choice of appetizer and entree with a dessert trio to follow.  Naturally 1 entree was not sufficient for me to make a qualified judgement of the food.  Hence, Michelle and I shared our appetizers and mains.  To pull a Mijune, I ended up sharing my main with Daniel (from Sing Tao), who was sitting on my other side. We were started with some Ciabatta buns accompanied by butter and olive oil.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but a nice start to the meal.  For my starter, I had the Beet & Burrata Salad with cranberries, walnuts and watercress.  Despite being flown from Italy, the burrata still retained a creamy butteriness with an appealing stringiness.  The slices of beet were quite Earthy with a noticeable level of sweetness.  The balsamic reduction helped add a touch of acidity, but in the end, the dish was mostly sweet (including the cranberries).  I was able to sample the Lobster Bisque which was comprised of lobster meat, tomato stock and creme fraiche. Noticeably thin and lacking in a lobster hit, this was decent bisque if not a bit ordinary.  It could've used more creme fraiche and booze (whether it be sherry or cognac).

Onto our mains, I sampled Michelle's Sablefish with Saffron Risotto baked with basil, saffron, lemon juice, white wine, onion, garlic and tomato.  This was a winner as the fish was flawlessly prepared.  It was moist, flaky and well-seasoned complete with crispy skin.  The risotto could've been cheesier, yet each grain of rice retained a bit of chewiness.  There was also a nice saffron essence which added to the overall enjoyment of the dish.  For myself, I went for the Roasted Rack of Lamb encrusted with rosemary, garlic, Dijon mustard, herbs and pistachios.  This was finished with a Parmesan crisp, potatoes and demi-glace.  Served a beautiful medium rare, the meat practically needed no effort to chew.  It was properly seasoned and the demi-glace was a nice compliment with a sweet red wine hit.  Daniel had the Veal Porterhouse rubbed with rosemary, lemon juice and EVOO.  This was also served with a demi-glace which enhanced the meat flavour.  I found the meat to be a touch more well than I would've liked, however, the meat was buttery soft.

Lastly, for dessert, we were served a trio consisting of Tiramisu, Chocolate Ganache Cake and Creme Brulee.  I found the tiramisu to be very rich where the marscapone was more firm than creamy.  I did enjoy it as they were light on the sugar and not shy with the espresso and alcohol.  As much as I liked the ganache cake, it was very rich and chocolatey.  I did notice bits of un-melted chocolate (which I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not).  It didn't degrade the dessert though.  The creme brulee was well-prepared with a nicely torched thin sugar topping which revealed a creamy semi-sweet custard.  From the items I did get to sample, it was well-prepared and food I wanted to eat.  Except for the bisque, there was not much that I didn't enjoy.

*Note - this was an invited dinner where all food was comped

The Good:
- For fine dining, portion size was good
- Well-prepared proteins
- Upscale feel

The Bad:
- Pricey

Fat Duck

When visiting food carts, one must have patience and persistence - much like driving in Richmond...  By virtue of their "mobileness", one can be left out in the cold (literally and figuratively) if something unpredictable happens (such as truck issues, staffing and catering jobs).  Sure, one can check Twitter to see where they are for the day, but that may not be an exact science either. I've had my fair share of disappointments when it has come to visiting food trucks, but I never give up because you never know if you're missing out on a gem.  That gem just might be Fat Duck...

I tried the Dirty Rice Bowl first.  It was chock full of confit duck, crispy pork belly, cabbage, tomato & fennel preserve and kung pao sauce on top of rice finished with a sunny side egg and scallions.  With the mess (hence dirty rice) of ingredients, there was a little of everything - including spicy, sweet, tart, salty and of course fatty meat.  Therefore, it was definitely not bland.  In fact, I thought the pork belly was a touch salty.  However, it was prepared really well with a melt-in-my-mouth texture while crisped up nicely on the outside.  Next up was the Pork Belly Sandwich with chipotle mayo, tomato & fennel preserve and arugula.  Consisting of similar ingredients as the rice, it was familiar tasting.  Despite being a bit dense, the bun was toasted nicely where it had a soft & crunchy thing going on.  Again, there was a mix of flavours and I felt that the tartness of the preserve helped cut the heaviness of the pork belly.  Interestingly, the belly was not as salty in the sandwich.

Lastly, I had the Duck Confit "Philly Style" Sandwich dressed with marinated mushrooms, Swiss cheese, Parm-truffle mayo and pickled red onions.  Meaty while tender, the shreds of duck meat had a natural flavour and plenty of duck essence.  I thought the salt content was just right while the accompaniments such as the pickled onions added a nice acidity.  A tasty concoction aided by the side of crunchy chips with chipotle mayo.  As I mentioned in the intro, I do think we have a gem on our hands.

The Good:
- Food that you want to eat
- Pretty decent value considering the ingredients

The Bad:
- Food is pretty rich (but a good too!)
- Limited items (which can also be a positive as well)

Mosaic (Fall Menu Tasting)

Normally, I'm not overly keen in doing multiple visits to the same restaurant, especially when I have sampled enough food to get a sense of the place.  However, there are a few places that I really don't mind revisiting over and over again.  One of them is EBO and the other is Mosaic.  Ever since Chef Thomas Heinrich took over the reigns of the Hyatt Regency, boring hotel food has been taboo. Prior to that, eating at the Hyatt was as painful as watching motorists in Richmond navigate a traffic circle. Recently, Grace and I dined at Mosaic to sample their new Fall menu.

The meal began with the Roasted Chestnut Bisque with apple, mushrooms and spiced brandy cream.  Personally, I'm not a huge fan of chestnuts, especially in Chinese cakes.  However, this bisque wasn't that heavy, which "won" me over somewhat.  The good amount of apple sticks was necessary in providing a touch of zip and crunch which cut through the heaviness.  I wasn't able to get much of the brandy in the cream as the entire bisque was very mild.  Next up was the Fall Salad with baby carrots, beets, frisee, endive, Tokyo turnips, fennel, squash puree, chive fluid gel and tangerine dressing.  This was beautifully plated with appealing colours.  Most of the components were crisp and crunchy.  Dressed in a light and sweet tangerine vinaigrette, this was a refreshing and appetizing starter.  Looking like a strange bloody puck, the Earth Apple Farms Roasted Beets was something out-of-the-box.  The beet coloured puck was actually foam.  It was ice cold, light and surprisingly refreshing.  On the side, there was toasted pumpernickel soil, goat cheese, beets (with stalks) and sprouts with a beet vinaigrette.  I found the beets to be firm while exhibiting an Earthy mild sweetness.

Onto some warm starters, we tried the Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Sloping Hill Farms heritage pork belly, quince jelly and 64 degree scotch egg.  I really liked the fried brussel sprouts as they were aromatic and crunchy.  The pork belly really helped in this regard.  The quince jelly was super tart which was necessary to cut through the heaviness of the dish.  I wasn't a huge fan of the egg as there was no layer of sausage (like a real scotch egg) to protect the white from becoming rubbery.  The exterior was crispy though while the egg yolk was nicely runny.  Our last appie was the Butter Poached Alaskan Crab with pickled mushrooms and leek puree.  Strangely, the star of the plate was not the crab.  Rather, it was the buttery and tart mushrooms which went well with the smooth puree.  The crispy leeks provided a crunch as well.  As for the crab, it was slightly dry, but benefited from the butter poaching.

Moving onto the mains, we had 2 fish offerings first.  Beautifully seared, the Long Line BC Ling Cod was crispy on the outside while flaky and moist inside.  It was accompanied by butter poached lobster pomme puree, roasted baby beets and beet jus.  Despite being super smooth, buttery and rich, the pomme puree was not showing a whole lot of lobster love.  The reduced beet jus was more than a bystander as it livened up the flavours with tartness.  Equally moist and flaky, the Skuna Bay Craft Raised Salmon was served with Vialone Nano truffle risotto, Swiss chard and mushroom puree.  Although the salmon and chard were executed flawlessly, the risotto was too soft and wet.  It was Earthy though while the mushroom puree added an extra-shot.

Nearing the end of the meal, we were presented with a vegetarian dish - Grilled Curried Cauliflower Steak with baby carrots, dates and toasted pine nuts.  Grace, having experience many home-cooked Indian meals, was not a huge fan of this.  For me, the curry wasn't traditional and didn't show lots of developed flavours, but was not terrible either.  Considering the venue, it was acceptable with a low rumble of spice.  The cauliflower was firm while cooked all-the-way-through.  Our lone red meat dish consisted of the Sous Vide Country Lamb encrusted with spiced walnuts accompanied by broccoli rabe, butternut squash, pumpkin and charred onion lamb jus.  Although the lamb was prepared beautifully moist and tender, the walnut crust was wet and mushy.  That destroyed what would've been a fantastic dish.

For dessert, I tried the Pumpkin Creme Brulee first.  I thought the custard was executed beautifully where it was silky and rich.  It wasn't too heavy on the pumpkin while it wasn't super sweet as well.  The sugar topping just the right thickness where it was hard and torched evenly.  Lastly, we had the Salted Chocolate Pear & White Chocolate Mousse with pears.  This was a light and refreshing offering with only the slightest of sweetness.  The port gelee on top added a nice bite.  Overall, the menu fit the fall theme incorporating root veggies and a certain level of comfort.  Not without a few flaws, the creations at Mosaic reflect the direction of Chef Thomas Heinrich.

*Note - this was an invited dinner where all food was comped except for gratuities

The Good:
- A different interpretation of some classics
- Again, not boring hotel food
- Love the play on colours and textures

The Bad:
- As with any large sample of food, there will be some things that don't work

Cinco de Mayo Mexican Grill

Sometimes, the most excellent eating discoveries are by complete accident.  Take Cinco de Mayo Mexican Grill for instance.  I would have never visited this small lil' place in North Van if I hadn't got a recommendation from my service adviser at Jim Pattison Toyota (hey that's a free plug...  Jimmy doesn't need a free plug does he?).  She'd been bugging me to try the place out every time I brought my car in.  Finally, I decided to hit up the place for their massive burritos.

I went for their regular sized Barbacoa de Res (shredded beef) Mediana Burrito with a whole wheat tortilla.  The first thing that I noticed was the freshness of all of the ingredients including the vibrant guacamole and salsas.  After stuffing it full of everything (including beef, corn & peppers, refried and black beans, rice and all the salsas), it looked like a chore just to eat it.  With a squeeze of lime and a dash of habanero sauce, the burrito was fresh-tasting and full-flavoured.  Suffice to say, I was full after that.  I ended up taking an order for someone at the dealership and picked up the Burrito Ahogado.  Known as a wet burrito, it was pretty much what I had except for the salsa on the outside and topped with cheese.  Pretty big portion once again.

Lastly, I tried 2 of their Tacos including the Pollo en Achiote (chicken) and Carnitas Michoacana (pork).  The chicken was a definite surprise as it was quite mild, moist and fragrant.  Apparently it was a Mayan recipe using saffron.  The pork was pretty good being tender and not dry.  Hey what do you know?  Real Mexican food in the most unlikeliest of places...  Now I want to service my car more often.

The Good:
- Fresh ingredients
- Large portions
- Super friendly owners

The Bad:
- Limited menu (but could be a good too since they do what they do best)