Good Choice

When will I learn?  I need to make sure a restaurant is actually open, or in this case still in business, before we trek all the way across town.  After Sunday hockey, we thought that hitting up Moon Cafe on Fraser for some HK-style cafe food would be a good idea.  Wrong.  We were greeted with a sign explaining that the place will now be replaced by a Vietnamese restaurant.  Fail.  So off we went down a block over to Good Choice for some backup Dim Sum.  I've been here before and yes really, it was a good choice.

We started with the Shrimp Spring Rolls which were served super hot and crunchy.  Despite the fairly thick exterior wrap, the entire roll was fried masterfully with defined layers.  By virtue of proper oil temperature and draining, the rolls were not greasy.  Inside, the whole shrimp filling maintained a buttery snap while seasoned aggressively.  Next up was the Fried Daikon Pudding with XO Sauce.  Not too soft while not too firm, the cubes of daikon pudding were not crispy on the outside.  Despite this, the wok toss in XO sauce and proper wok heat allowed for caramelization of flavours in addition to some spiciness.  I liked how the dish wasn't overly greasy despite the deep fry and subsequent stir-fry.

Onto the standards, the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumpling) and Sui Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling) looked the part.  For all intents and purposes, they played the part too.  Although a bit small in size, the haw gow featured whole shrimp filling that was buttery with a cold-water snap.  It was well-seasoned with flavours that trended towards the sweeter side.  I got the essence of sesame oil as well.  Although oversteamed and sticky, the dumpling skin was not overly thick nor doughy.  I actually felt the sui mai was even better with a 50/50 ratio of crunchy shrimp and bouncy pork.  Again, the dumpling was well-seasoned with balanced savoury and sweet flavours.

We gave JuJu a hard time about ordering the Xiao Long Bao and Chiu Chow Dumplings since being a Cantonese restaurant, the chances of these dishes being good were low.  So it was no surprise that the XLBs featured a somewhat thick and doughy dumpling skin.  With that being said, it wasn't too bad in relation to other dim sum joints.  There was actually a small amount of soup inside to compliment the tender meat.  It was mostly sweet without the classic ginger and wine flavours.  As for the Chiu Chow Dumplings, the skin was really thick and sticky (it generally is, but overly so in this case).  Inside, the filling was fairly loose and consisted of dried turnip, dried shrimp, water chestnuts and green onion.  Strangely, there were no peanuts.

With the ball jokes flying at the table, we of course had the Beef Meatballs.  These were processed to the point where they were soft and only a touch meaty.  Usually, I prefer the meatballs to be a little less buttery, but I didn't mind these ones as they weren't mushy either.  They were lightly seasoned where a bit more green onion would've helped diversify the flavours.  Onto the Bean Curd Skin Rolls, we found them to be quite good.  Most times, I find that the bean curd wrap to be overly wet and soggy.  It wasn't in this case as it still exhibited a bite and appealing chewiness.  There was a minimal amount of sauce that kept things less goopy.  Inside, the filling was mostly pork that was moist with some natural textures.

To ensure our fullness, we got 2 filler items including the Pork Spareribs on Rice and Rice Noodle Rolls with Brisket.  We could barely see the rice due to the generous amount of spareribs, baby bak choy and chicken foot on top.  However, the rice itself was a bit too wet and that became even more evident when mixed with the sweet soy.  The spareribs were good though with a tender rebound texture while properly seasoned with lots of garlic.  Onto the rice rolls, they were pretty firm which was a good thing as the starch-thickened sauce added lots of moisture.  Although dark in colour, the sauce itself wasn't overly salty while the brisket was generally tender with a touch of chewiness.

To further drive the point home about adding filling items, we had the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice) as well.  Served as 2 rather than 3 wraps, the sticky rice retained more moisture.  Hence, the rice was a little soft, yet still appealingly glutinous.  There was an adequate amount of ground pork filling with Chinese sausage.  The flavours were mild which allowed the aroma from the leaves to come through.  In the end, it was a good choice to visit the restaurant with the same name, not because it was a last minute backup decision.  Rather, it should've been our first choice due to the reasonably-priced and well-prepared Dim Sum.

The Good:
- Above-average Dim Sum
- Fairly good service
- Reasonably-price

The Bad:
- A little cramped
- Not a small menu, but limited nonetheless

Mediterranean Donair House

Often, when I want to grab a quick meal that is not necessarily McD's nor Wendy's, I default to Subway.  Hey, it's predictable, "relatively" healthy and convenient (so many locations...).  However, there are really better and more unique things to eat for the same price (or in some cases, cheaper).  Yup, those include gourmet slice pizza, banh mi, Chinese pastries and donairs.  When heading home one day, I chose the latter for myself and Viv for lunch.  Since I was passing through New West, I stopped at Mediterranean Donair House (which I spotted from across the street last time I was at Anny's).

I decided to get one each of the Beef and Chicken Donairs.  For regular size, these were packed solid with meat.  Watching the guy construct each one, he was pretty methodical and precise, making each one with care.  I liked how he placed each of them in the oven to warm up the pita shell. I found the beef to be moist and tender with plenty of spices.  The chicken was fairly moist with a few dry parts.  It was also well-seasoned.  The usual sauces were creamy and super garlicky while the hot sauce was on the sweeter side.

For myself, I had the Lamb Plate which featured actual shredded lamb.  As such, it was a touch drier and chewy than the formed lamb.  I did enjoy the flavour as it was appealingly gamy while dressed in the same garlicky and creamy sauce (possibly too much sauce, which made the rice wet).  As for the side of hummus, it was more sesame tasting than garlic and lemon.  But it was super smooth and still appealing.  Overall, I thought the donairs were pretty good where it gives Donair Star and Paradise Donair a run for their money.

The Good:
- They don't skimp on the meat
- The pita is warmed up in the oven
- Real shredded lamb

The Bad:
- A tad over-sauced
- Hot sauce could be less sweet

Westview Oriental

As much as I lament the lack of Dim Sum options in and around Burnaby North, the same could be said about the North Shore.  With a whopping 2 restaurants that serve up Chinese brunch, one would wonder why there aren't more.  Why open another Chinese restaurant in Richmond when the market as saturated as ramen on Robson?  Since we were heading to the North Shore Auto Mall to check out cars, we stopped by Westview Oriental to see if much has changed since our last visit (4 years ago).

Much like many of my revisits, it was deja vu once again as we were seated at the exact same table.  Arriving first was the very golden brown Shrimp Spring Rolls that were super hot and crunchy.  Despite its tanned appearance, they were not greasy.  Inside, the shrimp filling had a mousse bounce-like texture that was plenty seasoned.  To balance out the deep fried dish, we had the Stir-Fried Garlic Pea Tips.  This was a well-prepared dish where the pea tips were tender with a light crunch.  This was minimally oily while mildly seasoned.  We liked how the garlic came through without being interrupted by too much salt.

After this, practically every other dish we ordered showed up.  After furiously taking my pictures, I dug into the 2 most important dumplings in the Haw Gow and Sui Mai.  I found the shrimp dumplings to be decent, but the thick and somewhat doughy skin affected the overall texture.  The filling was a mix of whole shrimp pieces and mousse (which was somewhat bland).  Hence, it was similar to the spring rolls being soft with only a touch of rebound.  As for the sui mai, the chunks of pork were soft and only slightly meaty.  The only bounce texture came from the shrimp.  In terms of flavour, the dumplings were good with natural pork juices melding with the ample seasoning.

For the kiddies, we got them the standard 2 dishes in the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice) and BBQ Pork Buns.  We found the sticky rice to be on point with soft while still glutinous rice mixed with a good amount of ground pork and shiitake mushrooms.  There was the right mix of moist ingredients to go with the rice while not making it mushy.  Amply filled with lean BBQ pork, the buns were subsequently flavourful from the sweet and savoury mix.  We found the filling to be appealing since there was more meat than actual glaze.  Furthermore, the bun itself was soft and fluffy while not wet from the ingredients.

For myself, I didn't go for any offal this time around, but I did get one of my favs being the Bean Curd Skin Roll.  This was rather saucy, yet the bean curd skin still maintained its chewy texture.  Inside, the ground pork filling was succulent and mildly seasoned.  That wasn't a problem though as the sauce was plenty salty.  To mask that, I dunked it into Worcestershire sauce.  We also got the Black Bean Spareribs which were very well-marinated in black beans and salt.  Therefore, the dish was plenty flavourful bordering on salty.  The texture of the ribs were a touch soft with only the slightest of rebound.  There were many more meaty rib pieces than fat and cartilage.

Normally Viv doesn't really care what I order, but she did want the XO Daikon Pudding Cake though.  Good call as they were lightly fried where the exterior wasn't crispy, yet the inside was soft and spiked with Chinese sausage and dried shrimp.  A quick wok toss in chilis, XO sauce, garlic and onions ensured some heat and aromatics.  Lastly, we had the Beef Meatballs that were a bit pale in appearance.  Texturally, they were buttery with a light rebound.  There was a minimal amount of green onion which meant the flavours were pretty one note except for the intermittent hits of dried orange peel. So similar to our first visit years ago, Westview Oriental pumps out decent Dim Sum, especially for the North Shore.  With nothing in the way of competition, we could see why the place was packed.

The Good:
- Decent Dim Sum
- Decent service
- Clean

The Bad:
- Pricey
- A touch salty

Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle (UBC)

At one point I believed the best TBN (Taiwanese Beef Noodle) belonged to Lao Shan Dong out in Burnaby.  However, after a recent visit, Milhouse (a TBN aficionado) and I heartily agreed that this was no longer the case.  That brought up a good question - where can we find the best TBN in the GVRD?  I started to formulate some worthy contenders and I even surprised myself when Chef Hung crept into the conversation.  I remember my first impressions of the Aberdeen location were positive, yet tempered with the slight premium I paid.  Fast forward to the present where I had just visited the West Van location, I was starting to warm up to the idea of Chef Hung being the best.  Well, with a group of us meeting up for lunch at the UBC branch, it was another opportunity to confirm or refute that notion.

Before we hit the noodle soups, we went for some appies including the Cold Mixed Baby Cucumbers and Cold Mixed Bean Curd.  Crunchy, bright and only slightly pickled, the cucumbers were a refreshing start to the meal.  The folded sheets of bean curd skin were soft and buttery with a moist chew.  They were lightly seasoned as well as drizzled with a salty oyster-based sauce.  We also shared the Chicken Nuggets which were served in pretty large chunks.  As a result, the meat was fairly succulent and juicy.  The exterior coating was lightly crispy and nicely seasoned with a touch of 5-spice.

Up next, we had the Marinated Dry Tofu served in uniformly sliced sticks.  I found them appealingly firm and chewy while still retaining enough moisture that they weren't actually "dry".  They were seasoned with a balance of soy and sugar as well as a touch of star anise.  With Gordo's 2 kiddies joining us, we decided to go for 3 orders of the Xiao Long Bao.  Although these were sorely lacking in soup, they were decent dumplings nonetheless.  The dumpling skin was relatively thin in an almost Din Tai Fung manner while the filling was meaty and slightly chewy.  It was savoury and sweet with only a tiny bit of soup.

Onto the main event, we had the Champion with Beef Shank Noodle in Soup.  Bear and Gordo had the thin noodles while I opted for the thick.  Texturally, the wide and flat noodles were firmly chewy while the thinner noodles were slippery and only slightly chewy.  The soup base was not super powerful in terms of spice nor meat flavour, but it wasn't weak either.  It was clean and purposeful in taste.  As for the shank, it was tender, but ultimately on the drier side.  Next, the Champion Beef Brisket in Clear Soup was predictably much more subtle in taste.  Again, the soup was clean, yet very lightly meaty.  The best part was the melt-in-our-mouths short rib and the equally tender sliced beef.

Milhouse was running a bit late and I pegged my bets that he'd order the Champion Braised Beef with Noodle in Tomato Soup.  That he did and I sometimes wonder why I am so in tune with his eating habits...  The broth was fairly light with an equally background tomato essence.  He was indifferent with the whole thing, especially the relatively dry beef.  Emilicious went off the board and had the Preserved Radish and Shredded Pork with Noodle in Clear Beef Broth.  Seen often in HK-style cafes, this version was much more fulfilling with plenty of ingredients.  Hence, the flavours were more intense due to the ample tart and slightly spicy radish. So does Chef Hung hold the title of best TBN in town?  As much as it is a good bowl of TBN, I would say I'm still on the search for the best in town.

The Good:
- Solid TBN
- Lots of choice


The Bad:
- A tad pricey
- Meats could be more moist

Marcello's

Prior to attending the recent Journey concert at Rogers Arena, we need to grab some eats along the way.  Costanza suggested we hit up La Merzcaleria on the Drive right at opening (5:00pm).  Well, that was an epic fail as they do not serve food until 6:00pm.  We were expected to sip on cocktails until then.  With limited time available, we had to go to plan B.  Wait, there was not plan B!  Hence, we walked down the Drive and ended up at an oldie being Marcello's.  Not our first choice, but hey, it was a choice nonetheless!

We ended up sharing some pasta including the Spaghetti all Vongole featuring plenty of fresh clams and canned baby ones as well.  I found the pasta to be expertly al dente and laced with a good amount of garlic and brininess.  However, even with the tomatoes tossed into the pasta, there was very little acidity and tang.  This dish was crying out for that and would've been really good with it.  Next, we had the Chef's Tagliatelle consisting of olives, capers and mushrooms.  This was a saucy and rich pasta that wasn't short on the cream.  As such, the pasta became soft due to the moisture.  On the other hand, the flavours were impactful with the saltiness and tang from the capers and olives.  Also, the cooked down mushrooms added an umami quality to the sauce.

Our last pasta was the Gnocchi Pasticciati which featured a rich creamy meat sauce. This ate really heavy, but we didn't mind it as fit the theme of the dish.  The big gnocchi were soft and almost fluffy.  With bits of tender meat strewn throughout the mild-tasting sauce, this pasta was hearty.  It could've done with a little less sauce in our opinion. Lastly, we shared the Capriciossa Pizza with olives, pepperoni, capicolla and artichokes.  With a fairly thin crust that was crispy throughout, it held up to all of the ingredients.  There was a zesty and mildly spicy quality to the pizza which meant it wasn't longing for flavour.  We found the tomato sauce to be light on the tartness, but then again, the toppings added the necessary tang.

On another visit with the kiddies (sans Viv), we had the basic Spaghetti Bolognese and Lasagna.  With a significant amount of meat sauce, there pasta was hearty and flavourful.  Much like the pizza, the tomato-based sauce was very mild while exhibiting a rich meatiness and background sweetness.  Despite the amount of sauce, the spaghetti remained al dente throughout.  Layered with spinach pasta, bechamel and plenty of melted mozzarella on top, the lasagna was rather wet and cheesy.  There wasn't a whole lot of varying flavours other than the salty Parm on top.  The whole thing was just too sloppy in my opinion and the hard and burnt edges on the bottom of the small casserole dish were inedible.  Despite this, the rest of the items I had over the 2 visits were above average and enjoyable. My only other wish is that their kitchen would be a bit quicker with the food.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Lively vibe inside, and pleasant patio outside

The Bad:
- A little pricey
- Slow in expediting food

Aoto-ya Blue Door Japanese

Okay, this post is a bit strange.  It has nothing to do with the food, but rather the timing in between visits.  Originally, I had visited Aoto-ya Blue Door Japanese with Whipping Girl last year.  However, we only sampled a few dishes and I have this personal belief that there needs to be a decent representation of a menu in order for a fair assessment.  Hence, I planned to return shortly afterwards.  Well, that didn't happen, until recently.  So keep things fair, we repeated the dishes I am blogging about, yet used 2 of the old pictures (because the new ones didn't come out).

The first item to hit the table was the Sashimi Set with salmon and tuna.  This box also included green salad, chicken karaage, tempura, rice and fruit.  Neatly prepared, the salmon sashimi was better than the tuna.  Nothing particularly wrong with the tuna other than the salmon had more flavour and personally, we like the texture of it more.  The little pieces of chicken karaage were moist and juicy while not being all that crispy on the outside.  With a squeeze of lemon, it further enhanced the well-seasoned meat.  As for the tempura, I was worried at first with the large amount of batter, but in the end, it was crispy and light.  Only offered during the Summer, we had the Cold Ramen.  It was a good call as it was a solid dish.  With a multitude of ingredients including al dente noodles, onion slivers, wakame, carrot, nori, ham, egg, pickled ginger and cucumber.  However, the flavours made the dish as there was a balanced combination of salty, sweet, tart and spicy (thanks to the mustard).

Kaiser Soze wanted to see what he could get for the $6.99 Curry Chicken Udon lunch special.  It turns out that it was a satisfying portion of chewy noodles that were enveloped in a thick curry.  It was only lightly sweet with a touch of spice.  The little nuggets of chicken were sufficiently tender.  Continuing on that theme, I went for the Tonkatsu Curry with rice.  Unlike the udon, we found this curry to be richer and slightly gingery.  Again, it wasn't very sweet, which was good.  As for the pork cutlet, the panko breading was crispy, yet didn't stay adhered to the meat.  Although not exactly juicy, the pork was tender and not overcooked.  The rice was appealingly chewy where it stood up to the curry.

With what was the most surprising dish of the meal, the Fried Zucchini with shiso was freaking fantastic.  The thin layer of panko was expertly fried where it was crunchy while not greasy.  The shiso-wrapped yellow zucchini was texturally on point where it was fully-cooked while not staying firm.  We felt this was a steal for $2.95.  Next time, we'd gladly order 4 of these and call it a meal!  Trying to take advantage of all the available lunch specials, Kaiser Soze added the BC Roll for $2.95.  Although it would never be confused with the best sushi in town (because it isn't their specialty anyways), it was decently constructed with moist salmon attached to crispy skin.  The rice was a little dry, but okay nonetheless.

For dessert, Milhouse and I shared both the Green Tea Pudding and Black Sesame Pudding.  Texturally, both were silky and fairly thick.  There was a balanced sweetness where it provided the necessary flavour without being overbearing.  We agreed that the black sesame was our favourite as it was aromatic and nutty.  The green tea pudding was less impactful as there was only a background bitterness.  Overall, we thought the food at Aoto-ya Blue Door was solid and brought back memories of Tenhachi (same owners).  Prices can be a bit high for some items while the service can get a bit awkward sometimes.

The Good:
- Generally, well-prepared eats
- Some interesting items

The Bad:
- Some items are a bit pricey
- Service is awkward and emotionless