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Normally, I'm not one to visit Fatburger. Hey, I have nothing against their food, but really, the prices are a little steep. Consider that a regular Fatburger combo will set one back $12.50 plus tax, it suddenly becomes pretty expensive for a family. Therefore, I have not eaten there for over 5 years. However, with the February special for $20.00 (2 Fatburgers with cheese, fries, drinks and 2 red velvet donuts), Viv and I made a visit. Funny how we can spend a fortune eating at a fancy restaurant, but get all worked up about a pricey burger...
I gotta admit the Fatburger was pretty good. With a relatively juicy patty (and fatty), there was no issues with moisture, considering all of the we ingredients as well. I liked the use of real cheddar as well as the soft toasted bun. So Viv decided to get a salad with her burger which was all wrong in my eyes. Consequently, I had to make up for her poor decision by upgrading to a Poutine as a side. The cheese was all melted and really, it wasn't squeaky curds anyways. The gravy was really thick and somewhat salty. The fries were good tough being crispy and fluffy inside.
To be blunt, I hated the Red Velvet Donuts as they were greasier than a kitchen floor in a Chinese restaurant. Yes, they were crispy, but ugh, the oil just dripped from the darn things. Oh and that icing... too much and too sweet. A week later, I noticed a Groupon for Fatburger and yes, I returned again (I'm Chinese, I love a discount...). The burger was exactly the same (consistent at least) and I decided on regular fries since Viv didn't go for a salad (have to maintain the grease continuum). They were fried golden and crispy. Okay, these 2 visits were an eye-opener for me. I discovered I actually don't mind Fatburger, but not the prices. Is there another coupon out there?
The Good:
- Moist patties
- Fries are decent
- The service we got was good
The Bad:
- Pricey
- Greasy (hence the name Fatburger?)
Gosh, the New Ruby, I've almost forgotten about you. Situated in one of the endless strip malls along Scott Road right next to a laundromat, your 70's red decor has probably not changed since it first went in. Oh and how can I forget the cheap combos (for only $5.95!) that include such classics as radioactive red sweet n' sour pork and authentic chop suey (an oxymoron of sorts). Sure, the food ain't gourmet, but it fills the tummy. With those memories, I dragged Miss Y, Hot Mama and Zamboni Guy out for some North American Chinese fare.
For myself, I went for something that was somewhat "more Chinese" being the Scrambled Eggs & Shrimp on Rice. By the looks and taste of it, there was more starch-thickened sauce that scrambled eggs. However, it did taste okay with buttery little shrimp nestled in a mild-tasting thick sauce. I wasn't a huge fan of the peas as they were quite hard. Miss Y ended up with the Black Bean Beef on Rice and it was pretty flavourful. The black bean sauce was dark and not overly diluted. Hence, there was a rich saltiness that went well with the peppers and onion. As for the slices of beef, they were tender with a slight chew.
Zamboni Guy ended up choosing 2 items for $5.95 and went for the Broccoli Beef as well as the Sweet n' Sour Pork (Hot Mama had the S&S Pork with rice). A great value for the price as the plate was pretty darn full. The re-fried pork was a touch on the drier side, but had a nice crunchy exterior (even with the sauce). The sauce was not overly radioactive in colour this time around and exhibited a nice balance between sweet and sour. The beef was the same as Miss Y's dish while the broccoli had a nice crunch. There was decent wok heat to the dish as well. Yes, the food at the New Ruby ain't gonna win any awards nor be relocated to Richmond. However, it is cheap and filling where the food is acceptable for the price.
The Good:
- Cheap
- Large portions
- Friendly people
The Bad:
- It's North American Chinese food for those snobs out there
- Decor reminds me of Bruce Lee movies
It was a blast meeting up with Ned Flanders at Kao's where we had interesting food and conversation. He did his best Asian impersonation and cut me off at the pass when it came time to pay. Naturally, that bugged me for the subsequent week, hence I had to treat him back. He had mentioned that the beef noodle at Accord Food House in Burnaby was one of the better ones he'd tried and encouraged me to join him. However, when I arrived, I could barely find the place because it was no longer Accord. Rather, it has become Bow Bow Cafe. Interestingly, the Chinese name remained the same.
Inside, it didn't seem any different and in fact, the menu on the wall seemed to suggest it was the same owners. We went ahead and tried to order a Beef & Tendon Beef Noodle, but they insisted it couldn't be done. Finally, it was agreed upon I'd pay extra for a side of tendon which was actually served on a separate plate. Wow, when they mean they can't, they really can't! I found the soup to be fairly meaty in flavour without an overuse of salt. There wasn't any pickled vegetable which meant that there was a lack of acidity. As for the beef shank, it was tender enough to chew while still maintaining a meat texture. We found the tendon to be very well-executed since it retained its integrity while still being soft. Furthermore, the braising liquid had penetrated through ensuring plenty of flavour.
For kicks, I suggested we try My Grandfather's Chinese Spaghetti (just because of the name). Well, it was essentially the same noodles as the previous dish, but dressed in a light tomato sauce with somewhat chewy beef and shiitake mushrooms. It wasn't exactly HK-style like as there wasn't a huge ketchup hit, but it was certainly not acidic enough to be a true pasta sauce. What especially caught me off guard was the shiitake as it really didn't go. Whatever the case, it was edible and I'm sure that's how Grandpa made it. For me, I really liked the Sliced Chicken with sesame sauce. I thought the sauce was elevated by the addition of ginger and chilis where there was a slow rumble of spice and the acidity of the ginger balanced the rich sesame. As for the chicken, it was fairly tender for free-range and the skin was nicely gelatinized.
Lastly, we had the Spicy Wontons which were pretty good in my opinion. First of all, the wonton wrapper was moist while exhibiting a gentle elasticity. Second, the filling had a slight bounce texture and was mild enough to not interfere with the sauce. And about that sauce, it was a pleasant spicy thanks to the chili sauce and chili oil with only small amount of soy. Overall, the food at Bow Bow was decent at a fairly reasonable price. Interestingly, there was an automatic 10% service charge added to the bill. It didn't bother us (since it is quite reasonable), but for some, it might be an issue.
The Good:
- Pretty decent eats
- Reasonably-priced
The Bad:
- Wow, that's one small dining room with equally small tables
- Automatic service charge might bother some people
While at my niece's birthday party, Shenanigans queried whether I would join him and some friends for dinner at Sockeye City Grill. Sure, why not? I hardly pass up an eating opportunity. Wait... Isn't it located in Richmond? And all the way out in Steveston too? Geez, the distances I travel for food. At the very least, for a weekday evening, there would be little in the way of traffic. Therefore, the risk to my car's health was at an all-time low for Richmond. I think my car was smiling inside.
With 5 other diners, we were ensured to have a good variety of dishes. Furthermore, all them insisted to share their food with me... Looks like I'm gonna eat with them more often! To start things off, Kikidee had the Prawn Caesar which looked pretty standard as it hit the table. In reality, it was pretty typical, but wasn't overdressed. As for the shrimp, they were well-seasoned with spice and exhibited as shrimpiness and snap. For myself, I had the Albacore Tuna encrusted with 2 kinds of sesame seeds. I liked how it was nicely rare inside, yet the pieces were sliced far too thick. Hence, it was too dense and took away from the fish. As for the dressing, it was too soy (salty) tasting.
Rex had the Dungeness Crab Cake which was pretty large. The exterior was nicely browned, but the crab was dried out and chewy. Due to its large size, it was rather dense as well. On the positive side, there was a nice crunch accented by a good amount of acidity. The roasted red pepper aioli was pretty nice, but we could've done with more of it. Yuchiro ended up with the Mussels and despite the plethora of fennel, we didn't get a whole lot of it in the broth. Rather, it was predominately light tomato with very little acidity and the aforementioned fennel. The smallish mussels (which meant there was not much to eat) were properly cooked though being buttery and soft.
After the mussel appetizer, she had the Steak Neptune. Although the steak was prepared a nice medium-rare, it was rather chewy and somewhat bland. That was partially alleviated by the buttery bearnaise with crab. Once again, the crab was not as fluffy as we would've liked. The sides were okay though where the veggies were still vibrant. Travelgirl had the Fish n' Chips and I found it okay. The batter was crispy while the inside was somewhat flaky, however, it was dry in spots. Furthermore, I found it a bit fishy tasting. The addition of raisins in the coleslaw added a nice sweetness.
Kikidee had the Salmon with roasted red pepper relish and creamy mushroom & herb risotto. The fish itself was seared nicely with a peppery, well-seasoned crust. The fish was a bit dry, but not terribly so. As for the risotto, it was like plain rice with very little creamy and chessiness. It was chewy though with nice Earthy mushrooms. Shenanigans and I ended up sharing the Paella for 2. It was a pretty large portion with nicely textured rice, but the flavours were not developed. Rather it more like tomato rice with a good amount of seafood. Despite seeing the chorizo, it didn't come through in the rice nor did we get any saffron. Yet, in the end, it was an acceptable plate of food considering this was not a Spanish restaurant.
As part of her their 3-course meals, Yuchiro and Kikidee were served a small Chocolate Pate with raspberry coulis. It was more like a chocolate mousse as it was light and semi-sweet. The coulis added some sweetness and tartness. Overall, I found the food at Sockeye City to be average. Nothing particularly I am aching to do a return visit anytime soon. However, the food is still serviceable, so combined with its killer location (by the water), there will be still a steady stream of customers.
The Good:
- Great by-the-water location
- Comfy, spacious dining room
- Service was pretty good
The Bad:
- Food is pretty average
- Pricey
Okay admit it. It's easy to give AYCE joints a hard time. Think of it, with their quantity before quality stigma and the most obvious criticism of all - the food just ain't going to compare with a regular sit-down meal. Fair enough. Heck, I prescribe to that argument as well! However, I find it far too easy to jump on the negativity band-wagon as it is much easier to criticize than to hand out compliments. In fact, there are many more negative words in the dictionary than positive ones! Despite not being a huge fan of AYCE Japanese food, the lure of $1.00 per child with every paying adult at Kingsway Sushi couldn't be ignored. Since we hadn't been to the place in 4 years, we went in with an open mind.
Although I don't usually comment on Edamame because there is very little to talk about, I would like to mention that these were as hard as little pebbles. It was not easy for the kids to eat them. Furthermore, they were not seasoned in any fashion. The Spinach Gomae was okay with tender pieces (albeit big) of spinach dressed in the typical sweet sesame dressing. Viv didn't like the Kimchi because it was more salty than spicy. As for the Ebi Sunomono, it was also alright with a balanced sweet and tangy dressing with chewy noodles. And the Green Salad was well, a green salad with some ginger-carrot dressing. Moving onto the Sashimi, we had Sockeye Salmon, Tuna, Hokkigai, Makaeral and Geoduck. For an AYCE, we thought everything was decent with the right textures and fresh appearance. Of course the knife skills were not exactly neat, but whatever, we were not going to care about that here.
It was unfortunate that the Beef Short Ribs were stone cold because they were decently tender with some chewy parts. We liked how they weren't over-marinaded, hence we could still taste the meat. The thin slices of Black Cod were fine texturally, but the marinade was far too strong and overpowered the delicate flesh. They were also pretty cold. Hygienically-speaking, it was nice to see them use tart tins rather than re-using shells with the Oyster Motoyaki. The small pieces of oyster were fine while the sauce was more clumpy than creamy. The Fried Fish as actually quite good since it was served hot and crunchy. The flesh itself was moist and flaky. As much as it is billed as Fried Scallops on the menu, we all know that it was really fried pollack. Considering this, it was decent being hot and crispy.
Onto my son's favourite, the Ebi Tempura was less than impressive. The batter was laid on thicker than makeup on Christina Aguilera. Hence, it was doughy and not all that crispy. The fact it was on the lukewarm side didn't help matters. Furthermore, the shrimp was soft and lacking any texture. Something interesting on the menu was the "Sundaes". Of course, being curious, we got one each of the Lobster, Scallop and Shrimp. In reality, these were plain sushi rolls topped with various ingredients. Not sure why it qualified as a "sundae". Anyways, they weren't bad since there was a good topping-to-sushi rice ratio. The scallop with lychee was the best of the bunch.
Next up, the Beef Tataki was decent whereby the slices were thin and nicely raw with only small ring of sear. The dressing was tangy enough. I was surprised with the Popcorn Oysters as they were crunchy while moist inside. I didn't like the Fried Smelt though as it was cold and not crispy. The Chicken Karaage was plenty crunchy though, albeit a touch overdone. The only roll sushi that we ordered was the Cheezy Roll with processed cheese. Yah, I didn't really like that either. The rice was more like regular than sushi rice. We found the Gyozas acceptable with a thin crispy skin while the filling was a decent mix of pork and veggies. The Chicken Teriyaki was pretty typical to this type of AYCE, but the NY Steak Skewer was strange as the meat had been tenderized to the point it was bouncy rather than chewy. Lastly, we tried the desserts including once each Coconut, Mango and Baked Tapioca Pudding. Pretty standard stuff, but at least there was selection. In the end, this visit pretty much validates the quantity over quality argument. However, it was more than edible, so I'll give them that.
The Good:
- Although not great, it's okay for AYCE
- Lots of choice
- Service was surprisingly decent
The Bad:
- Most hot items were lukewarm
- It won't be mistaken for real Japanese food
Generally, I can be a pretty poor listener at times. I end up tuning out whatever someone is saying until key words are used. This was the case with Whipping Girl as she was yammering about her usual exploits. I did my best to give a few head nods and answer with generic phrases to give the impression I was interested. As I was just about to doze off, I heard "reasonably-priced French food" at Absinthe Bistro on Commercial. She was raving about the place (that I've been wanting to visit anyways) and kept bugging me to go. So I finally made a reservation for 4 including the likes of Darina and Ned Flanders.
Everything about Absinthe is simple, from the basic yet warm dining space to the focused 9 item menu (3 appies, entrees, desserts each). As such, we tried everything starting with my Creamy Carrot Cumin Soup. I've had many carrot soups, but they were able to elevate it where I wanted to lick the bowl. It was super smooth and creamy with lots of body. The cumin definitely announced itself, including a certain level of spice. Next, Whipping Girl had the Salmon Tartare with Asian flavours and wakame. This came as advertised with a predominant sesame oil hit that was a natural accompaniment to the crunchy wakame and buttery soft salmon. I liked how the seasoning did not inhibit the natural sweetness of the fish.
Both Darina and Ned Flanders had the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio dressed with mustard, capers and fleur de sel. Being rare Wagyu beef, it wasn't exactly super moist (fats were not activated from cooking), hence there was a slight chew. However, the flavours were purposeful and impactful. The saltiness combined with the mustard and natural beef flavour was fantastic. For her main, Darina had the Pan-Seared Scallops with sauteed spinach, beurre blanc sauce and potato puree. Seared a beautiful golden brown, the large scallops were barely done. Hence, they were buttery soft with nice caramelized flavours that accented the natural sweetness. The delicate beurre blanc did not interfere with star of the dish.
Whipping Girl had the Coq of Vin which featured a chicken leg with mushrooms, carrots, potato puree and a beautiful demi. The chicken itself was sufficiently moist since it was the dark meat. What really brought the dish together was the Earthiness of the mushrooms combined with the full-bodied demi. Ned Flanders and I decided on the Slow Braised Lamb Shank in a red wine tomato sauce with parsnip puree. Before we even got to the meat, the beautiful sauce won us over. It was tart without being too acidic and really showcased the red wine essence. It was super impactful where it didn't rely too heavily on salt. Naturally, this only helped make the sufficiently tender and gelatinous lamb taste even better. Of note, I enjoyed the Earthy parsnip puree on the side.
For dessert, we ended sharing 3 beginning with the Classic French Vanilla Creme Brulee. Although the burnt surface was not hard, it didn't detract from the strong flavours. The creamy custard livened our taste buds with fresh vanilla bean and caramel. We all agreed that this was one of the more powerful versions of this dessert as each bite had impact. Next, I tried the Molten Chocolate Lava Cake with house-made vanilla bean Ice Cream. Another solid dessert as it featured a soft cake that revealed a semi-sweet molten core. The whole thing had a nice dark chocolate flavour without relying on much sugar. Moreover, the smooth ice cream didn't hurt things either.
Lastly, we tried the Lemon Tart with house-made vanilla bean ice cream. We were not sure if they had baked the tart shell as long as they did on purpose or not. Whatever the case, it was extremely firm and nutty (due to the browning). I liked the crunchiness as it was a nice compliment to the smooth and creamy lemon custard. I found it not overly tangy while being just sweet enough. Okay, so Whipping Girl is right. I guess listening to her one in awhile might yield positive results. As for Absinthe, there is no doubt in my mind that it is a must-try in Vancouver if we take price, portion size and quality of food into account.
The Good:
- Focused menu
- Reasonably-priced
- Purposeful and impactful flavours
The Bad:
- Super small, make a rez
- For those who want more selection...
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