Aki Japanese

My memories of Aki Japanese Restaurant take me back to my single digit years of existence.  I was a wee one then where cigarettes would be dispensed out of a machine and people could smoke them while they enjoyed their meal.  Yes, that was at the entrance of the original Aki, located on Powell Street in the heart of Japan Town.  Along with my parents, we enjoyed what was probably the most authentic and only sushi in Vancouver until the explosion of the cuisine in the late 80's and 90's.  They've moved 2 times since and it was nice to visit an old friend after Friday night hockey.

Taking over from the now closed Irashai Grill on Pender, Aki has gone upscale and chic, but their menu still remains pretty traditional.  No funky dishes here, rather, the classics and just well-made food.  For myself, I started with an order of Tempura that had been delicately constructed and presented. The batter was barely there and super light.  It was easy on the grease and each piece was cooked properly.  What it lacked in quantity was made up with quality was the Chirashi Don.  With an attractive sheen and fresh (as fresh as flash frozen can get) ingredients, it was also well constructed (rather than merely being slapped together).  The sushi rice was firm and chewy with a mild hint of vinegar and sugar.

Emilicious went for the Nabeyaki Udon that consisted of the usual ingredients such as chicken, shiitake mushroom, ebi tempura, fish cake and raw egg. Setting it apart from many other versions out there, the dashi was flavourful and full of depth.  It was sweet and a bit salty with a taste of the sea - a good indication it was indeed real dashi (made from bonito flakes and kelp).  Lionel Hutz had the Curry Katsu which was not bad.  He liked how the pork katsu was crunchy even after being doused with sauce.  The meat was a touch dry though.  As for the curry, it was not as sweet as we had imagined.  It was pretty mild though with only a small hint of curry flavour.

Gadget Girl opted to have maki sushi only in the form a Spicy Tuna Roll and California Roll.  As you can see in the picture, nothing particularly amazing about the rolls, however, they were neatly made and not falling apart with a good ingredient to rice ratio.  There was also an order of Gyoza at the table which were also prepared properly.  The bottom was crisp and mostly browned (except for 2 of them) while the dumpling skin was thin.  The filling was moist and processed enough that it wasn't chewy.  As you can see, the food at Aki ain't exactly super progressive nor flashy.  However, it is solid and prepared carefully.  It's an oldie, but a great place to be reacquainted with real Japanese food.

The Good:
- It's legit
- Nice modern space
- We got good service

The Bad:
- No fancy or crazy rolls here (if you care)
- Portions are modest

China Village Wonton House

Alright.  I was gonna do it.  Yes I was.  That creepy, 60's-looking Chinese joint out on King George...  I was going all in.  Heck, the place doesn't even look open most of the time, resembling the Bates Motel.  Well, I was about to find out whether I was coming out alive or not.  Heading home after a meeting, I decided the best course of action was take-out, specifically the Dinner for 4 with a few additions.

With just a touch of grease, the Spring Rolls were crispy and lightly packed with celery, cabbage and carrots.  Hence, they were not dense and easy to eat.  These remained crunchy despite the travel time between the restaurant and home. Next I gave the Fried Prawns (like the use of the retro dish?) a go and most of them were still crispy despite sitting in a box.  I'm not sure putting lemon wedges on top was a good idea as those prawns got soggy.  I thought the batter was a touch too thick and doughy on some pieces. The prawns were meaty and slightly overdone.

Onto the Chop Suey, it consisted of sliced beef, bak choy, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and surprising green peppers (a bit strong in terms of veggies which takes over the flavour of the dish).  All of the veggies were still somewhat firm and not overcooked, but as mentioned, the flavour of the green peppers overwhelmed.  The beef was tender but not that moist being a bit dry.  On the note, the Orange Chicken was really dry as the white meat was not brined or tenderized.  Furthermore, the abundance of sauce drowned everything.  It did taste like orange though with a slight bit of spice.

The Sweet & Sour Pork consisted purely of meat with plenty of starch-thickened sauce.  I found it to be more sweet than sour.  Moreover, there was far too much sauce as it made everything soggy.  The meat itself was a touch dry which would be an indication of re-frying.  With an even more amount of sauce, the Fish & Tofu Hot Pot was a bit weird tasting.  The tofu was somewhat sour which I couldn't really put my finger on it.  The sauce itself was predominantly flavoured with onions as there was lots of it.  As for the fried fish, the starch batter was quite gummy and soggy from the plethora of sauce.

We found the BBQ Pork Fried Rice dry and chewy (which was a good thing).  It wasn't too greasy and had a decent amount of lean pork and peas.  It was mildly flavoured which complimented the other dishes.  As for the Chicken Chow Mein, it was a touch dry but was okay. It probably needed a bit more seasoning, yet again, complimented the more strong flavoured dishes.  Overall, we thought the food was underwhelming despite being a decent value.  There are much better choices for North American Chinese food in Whalley, in particular Top Kings.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Nice people
- Reasonable portions

The Bad:
- Food is pretty average at best
- Scary looking location

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)