Havana

Ever since our recent trip to Miami (been there a few times before though), it got me thinking about the lack of Cuban food in these parts.  Wait, is there technically only one place where we can get "Cuban" food in the GVRD?  Yes, that place is Havana located on the Drive.  Much like ICBC, they have the market cornered and other than hopping on a plane heading Southeast for 6 hours, there is no other option.  So nearly 7 years from my last foray, we decided to hit up Havana after play softball at nearby Strathcona Park.

As the food came out pretty much all at the same time, we had to do our version of Tetris to fit everything onto the table.  I attacked the Tostones with chipotle mayo first.  These were quite good as they were crispy and sliced just thin enough.  They were of a good size with very few broken pieces. Surprisingly, they were comparable to the ones I've had in Miami.  Next, I sampled the Tostados with house made mesa sauce, feta cheese and chorizo sausage.  Light, crunchy and not overloaded with toppings (would make it wet and soggy otherwise), we didn't mind this dish.  The mildly spiced mesa sauce was amped by the chorizo.

Onto Bear's favourite, we had the Fresh Baked Corn Bread with smoked chili butter.  This was also quite the pleasant surprise as it was toasty on all surfaces due to the light sear on the grill.  By no means was it dry though as there was a certain moistness to the inside.  I thought the butter was nicely understated in its smokiness that it didn't overwhelm the sweet corn taste.  We weren't overly impressed with the Albacore Tuna Crudo with garlic, lemon and jalepeno with crispy tortilla chips though.  Not sure if the artistic plating really worked as there was too much blank space on the plate.  Moving past that, the actual crudo was chunky and rather lifeless.  The promise of garlic, lemon and jalapeno did not come to fruition.

Onto some bigger items, we had the Paella with West Coast mussels, prawns, house made chorizo sausage, peppers, onions, tomatoes, saffron, rice, coconut milk and Pernod. Okay, let's get this out of the way first - as you can clearly see, this was not really a "Paella".  Hence, there was no rice crust and furthermore, the dish resembled more of a risotto (due to the creaminess) than a paella.  Flavourwise, the dish was the beneficiary of garlic, spice and a understated richness.  Deceptively filling, the Ropa Veija (Braised Beef on Cuban rice) was meaty and sufficiently moist.  The flavours were understated with hits of green and red peppers throughout.

Despite the absence of a Cuban sandwich on the menu, we went for the next best thing in the Media Noche with spicy BBQ sauce.  Consisting of roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, house made spicy BBQ sauce, chipotle mayo and pickles, this was a decent sandwich.  There was a good amount of tender pork that was spiked with a lingering spicy BBQ sauce.  What was most memorable about the dish was actually the side of Parmesan Fries.  These were crispy, light and full of salty, cheesy flavour.  One of our favourite items was the Fried Chicken featuring a crispy chicken breast, sour cream & onion mash, coconut gravy, asparagus and corn.  Considering that the chicken was white meat, they did a great job in keeping it moist.  The coconut gravy was aromatic and rich while the veggies were crunchy and sweet.

For dessert, we shared the Caramel Bread Pudding with praline ice cream.  Sadly, this was dud as the pudding was far too dry and lacking in caramel sauce.  It wasn't overly sweet as a result, but the texture was not appealing.  Really, this was an unfortunate ending to a relatively enjoyable meal.  Sure, it ain't real Cuban food, but taken for what it is, there were not many other complaints other than the dessert.

The Good:
- Generally well-executed food
- Nice vibe
- We got attentive service

The Bad:
- On the pricier side
- Not true Cuban food, if you haven't noticed

Phat Buddha Tacos (Richmond Night Market)

For those who frequent EBO in the Delta Burnaby Hotel, you would've known about the "best Malay-style roti in the GVRD" made by chef John Chang.  No, I'm not pulling your leg (unless it's a tasty lamb shank...), the roti was indeed the best and it wasn't even a Malaysian restaurant!  Well, John has a new venture called Phat Buddha Tacos located in the Richmond Night Market.  Now, let's just say "tacos" is a loosely used term here as the shell is actually grilled naan and the fillings are purely Asian-inspired.  I was invited by John to check out his stand, which was bustling with activity much like the rest of the market.

To begin, we sampled the Buddha's Beef featuring lemongrass meatballs with coconut curry and pickled carrot & daikon.  These were impactful with moist meatballs that were kissed by the grill.  There was a definite lemongrass hit which went well with the creamy and aromatic curry.  Although the dish wasn't spicy, there was a good level of spice present.  Next, we had the Van-City's Taco with torched salmon on a bed of spinach & kale topped with bacon & bonito flakes.  Oh man, this was good.  The slightly crispy shell could barely contain the goodies within it.  Moist, flaky and smoky, the salmon was well seasoned with what tasted like sweet miso.  The crispy bacon added a balancing saltiness while the greens kept the flavours in check.

Our next taco was the "Like" Hainanese with poached chicken, daikon & carrot, sprouts, toasted puff rice, ginger & scallion condiment and hot sauce.  This concoction really embodied the Hainanese chicken experience with a twist.  We enjoyed the crunch and nuttiness of the puffed rice as well as the ginger & scallion (could've used more ginger).  The chicken did get a touch lost with all the veggies though. Deviating from the taco train for a moment, we tried the freshly-made Nay Nay Naan brushed with garlic butter and served with cilantro and coconut curry dip.  We had both the regular and the cheese version (as pictured).  The grilled naan was soft and warm with a touch of chewiness.  I personally loved the cheese version as it was gooey and tasty even without the dip.  But the regular version with the dip was money as well.

Last up was the Bang-Dang Belly featuring a large piece of braised pork belly atop sesame slaw finished off with crispy noodles, scallions and hot sauce.  I guess the saying "save the best for last" rang true for this taco.  It was spicy from the hot sauce, aromatic and tangy from the sesame slaw and most important of all, the pork belly was tender with a rich nutty sweetness.  Sporting a char, the belly was smoky as well.  As a result of the braise, the fatty parts were nicely rendered to a gelatin-like quality.  This ended off our little tasting session with a bang.  In fact, most of the flavours were apparent and completely in our faces.  Definitely not mailing it in here.

*All food was complimentary*

The Good:
- Impactful complimentary flavours
- Well-prepared proteins
- Decent value (2 tacos for $10.00)

The Bad:
- This goes for all the stalls...  busy and crowded market
- Very messy to eat

Pho Boi (Kingsway)

For the longest time in the 90's, Pho Hoa ruled the Vietnamese beef noodle world locally and internationally.  Hey, they had a formula that worked, despite being somewhat mediocre compared to the best places in town.  But the chain has fallen on hard times as they are disappearing one-by-one.  One surprising casualty is the Kingsway location in Burnaby.  It has been a fixture as a 24-hour pho joint for as long as I can remember.  Now in its place is Pho Boi, another chain seems to be expanding.  We checked out the place after Friday hockey.

We actually visited the place twice and on our first go around, I found the Pho broth to be clean while extremely light.  It was not heavy with the MSG nor salt.  Hence, it was only slightly aromatic without much impact.  The noodles were al dente while the meats were sliced thin and tender.  It was modest in portion size though.  As for my side Spring Roll, it was crispy with an obvious amount of grease.  The filling was packed fairly tight so that the roll was substantial and firm.  It was lightly seasoned with only a touch of sweetness.  Not a bad spring roll, but as you can see, the grease wasn't that appealing.

Milhouse had the Hot & Sour Seafood Soup which was really neither of those flavours.  Rather, it was mild with only slight hints of tang and practically no spiciness. Much like the pho, the broth was not impactful at all. On the other hand, the noodles were on point and so was the shrimp and squid (which were not overcooked).  We shared an order of the Fried Chicken Wings and they were extremely dry, yet really crispy.  It seems like they didn't take much care in preparing them.  They looked practically destroyed. On the side, the dipping sauce was kinda bland, but provided some moisture. 

On another visit, we tried the Beef Stew with noodles.  This was fairly decent with a good amount of beef hidden in the broth.  It wasn't particularly tender though as it was more dry and chewy.  A bit more flavourful than the 2 aforementioned broths, the beef stew had some meatiness and sweetness.  Noodles were again on point.  Lionel Hutz decent to go for something non-brothy in the Grilled Pork and Spring Roll with Vermicelli.  This was an okay dish with somewhat clumpy vermicelli (not overdone though) topped with sufficiently tender pork.  Unlike previous dishes, the flavours were there as the pork was sweet with a touch of caramelization.  As you can already ascertain, the food at Pho Boi is passable but hardly memorable.  Not sure it does any better than the restaurant it replaces.

The Good:
- Open 24 hours
- Serviceable

The Bad:
- Flavours are weak
- Portions are average

McKim Wonton Mein Saga

Sometimes, I get so caught up in finding the newest and greatest restaurants, I forget to go back to the well.  Furthermore, when we meet up with Costanza and family for eats, we tend to think too much and end up eating far away.  Maybe we should just take a minute and stop ignoring all the great places to eat nearby.  That would be true for McKim Wonton Mein Saga out on Kingsway near Earles.  Every time we visit Costanza, we pass by the place, only to disregard its very existence.  Well, this time around we decided to eat there.  Not sure why Costanza drove to the place as it was only a block and half walk from his place...  Did it give the impression of going somewhere far away?

Anyways, we decided to do the "make your own meal" and selected a few dishes to share.  The first to arrive (other than the daily soup) was the complimentary BBQ Plate that included BBQ pork and BBQ duck.  A touch firm, the BBQ pork was well-marinated but could've benefited from some more sweetness.  Despite looking rather pale, the BBQ duck was succulent and tender.  It could've used more marinade though.  Next up was the Gai Lan with Beef which should've been called stir-fried beef with a bit of gai lan.  The ample amount of beef was properly tenderized where it was soft to the bite.  It was aggressively seasoned though being salty.  The cut-up pieces of gai lan were crunchy and manageable to eat.

Onto our next 2 items, we had the Duck and Taro Root Hot Pot as well as the Fish and Eggplant Hot Pot.  With melting chunks of taro root, the hot pot was thick and aromatic.  As a result, the taro root slices were extremely soft and practically required no chewing.  The pieces of duck were pretty fatty with only a minimal amount of meat.  With the right amount of soy and sugar, the dish was well-balanced.  Where the aforementioned dish lacked in protein, the latter was packed with crunchy fish filets.  In fact, they could've used less deep-frying as the texture of the fish was a bit too firm.  On the other hand, the oil-blanched eggplant was tender and well-seasoned.

Arriving in curled up portions, the Peking Pork Chops were both good and bad on a plate.  Some of the thinner parts were crispy while a bit chewy. The bunched up parts were moist, yet not completely fried.  Therefore, the textures were inconsistent.  In terms of the sauce, there was just enough of it.  More sweet than tangy, it could've used more balance. Our last dish was the Steamed Scallops on Silken Tofu.  This was a fairly simple and straightforward dish that featured slices of silky tofu topped with super thin pieces of scallop.  As a result, the scallop was a touch overdone where it lacked impact.  Not a bad dish in general, but not particularly memorable either.

Dinner plates aside, the real draw of McKim (in my opinion) are the more casual items including the Wonton Noodles.  Viv and I returned for a much simpler meal and although the wontons would not be considered the best in town, they certainly held their own.  Consisting of shrimp, the wontons were fair-sized exhibiting a nice sweet snap with a noticeable sesame oil hit.  The toothsome noodles were bathed in a mildly-sweet broth that could've used a bit more salt.  Completing the ying with the yang, we had the Minced Beef Congee as well.  Lightly thick with an inadequate amount of minced beef, the congee wasn't nearly as good as the wonton noodles.  With that being said, it was still decent being not overly reliant on MSG.

To go with the congee, we got a side of the Salty Donut.  Unfortunately, it was of the re-fried variety which rendered it overly crunchy and greasy.  The small form factor didn't help matters either.  Lastly, we got the Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice.  This was a pretty large portion of rice that was slightly on the softer side.  It did benefit from good wok heat, but the moisture content of the rice was too high.  Although there was plenty of firm salted fish pieces, the entire dish itself was not salty enough.  After these 2 re-visits, we feel that McKim still dishes up serviceable food for a decent price.  However, portion size can be inconsistent as well as the service.

The Good:
- Serviceable eats
- Good wonton noodles
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Some seasoning issues
- Service is hit and miss

Amorosa Santali House

Sometimes location and convenience supersedes any other reason when it comes to restaurant selection.  With Apu and Gordo joining us for eats after Friday night hockey, we needed to find a place near them.  Furthermore, Gordo wanted to go for Italian which narrowed our choices even more.  We ended up meeting at Amorosa Pasta House, which now shares the same dining space as Santali Souvlaki House.  We've been here before and my best description of the place would be "Anton's lite".

For me, I visited the place recently with Costanza and ended up with a pasta.  This time around, I went Greek and had the Kleftiko. This was a healthy portion which was mostly tender and moist.  Like with any piece of lamb shoulder, there are some leaner sections.  Despite being garlicky and well-seasoned, the thickened sauce was more akin to gravy.  The side of veggies were on point while the rice was appealingly chewy.  Seeing how I wanted a bit more variety, I also got the large Linguine & Clams in white wine cream sauce.  As evidenced in the picture, there was enough sauce for another plate of pasta.  Hence, the entire plate was very creamy where the pasta was on the softer side.  Flavours were mild even with the plethora of baby clams.

Milhouse went big with the Vitello alla Parmigiana with ravoili in meat sauce.  The large piece of veal was a little dry, but not overly so.  It was hidden by the huge amount of melted cheese.  As for the ravioli, it wasn't exactly al dente, but hardly mushy either since the texture was rather firm.  Meaty, slightly tart and a touch sweet, there was enough tomato sauce to coat each piece and more.  Gordo wasn't very hungry and ended up with a Hot Chicken Caeser.  Um, wasn't he the one who wanted to eat Italian???  Next time, we're ignoring his requests!  Whatever the case, the salad was pretty good being dressed just enough while sported a good amount of tender chicken and veggies.

Apu ended up with the Lasagna with meat sauce... and wow, that was a lot of meat sauce!  Well, I guess that was where all the meat resided because the actual lasagna contained very few ingredients other than a bit of cheese.  With that being said, the dish was not bad for what it was.  The layers of pasta were not too soft while the meat sauce was exactly like the one in Milhouse's dish.  Manjula decided on the Rotini Pescatore with clams, shrimp, scallops & mushrooms in tomato sauce.  I've had this dish on another recent visit and this time it was exactly the same.  That meant there was hardly any seafood, but lots of mushrooms.  Flavours were mild with only the slightest hint of tang.

Lionel Hutz went a little off the board and had the Seafood and Sausage Rice.  This was a pretty straightforward dish with lots of meaty sausage and a modest amount of seafood.  He liked the overall flavour of the rice as there was a slight spice and brininess to it, but the rice itself was a bit undercooked.  But as you can clearly see the portion size for his rice and really, the rest of the food we ate, was fairly large.  As much as there were issues with some dishes, the overriding factor is value.  Much like Anton's and Stepho's, Amorosa offers up good portions for the money, however, the food quality is probably a bit better.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Decent service

The Bad:
- A bit sparse on the ingredients at times
- Hit and miss

Hanamori

How hard is it to find a place to eat anyways?  With all the available options, Viv and I were completely stumped.  Trying to decided where to go was as difficult as saving a down payment for a house in Vancouver.  Wait, maybe not...  We needed to eat within the next 10 years...  Anyways, we briefly considered returning to the Wild Fig in the Executive Hotel via a Travelzoo coupon, but in the end, we headed next door to the hidden Hanamori Sushi.

When the Assorted Tempura was placed on our table, I was confused (and not more than usual).  Okay, the 4 ebi tempura looked a bit off as the batter could pass for Chinese-buffet style fried shrimp, but the veggies didn't look right.  In fact, they reminded me of veggie pakoras.  The mass of julienned onions, carrots and green onion was actually rather wet and unappealing.  Next, the Chef's Choice Sashimi looked both plentiful and attractive upon first inspection. It consisted of hamachi, sockeye salmon, ika, hokkigai, fried shrimp head, tako, tuna, ebi and Atlantic salmon.  We particularly enjoyed the buttery hamachi, but the Altlantic salmon was a little on the soft side while the tuna was a bit too cold.

For my son, he agreed to have Chicken Katsu Don rather than his usual chicken udon.  Turns out it was a good decision as he dusted a good portion of it off in record time.  Although the rice was a touch soft, it was evenly sauced.  The ample amount of white onion was a bit off-putting as it overwhelmed the dish.  On the other hand, the chicken katsu was tender and topped with barely done egg.  Our specialty roll choice of the meal was the Double Red Dragon consisting of a dynamite roll with 2 ebi tempura topped with seared salmon.  We found the sushi rice to be far too soft and wet, hence, the roll ate a bit heavy and was missing that classic sushi rice chewiness.

Served with Breton crackers sprinkled with togarashi, the Encore Tower was a concoction of chopped scallop, ripe avocado, salsa, tobiko and mayo.  This was a mild and creamy sweet dish that was balanced by the slightly spicy and crisp crackers.  Lastly, we had 2 each of the Scallop and Salmon Aburi Sushi.  Afflicted by the same crappy sushi rice, these ate too soft with no textural contrast.  We did like the acidity of the sauce on the scallop, but the salmon was just soft on soft.  As much as there were some good points to this meal, the wet sushi rice was a real turn-off.  We realize the place gets pretty good reviews in general, but for us, the overall experience was too hit and miss.

The Good:
- Friendly people
- Some interesting menu items

The Bad:
- Hit and miss dishes
- Sushi rice too wet