Big Chef

Sometimes, I take for granted how many great Chinese restaurants there are in Richmond. So much so, I stop looking for new ones to try. In fact, with so many plazas and strip malls, many of them can be easily overlooked.  On the other hand, it could very well be my aversion to the automobile equivalent of musical chairs in the many chaotic parking lots.  However, with an invite to try out Big Chef courtesy of the Chinese Restaurant Awards, I guess it was time to play bumper cars in the parking lot (well, at least not the spots in front due to the pails).

To begin, we were served a monstrous plate of Pan Fried Dungenss Crab with Salted Egg Yolk and sliced rice cake.  Unlike the wetter version found at Ken's Chinese, this one featured a light dusting of fully cooked and mostly dry salted egg yolk.  Hence, it was more aromatic and impactful.  I liked how it was muted in terms of the saltiness which meant the crab meat was able to be heard.  Next, we had a much lighter dish in the Sauteed Broccoli with garlic.  They weren't shy with the minced garlic as it was obvious to the eye and taste.  This dish demonstrated appropriate wok heat where there was no moisture at the bottom of the plate while the broccoli was still crunchy, yet cooked all-the-way-through.

Onto another meatless dish was the Deep Fried Salt & Pepper Tofu which were tossed in a good amount of fried garlic, chilis, salt and pepper.  Hence, there was ample impact while not being over-seasoned.  Texturally, the tofu triangles were firmly crispy on the outside while soft and moist on the inside.  With just enough sauce clinging onto each piece, the Honey Garlic Spareribs were on point.  Despite the crisp exterior, the meat underneath had a juicy rebound texture.  Furthermore, the rib portions were meaty, easy on the fat and cartilage.  We found the sauce to be on the sweeter side (due to the plethora of honey) with plenty of garlic notes.

Exhibiting a textbook stir-fry, the Pan Fried Hotos Rhizome and Mushrooms with Beef Tenderloin was the beneficiary of high wok heat.  In addition to the caramelization of the ingredients, the beef was seared nicely with a slight smokiness.  On top of that, the veggies retained both their vibrant colour and texture.  The addition of pineapple balanced off the ample soy in the dish.   Onto our obligatory sweet & sour dish, but not the usual pork version.  Rather, we had the Sweet & Sour Sole.  These were a good size and fried up until firmly crunchy.  There may have been a touch too much batter as the fish kind of got lost.  Despite this, the nicely balanced sauce clung onto each piece with the right amount viscosity.

Lastly, we had the Vegetarian Fried Rice which contained almost as much vegetables as rice (yes, we had a vegetarian at our table, hence the 3 veggie dishes).  Well, despite the absence of meat, the rice was still hearty due to the ingredients (including mushroom).  Chewy and well-seasoned, the rice was not affected by the amount of veggies due to the high wok heat once again.  For the dishes we sampled, it was pretty clear that they didn't have any problems with proper wok heat as everything had a certain dryness and caramelization.  Maybe I'll be back to try their late night (as they are open until 2:00am).  By then, hopefully the parking lot will be less busy.

*All food and gratuities were comped*

The Good:
- Excellent wok heat
- Comfortable dining space

The Bad:
- That parking lot

Yumi's Frozen Yogurt

Our original plan after downing pizza, ribs and poutine at Big Daddy's was to go for a second course of poutine at Big Reds Poutine truck only a few blocks away.  Of course we experienced an epic fail because the truck wasn't there!  Ultimately, it was a blessing in disguise as we would've been overloaded with fries and gravy as a result (is that necessarily a bad thing?).  Our backup plan was to return to the Valley Fair Mall for some refreshing froyo at Yumi's, a couple of doors down from Big Daddy's.

Looking like a clone of Menchies, but on a smaller scale, we had no expectations for Yumi's. Even with the in mind, we were pleasantly surprised with the pricing as none of our creations cost over $5.00.  I decided to try the Berry Cheesecake with strawberries, raspberries and kiwi.  I found the froyo to be creamy and smooth with only a purposeful amount of sweetness.  Although masked partly by the natural tartness of the yogurt, I still got some background cream cheese flavour.  The fruit was pretty ripe and sweet, but the raspberries looked a little overripe. Bam Bam got inspired by the Peanut Butter Cup froyo and loaded it up with Reese Pieces, mini peanut butter cups and peanut butter cup chunks.  One taste and it was pretty clear why he chose that flavour.  It was creamy and powerfully peanut buttery while not being sickingly sweet.  Of course it worked really well with his chosen toppings.

Dark Helmet went for a trio of flavours including the aforementioned Peanut Butter, Cookie Monster and Fat-Free Chocolate.  He simply added shaved almonds to complete his treat.  As smooth as the rest, we were surprised with the fat-free chocolate.  Keeping with the theme as the other flavours, the sugar content was conservative. Well, I guess we were meant to miss Big Reds, because we would've have returned to try Yumi's otherwise.  What a surprise that the froyo was on point and the cost was reasonable.

The Good:
- Smooth, purposefully sweet froyo
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Limited fruit options

Big Daddy's Pizza, BBQ & Poutine

There once was a place on Dundas that served up pulled pork, wings and ribs to go with their fabulous pizza.  Located right next to the McD's, Big Daddy's was a hidden gem of sorts and definitely under-appreciated.  Then one day, it was gone, just like the Pepper Roast right beside it.  However, Big Daddy's didn't go way of the dodo, rather, it merely relocated to Maple Ridge in the Valley Fair Mall.  Now, would I make a special trip out to try it out?  Sorta, we were in the neighbourhood already at the Meadows batting cage.

Being mainly a pizza joint first and foremost, we tried the Caveman Buffet with BBQ sirloin steak, pepperoni, salami, smoked farmers sausage, smoked ham and smoked ground beef.  This monstrosity had toppings all the way to the edge of the crust (of which was crispy on the bottom and soft throughout).  Marginally greasy (from the cheese) and appealingly smoky throughout, the pizza screamed out flavour without relying on the salt content.  This was all thanks to the meats being smoked in-house (except for the pepperoni).  Next up, we had the Smoked Wings with Cajun Sunshine sauce.  These wings were pretty large while sporting a mild smoke.  Naturally, the meat was on the drier side, but the ample amount of tangy and spicy sauce kept things moist.  We found the side of baked beans to be texturally more akin to refried beans while being pretty sweet and loaded with bacon.

We then moved onto their poutines starting with the Chili Cheese Fries with smokehouse beef chili, cheese curds and fries.  We would've preferred fresh cut fries rather than the frozen variety, but these were still very crispy and did the trick.  There was a generous amount of meaty and spicy chili as well as ample kidney beans and plump corn niblets.  Underneath, all the cheese curds were completely melted.  We also tried their Pulled Pork Poutine with 18-hour smoked pork, gravy, cheese curds and fries.  We enjoyed the tender and smoky pulled pork, but we could've done with a bit less gravy as it took away from the wonderful meat.  For me at least, I would've been happy with just pulled pork, cheese curds and fries without any gravy.

To round out our selection of eats, we got a Full Rack of Hickory Smoked Ribs with Kansas City BBQ sauce.  For those unfamiliar real BBQ and smoked meat, there is no parboiling allowed.  Hence, the ribs here sported a deep smoke with tender, yet more drier meat.  Naturally, the meat was sauced after-the-fact.  I enjoyed the natural flavour of the meat in addition to the tangy and spicy BBQ sauce.  Being a pizza joint, this would be not possible, but these ribs would've been amped even further by a quick kiss on a BBQ.  Not surprisingly, the highlight was the pizza (because it is mainly a pizza joint first).  We had to fight for the last slice!  Interestingly, we were looking for something a bit different and original in Maple Ridge...  I guess we found it.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Meats smoked in-house
- Impactful sauces made in-house

The Bad:
- With inherent limitations, the preparation of the fries and ribs could've been better if this was a full service restaurant

Angel Cake Cafe

Out of nowhere, much like a luxury SUV running a stop sign, the softball season hit us unexpectedly.  We were in no way, shape (unless round counts) or form ready to play, but we gave it a go anyways.  Gosh, I was so unprepared to play, I forgot to wear my jock! Let's just say I was a bit uneasy pitching...  We ended up winning partly because the team we faced was new and didn't really understand all the rules.  Hey, we'll take it!  Afterwards, I was so rattled from playing without protecting my jewels, we ended up doing a re-visit to Angel Cafe.

All of our meals included choice of soup (but only Borscht was available) and drink.  Being a Hong Kong-style cafe, we knew the "borscht" would not resemble anything like the actual soup.  With that in mind, I thought it was pretty good in terms of flavour where it reminded me of the ol' Campbells oxtail soup.  Too bad there wasn't any ingredients to speak of.  For his main, Bear decided on the Mix n' Match Meal with a chicken steak and pork chop accompanied by black pepper sauce. Milhouse one upped him and had 3 items including something called chicken Gordon, fried fish filet and beef steak.  Despite being quite pricey ($13.95 for 2 and $16.95 for 5), the portion size was fair.  I found all of the proteins to be cooked just right and yah, the chicken Gordon was similar to a Cordon Bleu (did they do a misprint?).  The black pepper sauce was thick and impactful with loads of peppery hit.

For myself, I went for 3 items (yes, I temporarily became Mijune, but without the dress and red high heels...) including the Stir-Fried Vermicelli with Preserved Vegetable and Pork.  Loaded with tender strips of pork, crunchy peppers and tart "ja choy", there were plenty of flavours and textures going on.  There was ample wok heat that both provided carmelization and dry chewy noodles.  I enjoyed this dish very much.  Next, I had the classic Baked Pork Chop Rice that arrived in a pretty large deep dish plate.  Underneath the pork chop and ample sauce, the fried rice was somewhere between dry and moist.  I found the sauce to be quite impactful with a nice balance between tart, sweet and savoury.  As for the big pork chop, it was succulent with plenty of meat texture and a thin layer of breading.

My third dish was brought on by the power of suggestion as I noticed someone eating it at a nearby table.  The Sweet & Sour Pork looked really good and in reality, it was solid.  Each well-sized piece of pork was juicy and tender with a minimal layer of batter.  These were definitely fried fresh, unlike many other places that re-fry pre-prepared pork.  What brought the whole dish together was the significantly tart and equally sweet sauce.  There was no shortage of punch in this dish.  Boss Woman ended up with the House Special Noodles which was also enjoyable.  The crispy fried noodles were a touch greasy, yet on the other hand, benefited from a proper amount of starch-thickened sauce.  There was ample seasoning as well as a good amount of texture from the bean sprouts, carrots, pork and cold-water shrimp.

Judes went for the Steak with Mushroom Sauce that featured not one, but two steaks along with the aforementioned sauce, vibrant veggies and rice.  The steak itself was fully cooked, but at the same time, was tender.  Despite being flavourful and silky, the sauce didn't sit well with her afterwards for some reason or another.  With that being said, all of the dishes we had were solid and well-portioned.  That itself made up for the high-prices and sparse service.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Large portions

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Sparse service

Chubby Lamb Hot Pot

Normally, hot pot is best experienced during the colder months of the year.  However, with A/C, it really doesn't matter.  Furthermore, what do people do over in Asia, where many places are hot year round?  So it wasn't a surprise that we decided to go for hot pot after our Monday softball game.  We headed off to Richmond (second time for me in one day!) and ended up at Chubby Lamb on Alexandra Road (aka as restaurant row or land of poorly driven and parked luxury automobiles).

At $22.50 (not including broth), the pricing for AYCE was reasonable for the selection of items available.  We ended up with the Pork Bone Broth which was full of meaty bones, apple slices and wolf berries.  Although on bit on the saltier side, we appreciated that they actually made an effort to justify the $8.00 charge.  Our first selection of items included Watercress, Lotus Root, Fried Taro, Bible Tripe and Squid Tentacles.  These were good where the tripe was properly rinsed and tenderized.  Our order of assorted Meatballs including shrimp, beef, lobster and fish was okay, but hardly impressive.  These were not freshly prepared and were not distinctive from the store bought variety.

Onto some meats, we got Sliced Pork, Lamb, Sirloin and Fatty Beef.  We found the pork and lamb to be tender with enough fatty portions.  However, the sirloin did not cook well in the broth.  It disintegrated into little pieces which were difficult to retrieve from the broth.  Even for the ones we managed to catch, they were dry and a bit chewy.  On the other hand, the fatty beef did live up to exceptions being soft and tender.  Onto some other plates, we had Shrimp, Dumplings, Wontons, Instant Ramen, Enoki Mushrooms, Quail Eggs, Potato Starch Noodles and Fish Tofu.  Nothing really amiss here, where everything met expectations.

Rounding everything, we got some Oysters, Fried Gluten, Tofu Puffs, Konjac Noodles, Bean Curd Skin and Pork Cheek.  We thought the oysters were pretty fresh and plump.  As much as it is generally a standard item for hot pot, the bean curd skin was nicely wrapped and had a balanced texture between chewy and soft.  Overall, Chubby Lamb met our expectations while the pricing was reasonable.  We've had better hot pot in town, however, we came away satisfied.

The Good:
- Okay pricing
- The broth we had was pretty good
- Fairly decent service (but lack of emotion though)

The Bad:
- See above (servers were nice but robotic)
- Decent ingredients, but there is better

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