Tasting Plates New Westminster

As much as there are quite a few food tours and/or tasting tours available in Vancouver, there are next to none for the 'burbs.  Yup, there is as much love for the 'burbs (when it comes to food tours) as there is love for bike lanes in Downtown (unless you ride a bike that is).  So when Vanfoodster decided to partner up with Tourism New West and offer a Tasting Plates out in the Royal City, I wasn't going to pass it up.  For the first time, Roxy (a fine NW resident) joined me on this food adventure.

Our first stop happened to be the registration point at the Anvil Centre.  Truffles Fine Foods, which specializes in catered events, set up a station offering at trio of items including Grilled Crostini with celeriac slaw, proscuitto and parsley salad; Watermelon, Beet, Feta and Basil Skewer; and White Chocolate with raspberry and Oreo crumble.  The star of this plate was the dessert as the white chocolate was thick and creamy while not overbearingly sweet.  The raspberry added a nice fruity tanginess.  From here, we traveled to the far reaches of Columbia Street to Fratelli Bakery.  We were presented with a generous box of goodies including Pistachio Macaron, Lemon Whipped Cream Puff, Cannolis and Espresso Almond Biscotti.  We ended up taking this home and eating it later.  Although a bit rough-looking, the macaron was nicely crisp with a soft chewy interior.  The cannolis were lightly crunchy with mildly sweet fillings.  I particularly liked the cream puff as it was airy with an impactful lemon cream.

Then we headed back down towards Downtown New West over to Heritage Grill.  We were served a plate consisting of Bruschetta Bites, Marinated Chicken Quesadilla, Mushroom Neptune, Mini Crab Tostadas and Steak Bites.  Although small in size, the steak bites were actually moist and easy to chew.  They were also well-seasoned with a touch of pepperiness and just enough salt.  As much as I was skeptical of the crab tostada (because it looked pretty plain), I enjoyed it for the crunch of the tortilla and ample amount of crab salad and ripe avocado.  After this, we quickly made our way to Steel & Oak Brewing Co. where we were presented with a flight that included Royal City Ale, Red Pilsner, Dry Hopped ESB and Smoked Hefeweizen.  Naturally, the 2 middle beers exhibited noticeable hoppiness while my personal favourite was the smoked hefeweizen as it had a refreshing bite that gave way to a subtle smokiness.

After the flight, we traveled to Queensborough where we visited Frankie G's. Honestly, if I didn't attend this event, I would've never known that this place existed.  Here, we were served a plate consisting of a Chorizo Slider with green apple slaw and chipotle lime aioli on brioche. Served on the side was Crispy Bocconcini atop pesto and marinara.  We enjoyed the slider as the chorizo patty was moist and effectively spicy while the slaw brought it down a notch.  Despite being crispy and nicely melted, the crispy bocconcini was not aided by flavourful sauces. Our last stop was at Old Crow Coffee Co.  Roxy had the Macchiato while I had the Affogato.  With melting ice cream topped with hot espresso, this was dessert and coffee in the same cup.  There was a nice rich espresso hit to go with the sweet and creamy ice cream.  Once again, Tasting Plates has introduced me to several places I have wanted to try and to one I've never even heard of.

Shishinori

Better late to the party than never right?  That's what happened when we finally made it out to the popular Shishinori out on Cambie in the Home Depot complex.  Yes, the place has been blogged-to-death as everyone has clamoured to try their "healthier" and light Japanese meals.  Wait, healthy and light...  For Milhouse, JuJu and I, those words are as foreign to us as a great experience dealing with ICBC.  However, on a warm Sunday afternoon, Shishinori was looking like a pretty good choice.

JuJu kicked things off by digging into the Chilled Tofu with bonito and nori.  This was a fairly straightforward dish with slices of smooth (yet firm) tofu that was laced with a mildly sweet and only marginally salty dressing.  For his main, he went for the Hawaii Ahi Poke Bowl with shoyu dressing.  It was served atop brown rice and served with a side salad.  The poke itself was quite pleasant, if not conservatively seasoned.  It did taste natural where the tuna wasn't overwhelmed.  As much as we aren't fans of soggy rice, the brown rice was on the firmer side with hard pieces of crust strewn throughout.

For myself, I had the Spicy Teriyaki Beef Sub as a starter.  In actuality, Milhouse and I got our orders mixed up as I ended up eating his sub.  It wasn't particularly spicy, but I did get the teriyaki hit.  The beef was sufficiently tender while the bun could've been more light.  I ended up with the Real Crabmeat California Bowl as my entree and made it a meal with a Lychee Tea and bowl of Enoki Miso Soup.  This was essentially a deconstructed California roll with the addition of apple in the mix.  The light fluffy crab was good on its own, but the entire thing could've used something to brighten up the flavours (such as some acidity).  Again, the hard brown rice was not that appealing.

Milhouse had what I had ordered in the Wasabi Mayo Beef & Avocado Sub.  Similar to what I had except without the teriyaki, this was also quite mild-tasting except for the creaminess of the mayo.  It wasn't particularly spicy though.  Although his Wild Salmon Carpaccio Bowl was the prettiest plate, it was also the least amount of food.  Hey, the salmon was buttery and naturally sweet, yet again, it seemed to be missing something.  Also, if he had not ordered the sub, that was not enough to fill his tummy.  This in itself is a problem for slightly bigger appetites as most items were not that substantial.  However, I guess that would be the point of it all - being a lighter meal.  In that sense, the food was not heavy and generally pleasant.

The Good:
- Relatively healthier
- Carefully prepared eats
- Fresh ingredients

The Bad:
- Flavours are light
- Portions are also quite light

Wild Tale Coastal Grill

For past little while, whenever there has been a mention of Sunday brunch, my mom would automatically assume we were going to a hotel for some all-you-can-stuff-your-face action.  As much as I find that an interesting way to dine, we rarely eat enough (in terms of quantity and quality) to justify dropping nearly $50.00 per person.  Besides, I can only take so much before I experience buffet rage (think road rage, except in a buffet line) where the person in front of me picks out all the good pieces of <insert any seafood here>.

Hence, I suggested we hit up the newly opened Wild Tale instead.  Situated in the former location of Glowbal Grill, the fabulous patio still graces the front entrance.  However, with the kiddies in tow, we decided to sit inside instead.  They started us off with some mini-Lime Loaves that were topped with a sweet glaze.  I found these to be on the denser side (but then again, that was probably intentional) while lightly sweet.  There was no mistaking the lime in every bite.  For a starter, I decided to try the Hawaiian Ahi Poke with avocado, mango, red onion, jalapeno and spiced wonton crisps.  At first, I thought the poke was a little underseasoned, but when combined with the jalapeno, the flavours were definitely more pronounced.

Onto my main, I went for the Imperial Eagle Oyster Po' Boy with tartar sauce, fries and slaw.  For $12.00, this was a substantial amount of food including 3 plump oysters.  They were fresh, sweet and nicely crisp on the outside.  I found the tartar sauce to be mild with a touch of acidity.  I would've preferred a roll rather than a sesame bun though.  As for the side of fresh-cut fries, they were mostly crispy with plenty of potato texture.  Rather than using tuna, the Salmon Nicoise piqued Viv's interest.  It featured a generously-sized wild salmon filet with green beans, olives, tomatoes, hard boiled egg and baby greens.  Although a bit dry around the edges, the salmon was flaky and moist in the middle.  It wasn't particularly flavourful on its own, but combined with the nicoise olives, there was more than enough saltiness.

My mom opted for the Dungeness Crab Benny with baby geens, sliced tomatoes, avocado and dill Hollandaise.  I enjoyed the amount of dill in the sauce itself while the poached egg was perfectly runny.  The avocado was soft and ripe where it contrasted the firmly toasted English muffin.  However, there didn't seem to be much in the way of crab in the dish.  My son doesn't eat crab, so he opted for the Classic Benedict instead with shaved ham and home style breakfast potatoes.  Once again, the eggs were expertly poached with completely cooked egg whites and a runny yolk.  Although creamy and buttery, the Hollandaise could've used a bit more acidity to brighten up the otherwise rich texture and flavours.

As expected, my daughter went for the sweet item on the menu in the Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with fresh berries, bourbon caramel and whipped cream.  I was able to wrestle some from her and discovered that these pancakes were more akin to thick crepes in texture (inside and out).  There was definitely an overwhelming tartness of buttermilk at the end, but it was balanced by the sweet bourbon caramel.  Finally, my dad had the Seafood Duo consisting of pan-seared snapper and wild salmon.  Again, the outside was firm and crispy while inside, it was moist and flaky.  Other than some pepper, seasoning was kept to a minimum.  The accompanying new potatoes and green beans were cooked just enough.  Overall, we enjoyed out brunch at Wild Tale.  Service and ambiance were fantastic while the food was pretty good.

The Good:
- Outstanding service
- Carefully prepared eats
- Comfy people-watching patio

The Bad:
- A little mild on the seasoning

Flying Pig (Olympic Village)

So when does a group of restaurants with the same name and same menu not be classified as a "chain restaurant"?  Think of it though, all chain restaurants started out as one location and due to their popularity have expanded to several more.  The best example locally would be Cactus Club and White Spot.  Now, those 2 are in the later expansion phase while some others are just beginning to multiply.  One of which is The Flying Pig with locations in Yaletown, Gastown and recently in Olympic Village.  We decided to check it out after hockey one night.

Since I didn't have dinner, I went for a hearty dish in the T.F.P. Signature Pork Rack with pulled pork poutine and apple cider reduction.  Although thick, the pork chop was succulent throughout while still sporting a nice char on the surface.  I thought the cider reduction was mildly acidic and slightly sweet with bits of bacon.  I enjoyed the dish, but would've liked to see the pork brined to give an extra punch of flavour.  As for the poutine, some of the fries were still crispy even though there was a significant amount of moist pulled pork on top.  I liked the sharpness of the ample cheese, but overall, the dish was rather salty.  Milhouse, Emilicious and myself shared 3 sides including the Crispy Brussel Sprouts spiked with lemon, Parmesan and capers.  If I had to compare, these were less fried than the ones found at the Glowbal Group where the inside retained some brussel sprout texture.  I enjoyed the plethora of acidity in addition to the saltiness of the capers.

Emilicious went for the Red Wine Braised Short Rib with roasted bone marrow and aged white cheddar mash.  I've had this dish at the Yaletown location before and despite not looking like a whole lot, it is pretty rich and filling.  It was no different this time around where the bone marrow was fatty and decadent while the short rib was mostly moist while sporting a natural meat essence.  The starchy mash was well-seasoned with the aroma and background sharpness of the aged cheddar.  Continuing with the bone marrow theme, we had the Bone Marrow Cheesy Bread which was covered by a significant amount of melted cheese.  Now, the cheese was evident visually and texturally, but the bone marrow as not very apparent.  The fatty aroma was just not there.  With that being said, this was still a very good cheese bread.

Milhouse decided on the Veal Piccata with Parmesan risotto and lemon caper butter. The thin slices of veal were buttery soft while retaining a tender meatiness.  I thought the lemon caper better was well-balanced and clean.  There was a purposeful amount of acidity to go with the saltiness of the capers.  The veggies were also on point being vibrant and barely done.  A touch soft and not really that creamy, the risotto was acceptable but not memorable.  Our last shared side was the enormous Jumbo Shortrib Macaroni with Cabernet cream sauce.  For $9.50, this could've easily passed for an entree as it was chock full of tender shortrib bathed in a sauce that was creamy and meaty with the added sharpness of melted cheese.  The choice of pasta was spot on as it was big enough to withstand the moisture while being able to retain sauce.

Gadget Girl and Groundskeeper Willy both had the Wild Seafood Pappardelle with mussels, clams, fresh fish, prawns in a spicy rose sauce.  The big sheets of pasta were a touch soft while the creamy sauce was balanced except missing the promised spice.  There was a decent amount of well-prepared seafood which made this dish decent, yet probably the weakest of the meal.  Despite this, we enjoyed most of the dishes we ordered.  Considering the price point and general portion size, The Flying Pig serves as a pretty good alternative to the more established chain restaurants.

The Good:
- Energetic vibe
- Attentive service
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Although flavours were okay, most dishes could've been seasoned more aggressively

Pinpin (Surrey)

With Mr. Mike's finally shutting its doors at their Scott Road location, it opened up an opportunity for another tenant to move it.  Hopefully, it would not serve up mediocre steaks at unreasonable prices.  I admit that I wasn't a big fan of the place, but the Mikeburger did hold a place in my heart.  To my surprise, Pinpin to moved right in, offering up Filipino dishes amongst an array of Indian restaurants.  For me, I was quite interested how it compares to their Vancouver location.  

For my first visit, I started with a standard dish being the Pancit Bihon.  Despite exhibiting good flavours, the dish itself was wet and somewhat greasy.  Hence, the noodles were on the softer side including the practically melting vermicelli.  As mentioned, the flavours were good including the ample garlic and onions.  There was no absence of ingredients where the cabbage and carrots were not overly soft while the pork was fatty and tender.  Off to my next dish, I tried the Pusit ala Pobre which didn't arrive sizzling.  However, I found the dish quite good with appealingly chewy squid bathed in a garlicky sauce while exhibiting a slight spiciness and tartness.

On my next visit, I had to get another standard being the National dish - Chicken Adobo (well, it can be pork as well or both).  I thought this was prepared far better than their Main Street location.  The chicken thighs were fried up nicely where the skin was rendered and crispy.  Inside, the meat was not exactly juicy, but not overly dry either.  It was sauced with the classic flavours of sweet, tart, garlicky and salty.  In this case, it was a thickened version where it was goopy and rather unappealing.  Of course I couldn't leave this time around without getting an order of the small Crispy Pata.  Yes, this was the small...  I thought the skin was nicely crunchy while the fat was mostly rendered.  The meat portions were gelatinous and soft while some of the exterior parts were crispy.  Overall, the food here was acceptable, but not really all that memorable.  Pretty much par for the course for Pinpin.

The Good:
- Large menu
- Decent value

The Bad:
- Food so-so
- Service so-so

Sandar's Thai Garden

The last time I visited Sandar's Thai Garden, Vancouver was a year away from the Olympics and Barack Obama made it into the White House for the first time.  Yah, that was a long time ago and yes, Sandar's is also still around.  To be honest, I vaguely remember my experience the last time and really, that was so early on in the life of this blog, I admittedly must've said some stupid things.  Therefore, I had only one choice but to do a couple of return visits over 6 years later.

To start things off, I was presented with a Tom Yoong Soup and a Spring Roll.  Devoid of ingredients, the soup was rather plain.  There was a significant galangal hit to it with an equal amount of lemongrass.  I would've liked to see some form of ingredient in it though despite being complimentary.  The spring roll was good though as the outside was firmly crunchy.  There was a minimal amount of grease.  Inside, the filling was more vermicelli than meat, but it didn't matter as it did taste good.

I began with the Pad Thai which appeared to be legit.  It was rather saucy (a touch ketchupy) though which meant the noodles were a touch past an al dente texture.  Furthermore, the whole thing had so much wok heat that a few parts were actually burnt.  This wasn't a huge concern as it did add an appealing smokiness and caramelization.  The whole dish was rather tart though, but I didn't mind as I much prefer that over being too sweet.  For my second dish (yes, I had 2 lunches), I went for the Green Curry with Chicken.  I liked how the sauce was creamy, yet not overly thick.  There was definitely an immediate spice that was balanced off by a smooth coconut milk finish.  The chicken was sufficiently moist while the veggies were still vibrant, except for the soft eggplant (which was good).

On another visit, I decided to go for something off the regular menu being the Pad See Ew.  This was a fairly good portion of stir fried rice noodles and chicken.  There was a considerable amount of wok heat as there were actually a few small burnt parts.  Hence, there was a smoky caramelization of flavours.  It was especially noticeable due to the liberal use of palm sugar.  This was a pretty good dish despite the noodles being a touch soft.  Next, I went for the Ginger Pork which was also the beneficiary of good wok heat. Although there was plenty of ginger present, it remained in the background.  Rather, the dish trended towards the sweeter side.  As for the pork, it was sufficiently tender while the veggies were crisp and vibrant.  These 2 revisits to Sandar's was pretty decent considering its location.  Won't put a scare into the top Thai restaurants in town though.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Reasonably-priced
- Nice people

The Bad:
- A little aggressive with the wok heat
- Noodles could be less soft

The Kitchen on Main

Once upon a time, I was criticized for blogging about too many Asian restaurants.  Excuse me, but I hope people realize the majority of restaurants in the GVRD are Asian!  For the ones that are not, many are chain restaurants...  Even with this in mind, we admittedly do get a bit bored with the stir-fry and soup noodle thing from time-to-time.  So to change things up a bit after Monday night softball, we decided to share some balls (a bit ironic...).  In fact, there was an array of sauces including creamy ones...

So where did we get these balls?  At The Kitchen on Main Street situated in the former location of Tapas 23 and prior to that, one of my favourites - Crave.  With Milhouse, Judes and Boss Woman along for the ball-fest, we ended up sharing balls and sauce.  I dug into the Classic Beef Ball with fire-roasted tomato sauce first.  Although not super moist, the beef meatball was not dry.  It was definitely meaty with a slight chew with little in the way of filler.  Chunky with a touch of spice, the tomato sauce could've exhibited a bit more acidity, but it was pleasant nonetheless.  Covered in pesto and Parm, the Chicken Balls were pretty dark and firm on the outside.  However, it was relatively soft and moist on the inside. This dish was a bit too mild-tasting for us as the pesto didn't have much impact.

We ending up try the daily special which was the Veal Balls with gnocchi in a rose sauce. I quite liked this dish as the meatballs were moist and soft without being too loose.  The rose sauce was balanced and thick where it adhered easily to the ingredients.  Flavours were definitely mild and creamy, but it was sufficiently impactful.  The good amount of gnocchi were well-sized and texturally on point being soft without being mushy.  Our favourite of the night was the Lamb Chorizo ball in a mushroom cream sauce.  The meaty and appealingly chewy ball had a nice spiciness and savouriness.  It was tasty on its own, so the fact that the cream sauce was not aggressively seasoned worked in this dish.

Each meatball dish included a choice of side (except for the veal as it came with gnocchi already) and we tried the House-Cut Fries, Garlic Bread and Mac n' Cheese.  A touch soft, the fries were decent.  Although lacking in garlic, the bread was appealing and lightly crunchy.   The side of mac n' cheese was creamy and sufficiently cheesy while not overly salty. Unfortunately, our meal ended off with a dud in the Calamari with tartar sauce.  Since the batter didn't adhere properly to the squid, it slid off and became a one piece item on the bottom of the plate.  The dish was sorely lacking in seasoning and even the tartar sauce was not very flavourful. Despite this, the meatballs were pretty good and combined with a choice of side, it was something different than the usual.

The Good:
- Generally moist meatballs with not too much filler
- Choice of sides and sauce allow some customization and fun

The Bad:
- The calamari was terrible
- Not particularly expensive, but not inexpensive either