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I have to say this post is something out-of-the-ordinary for me. I don't recall ever doing a post about any Glowbal restaurant that wasn't on my own time. So, it came as a surprise that I was invited to their sneak peak of their Dine Out Vancouver menus at Italian Kitchen, Black & Blue and Coast. Whatever the case, I was curious and really, I'm not a Glowbal Group hater. Rather, as I've said before, each restaurant needs to be judged on its own merits.
With that in mind, I joined Grace, Sean, Rick and Adrian & Jeremy (along with other media) to sample some of the dishes that each restaurant has to offer during Dine Out Vancouver (from January 17th - February 2nd). We started at Italian Kitchen first where we sampled 2 items from their menu. I tried the Marinated Calamari Salad first. The small strips of squid were chewy, yet not so much that it couldn't be classified as tender. It was mixed with caper berries, pickled chilis, fried chickpeas, red onion and a grainy mustard vinaigrette. Although a touch heavy with the dressing, the flavours were definitely there. I got the slight acidity combined with both sweetness and some lingering heat from the chilis. Next was the Lobster Ravioli which was dressed with lemon cream fennel and lobster salad. The ravioli itself was full of lobster which was naturally sweet, however, the pasta was on the softer side (most likely the result of the time delay from completion to service). I really liked the crunchy fennel which added the necessary texture to the dish. The chunks of lobster didn't hurt matters either. As for the cream sauce, it was definitely rich and well-seasoned.
Next, we headed over to Black & Blue for some more samples including the Josper Grilled Vegetable Napoleon consisting of goat cheese, bell peppers, zucchini and mushrooms. Although a touch slimy, I didn't mind it as the veggies maintained a certain texture while being buttery soft. I felt there was just enough peppers for effect without overwhelming the other vegetables. Furthermore, there was a good amount of goat cheese for some gaminess, but not too much. I wasn't enthralled with the Slow Cooked Guinness Braised Short Rib though as it was stringy and mostly dry. On the other hand, it did taste good with a meatiness and adequate salt content. The accompanying applewood smoked cheddar spatzle was appealingly chewy with a nice hint of smoke and salt. Since we were served full portions of all the dishes available in the DOV menu, I was able to grab a piece of the Whole Roasted Trout as well. Depending on the part of the fish, it ranged from moist to a touch dry. I felt the fish itself was not seasoned enough while the lobster bisque sauce on the side was creamy and mild. The potato croquette was good though with a nice crunch.
Our last stop was at Coast where we were presented with all of the plates. I was able to sample the Dungeness Crab & Sun Choke Chowder. It was pretty rich and thick where it was flavoured with white miso and sake to go along with crab tomalley, mussels, clams, potato and carrots. I found that the sake was more evident than the seafood flavour, however, if a spoonful contained a clam, there was balance. Next, I had some of the Spanish Mussels & Frites with chorizo safrito, feta cheese and san marzano tomatoes. The mussels were buttery and cooked just right while the chorizo safrito provided the necessary saltiness and fat. Naturally, the tomatoes added sweetness and acidity. I liked the flavours, but there was a touch too much of the safrito. Then we were presented with the Salmon Two Ways consisting of Olive Crusted Salmon with pea-basil puree and prawn & bacon croquette complimented by the Roasted Salmon with truffled cauliflower puree and wild mushrooms. I found the salmon a bit firmer than I would've liked, yet the cauliflower puree was woodsy and downright tasty. Good thing too as the salmon needed the seasoning. For the other salmon, I liked the olive crust, but I would've preferred more of it. The croquette was crunchy and full of bacon flavour.
For dessert, we were presented with a platter containing each and every one of the available desserts from the 3 DOV menus. Although the Maple Roasted Apple Panna Cotta was firmer than I normally like, I kept eating it because the sweet apples were quite good. I found the B&B Carrot Cake to be rather sweet, especially from the cream cheese. Despite being a bit dry, the Coconut & Ginger Macaron had a nice zip from the ginger. Lastly, the Sugar Coated Taiyaki (the candied puff pastry fish) was light and airy, yet suffered from a lack of impact from the fillings. Overall, the food I tried at all 3 restaurants was pretty much what I had expected. Similar to my past visits to these restaurants, the food can be classified as safe and predictable. I believe that the $28.00 Italian Kitchen DOV menu to be the best value of the 3.
*Note - this was an invited dinner where all food was comped
*Restaurant is now closed*
Dim Sum and Delta doesn't roll off the tongue unless we were aiming for alliteration (I knew my University courses would pay off!). Hence, many would rather risk their bumpers and doors in good ol' Richmond. However, if one looks hard enough there are places that serve Dim Sum right in North Delta. Now serving and being good can be mutually exclusive, but in the past, I've found Yummy Wonton and Lotus to be acceptable considering where they are located. And since I haven't been back to Yummy in awhile, it was a good time to do a revisit.
We started with the generous helping of 5 Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) unlike the standard 4 you get everywhere else. These were not bad with properly-textured shrimp. There was a good snap which gave way to a moderate amount of seasoning which was on the sweeter side. The dumpling skin was not bad, if not a touch doughy. Onto more shrimp, we had the Shrimp Spring Rolls. They arrived hot and crunchy with minimal grease. Although the filling shared the same characteristics as the haw gow, there was very little of it, hence the roll was mostly crunchy with very little "meat" to it.
With the Steamed Spareribs, we had the clunker dish of the meal. In a smallish portion, the rib pieces were mostly small and completely over-marinaded. Hence, there was very little meat texture. Furthermore, we found them to be far too peppery where it dominated the entire flavour profile of the dish. Getting back on track, the Sui Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling, but this one was all-pork) was quite good. Despite the lack of shrimp or anything other than some tobiko on top, the meat was tenderized just right where it retained a bounce texture. Furthermore, the flavour was good as there was a nice balance between savoury and sweet.
On the topic of sweet, the BBQ Pork Buns were just that, but in a good way. The mostly lean BBQ pork was dressed in a rich and sweet sauce. It was encased in a relatively moist bun. They were steamed just right as it was not soggy nor too dry. Surprisingly, one of the better dishes was the Donut Rice Noodle Roll. Many bigger Chinese restaurants can't get this dish right, but they did here. The donut was crispy and light while the rice noodle was soft with a bit of resistance. I would've preferred to see a touch more sugar in the soya dipping sauce as it was a bit too salty.
For me, I had to get the Tripe and I basically ended up eating the whole dish. Such wimps at my table... Anyways, it was mostly flavoured with a mild satay sauce that was just salty enough with a touch of sweetness and spice. The tripe itself was on the chewier side, yet not overly so. There was a slight tinge of gaminess at the finish. As for the Curry Cuttlefish, I also had to finish it myself because the wimps became even wimpier. The texture was pretty nice with a bit of chew while the curry was pretty spicy in a non-curry way, if that makes any sense.
We also go the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice) which was packed with lots of ground pork and shiitake mushrooms. The rice was a touch moist from all the filling, but it wasn't mushy. Flavourwise, it was pretty mild with a meatiness from the plethora of pork. Lastly, we had the Potstickers which were a touch stiff - dumpling skin and meat filling. It could've used a bit more of a sear at the bottom, but they were okay. Overall, this visit to Yummy essentially mirrored my previous Dim Sum meal. Hence, we can safely assume they are consistent. Now, if we compared this to places in Richmond, it would fail miserably. But considering it is located in Delta, it does the job.
The Good:
- Okay for North Delta
- Friendly service
- Okay pricing considering everything
The Bad:
- Some dishes were not-so-good
- Limited options
Having lunch with Whipping Girl has become almost a bi-weekly exercise. This time around, she suggested that we meet up at Kishimoto out on Commercial. Oh that place. Man, I've been trying to eat at that place for awhile now to no avail. Last time, it was so busy, we had to settle for Tangent Cafe across the street. Well, chalk up another epic fail as we had to walk across the street once more (Kishimoto was closed!). We ended up choosing Volcano Sushi & Grill.
For 2 people we ordered a whackload of food including Tempura which came out piping hot. However, it was pretty greasy and lacking in crispiness. With each bite, I could see and taste the oil. With that being said, it was somewhat crunchy in spots and the ingredients were not overcooked. The dipping sauce was pretty sweet, yet it did add plenty of flavour. Looking more like deep fried chicken knees, the Chicken Karaage was very strange. Once we were past the crispy exterior, there was little-to-no texture at all. It appeared that they had tenderized the chicken meat to the point where it was heading towards mush. We didn't know what to make of the sweet & sour-like sauce either.
Equally strange, the Gyoza at first appeared pretty typical. In fact, with an appealing sear on the bottom, it looked tasty. I took a bite and okay, there was a crispy bottom and the rest of the dumpling skin was thin and chewy. Good start. Then the filling... er... *crunch, crunch*... Huh? It tasted like they put pickled vegetables in it. Now if this was say, a regular Chinese dumpling, it would be good. But it was no gyoza. On the topic of Chinese food, the Oyako Don looked very much like a Chinese chicken & shiitake mushroom rice. In some sense, it did taste like it, but just sweeter. As much as it was not very authentic, it did taste good with big tender pieces of chicken and chewy rice.
When it first arrived at our table, the Chirashi Don was very impressive-looking for the price ($13.95). With large, attractive slices of sashimi atop sushi rice, there was not much to complain about. The addition of the fried shrimp head was also a nice touch. Too bad I couldn't eat the whole thing since the shell was not fried enough. Nothing particularly wrong with the fish, other than being sliced too thick. The sushi rice had a good consistency of chewy while not dry. As much as I like vinegar and sugar in my sushi rice, this was a bit excessive. We got one specialty roll being the Awesome Roll consisting of salmon tempura, cucumber, imitation crab with avocado and fried yam strings on the outside. We didn't mind the roll as there was minimal rice while there was a good combination of textures. As if this wasn't enough food, we also had the Chopped Scallop Roll. It was okay with a mild-tasting scallop mix with somewhat gummy rice. Despite some really strange dishes, we didn't dislike our meal. We merely accepted it as non-authentic Japanese food. Let's just say if you wanted authentic, head over to Kishimoto (if they are open and have no lineup that is).
The Good:
- Large portions
- Good value
- Okay service
The Bad:
- Some strange tasting and prepared dishes
- Some items look and taste like Chinese food
- If you want authenticity, you've come to the wrong place
As much as there are plenty of late night Vietnamese joints in town, there are only a handful that are open 24 hours. Of course, the first place that comes to mind is Pho Hoa and also Pho Extreme. Pho 24 Express does the same thing on Kingsway near Metrotown as well. However, there is one more that is somewhat unknown as it is rather low-key looking from the outside. I first spotted the "Open 24 hours" when I was on the prowl for restaurants with Miss Y, but decided to leave it for times when we had a late hockey game. Well, this time would be it as Milhouse and Lionel Hutz joined me for eats.
Milhouse had the Pho and it was more or less pretty standard. I found the broth to be on the sweeter side and a little heavy on the MSG. At the very least it wasn't bland, I could pick out a few flavours such as anise and charred onion. The noodles were still toothsome while the meats were sliced thin and tender. For myself, I tried the Bun Bo Hue which sported a nice oil slick on the top. It was for a reason though as there was a decent level of spice as well as shrimp paste. I didn't get much in the way of lemongrass though as the soup was just salty. Furthermore, there was no pork blood nor knuckle present. With that being said, the other meats were fine and the rice noodles were chewy in texture.
Naturally, a bowl of noodles wouldn't be enough so I got a plate of Lemongrass Chicken, Fried Eggs and Rice as well. The 2 fried eggs still sported runny yolks which, of course, was really good with the properly steamed rice. I found the chicken to relatively juicy with a slight char. Once again, I didn't get a big hit of lemongrass, although the chicken was well-seasoned. Lionel Hutz went for a Banh Mi Dac Biet (without any greens) because he doesn't like Pho (and his girlfriend is Vietnamese!). He thought the bread was light and nicely toasted while the ingredients were fine. There was a noticeable amount of pate which added a nice flavour.
Interestingly, the last item to hit our table was the appie being the Roll Combo consisting of one each of a spring roll, pork salad roll and shrimp salad roll. Made with a wheat wrapper, the spring roll hot and crunchy. The filling was moist and flavourful. Both salad rolls were pretty standard except the rice wrapper was a touch dry. For a 24-hour joint, Troung Thanh more than fits the bill. Food wasn't outstanding, yet at the very least, the food is far superior than Pho Hoa up the street.
The Good:
- Open 24 hours
- Decent eats
- Relatively okay service
The Bad:
- Place is not particularly big, can be full at times
- A little heavy with the MSG
Like the TV cartoon, Tom & Jerry's (the restaurant) can be sometimes be the butt end of many jokes. Hey, don't knock it though as it has been around as long as I can remember. In the same class as Denny's and Knight & Day, it serves to offer up eats when other establishments have long closed for the night. Sadly (maybe?), T&J's has bit the dust and in its place is Moulin Rouge. Looking very much the same with a menu all under $10.00, I'm not sure if anything has changed.
Since they are once again open 24 hours, it was convenient for us after late night Friday hockey. I started with the Deluxe Burger consisting of a 6 oz patty, cheese, bacon and mushrooms. I found the patty very dry and overcooked, yet the plethora of toppings including the fresh tomatoes and lettuce somewhat helped alleviate the problem. The kaiser bun was plenty toasted which helped keep everything together. The fries were pretty generic and only slightly crisp. For my second dish, I had the Lamb Shank which had a shade of pale that would make Taylor Swift look tanned. It ate pretty much how it looked being one dimensional in flavour (salt) and a touch chewy in parts. The rice was good though being soft with a bite.
Emilicious had the Chicken Schnitzel with mushroom sauce (even though she asked for Madagascar Sauce). It was pretty decent with a large chicken cutlet which was fried up very crispy while still somewhat moist inside. The sauce was rich and creamy with plenty of mushrooms. It was surprisingly good. Milhouse had the Meatloaf and it appeared they used the same sauce. It was okay being sufficiently moist with only the slightest hint of seasoning. Lionel Hutz originally ordered the Chicken Nachos, but theuy forgot the chicken. Oh yeah, they forgot his milkshake too. This was only the tip of the iceberg concerning the overall service we received. It was friendly enough, but our server was very forgetful and completely lost for the duration of our meal. Food in general was pretty average at best. Whatever the case, Moulin Rouge offers up an option for 24 hour eats.
The Good:
- Everything under $10.00
- Edible
- Open 24 hours
The Bad:
- Average food at best
- Service we got was confused and forgetful
As I was turning onto 16th from Fraser, I noticed that the new location of Bee Kim Heng was open for business. That made me a happy camper (wait, I don't camp... okay, how about a happy hoteller?) as I was a distressed to see the old location boarded up awhile back. Seeing how my son has a general dislike of anything interesting, on a whim, I decided to pay the place a visit. Hey, he might like it - Singaporean style jerky that is grilled and cured with lots of tasty seasoning (in particular sugar and no preservatives). I decided to go for 1/2 pound of beef and 1/2 pound of pork. The nice people there even gave us some samples.
I passed it to my son and surprise! He liked it! He was especially impressed with the Pork Jerky as it as was mostly moist with some chewier portions. It was charred which gave out a smoky flavour that accented by the sweet marinade. My preference was for Spicy Beef Jerky which as the name implies was spicy. In fact, it wasn't wimpy spicy either as there was a real kick. Being beef, the texture was much drier and chewier, but still not particularly difficult to eat (unless you put too much in your mouth).
Lastly, I picked up a few bags of their End Pieces which are generally chewier and sometimes a bit burnt. Consider it the "burnt ends" beef jerky equivalent of the wonderful BBQ brisket variety. It's cheaper and a great snack to munch on in front of the TV. Now if you've never tried this type of jerky before, you are missing out. Definitely a treat and probably the best Singaporean-style jerky in town (not that there are many other places).
The Good:
- Freshly made with no preservatives
- Just the right amount of char and smokiness
- Nice people
The Bad:
- You'll be paying for it
- Won't keep long
Posts
I have to say this post is something out-of-the-ordinary for me. I don't recall ever doing a post about any Glowbal restaurant that wasn't on my own time. So, it came as a surprise that I was invited to their sneak peak of their Dine Out Vancouver menus at Italian Kitchen, Black & Blue and Coast. Whatever the case, I was curious and really, I'm not a Glowbal Group hater. Rather, as I've said before, each restaurant needs to be judged on its own merits.
With that in mind, I joined Grace, Sean, Rick and Adrian & Jeremy (along with other media) to sample some of the dishes that each restaurant has to offer during Dine Out Vancouver (from January 17th - February 2nd). We started at Italian Kitchen first where we sampled 2 items from their menu. I tried the Marinated Calamari Salad first. The small strips of squid were chewy, yet not so much that it couldn't be classified as tender. It was mixed with caper berries, pickled chilis, fried chickpeas, red onion and a grainy mustard vinaigrette. Although a touch heavy with the dressing, the flavours were definitely there. I got the slight acidity combined with both sweetness and some lingering heat from the chilis. Next was the Lobster Ravioli which was dressed with lemon cream fennel and lobster salad. The ravioli itself was full of lobster which was naturally sweet, however, the pasta was on the softer side (most likely the result of the time delay from completion to service). I really liked the crunchy fennel which added the necessary texture to the dish. The chunks of lobster didn't hurt matters either. As for the cream sauce, it was definitely rich and well-seasoned.
Next, we headed over to Black & Blue for some more samples including the Josper Grilled Vegetable Napoleon consisting of goat cheese, bell peppers, zucchini and mushrooms. Although a touch slimy, I didn't mind it as the veggies maintained a certain texture while being buttery soft. I felt there was just enough peppers for effect without overwhelming the other vegetables. Furthermore, there was a good amount of goat cheese for some gaminess, but not too much. I wasn't enthralled with the Slow Cooked Guinness Braised Short Rib though as it was stringy and mostly dry. On the other hand, it did taste good with a meatiness and adequate salt content. The accompanying applewood smoked cheddar spatzle was appealingly chewy with a nice hint of smoke and salt. Since we were served full portions of all the dishes available in the DOV menu, I was able to grab a piece of the Whole Roasted Trout as well. Depending on the part of the fish, it ranged from moist to a touch dry. I felt the fish itself was not seasoned enough while the lobster bisque sauce on the side was creamy and mild. The potato croquette was good though with a nice crunch.
Our last stop was at Coast where we were presented with all of the plates. I was able to sample the Dungeness Crab & Sun Choke Chowder. It was pretty rich and thick where it was flavoured with white miso and sake to go along with crab tomalley, mussels, clams, potato and carrots. I found that the sake was more evident than the seafood flavour, however, if a spoonful contained a clam, there was balance. Next, I had some of the Spanish Mussels & Frites with chorizo safrito, feta cheese and san marzano tomatoes. The mussels were buttery and cooked just right while the chorizo safrito provided the necessary saltiness and fat. Naturally, the tomatoes added sweetness and acidity. I liked the flavours, but there was a touch too much of the safrito. Then we were presented with the Salmon Two Ways consisting of Olive Crusted Salmon with pea-basil puree and prawn & bacon croquette complimented by the Roasted Salmon with truffled cauliflower puree and wild mushrooms. I found the salmon a bit firmer than I would've liked, yet the cauliflower puree was woodsy and downright tasty. Good thing too as the salmon needed the seasoning. For the other salmon, I liked the olive crust, but I would've preferred more of it. The croquette was crunchy and full of bacon flavour.
For dessert, we were presented with a platter containing each and every one of the available desserts from the 3 DOV menus. Although the Maple Roasted Apple Panna Cotta was firmer than I normally like, I kept eating it because the sweet apples were quite good. I found the B&B Carrot Cake to be rather sweet, especially from the cream cheese. Despite being a bit dry, the Coconut & Ginger Macaron had a nice zip from the ginger. Lastly, the Sugar Coated Taiyaki (the candied puff pastry fish) was light and airy, yet suffered from a lack of impact from the fillings. Overall, the food I tried at all 3 restaurants was pretty much what I had expected. Similar to my past visits to these restaurants, the food can be classified as safe and predictable. I believe that the $28.00 Italian Kitchen DOV menu to be the best value of the 3.
