Seto Sushi

*Restaurant is closed*

It's not often that I regret spending money watching a movie, especially one about food.  However, Miss Y and I didn't know what to think after watching Burnt starring Bradley Cooper.  Sure, the food in the movie appeared delicious, but the whole thing was predictable and full of clichés.  It made us appreciate the movie Chef even more than before.  After that, our appetites were pretty full on, so we made it out to Seto Sushi along Restaurant row aka Alexandra Rd in Richmond.

Strangely and almost troubling, the Assorted Sashimi arrived within minutes of us ordering.  Well, we chalked it up to the skill of the sushi chefs, but then again, the slices of Tai were a bit clumsy looking.  Despite that, the texture was not only on point, it was one of the best snapper sashimi slices I've had in awhile.  It was buttery and appealingly firm.  The Sockeye salmon was equally good while the tuna was sufficiently flavourful.  For our 2 rolls, we got the 1/2 Futomaki and Chopped Scallop Roll.  Neatly constructed, the futomaki featured firm, yet chewy rice with enough ingredients to balance off the rice.  A bit messily made, the chopped scallop roll was a bit soft, but was naturally sweet.

As simple as the Ika Yaki can be as a dish overall, it was solid.  The whole squid was lightly grilled where the exterior was slightly chewy while the inside was still moist.  It was simply seasoned with salt, which allowed the squid flavour to come through.  We noticed that the squid itself was cleaned properly which meant the inside wasn't inundated with bits of innards.  Continuing with another simple item, we had the Steamed Clams with sake.  With a squeeze from the lemon wedge, there was a nice balance of natural sweetness, acidity and aroma from the sake.  This went well with the barely cooked buttery and meaty Manila clams.

Lastly, we had the Ankimo which was buttery and only kissed lightly by the sea.  It was dressed with a tart ponzu which kept things balanced. Furthermore, it was properly prepped and prepared where the texture was consistent.  In fact, the whole meal was consistently good where thing looked and tasted like we expected it to.  Pretty much what one would want from a dining experience.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Traditional Japanese
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Expensive
- Place could be cleaner 

Seoul House Royal Korean BBQ

By now, we are well-aware of my son's love for Korean BBQ.  The fact he loves any type of food other than burgers or mac n' cheese is a major achievement!  On the other hand, my daughter loves practically everything. So when it came to my daughter's birthday, we were expecting something different and exciting.  We weren't sure if she was convinced by my son or not, but her preference for food on her birthday was...  you guessed it, Korean BBQ.  Well, I guess that was fine because I would rip my hair out if we had to go to Red Robin or White Spot again (not that they are bad though).

We ended up heading to one of our old stand-bys when we lived in Downtown - Seoul House Royal Korean BBQ. Trying to keep things simple (or complex), we ordered the Chosun Combination (for 5).  They started us off with a Pumpkin Porridge that was pretty darn sweet.  It was starchy and thick eating more like a dessert than an appie.  They were really nice and offered us an extra one since we had 6 people, but really, no one wanted more (my son didn't even want to go near it).  Continuing on the sweet train, we were presented next with a mesclun Green Salad with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  Greens were pretty fresh and vibrant, but the plethora of sweet dressing made it sloppy.

Uncharacteristically dry and only lightly greasy, the Seafood Pancake featured plenty of green onion with strands of imitation crab and bits of other seafood.  Due to the lack of grease, the pancake itself was mealy and excessively crunchy on the outside.  It did taste okay, especially dipped into the accompanying sauce.  Equally dry, the Japchae was predictably chewy and lacking in flavour.  We appreciated that fact it wasn't too saucy or oily, but then again, there was very little in the way of moisture.  Furthermore, the lack of beef made the dish empty without any body or depth.  Since it was not served particularly hot, the dish resembled a cold noodle salad.

There wasn't any issue regarding flavour with the Goon Mandu (Sweet & Sour Deep Fried Pork Dumplings) as there was an obscene amount of sauce on top.  The result was a very sweet and slightly spicy hit to each of the dumplings.  Crunchy and fried nicely, the dumplings themselves featured moist and meaty ground pork with some peppery notes.  As for the Silk Samgyeopsal (Pork Belly), it was soft with only a minimal amount of fat which meant each piece was more meaty than melt-in-our-mouths tender.  There was a rich braised flavour to it that was a good balance of sweet and savoury.

Onto the Tangpyungchae (Mung Bean Jelly with veggies), it was a fairly mild tasting dish except for the aroma of sesame oil.  The slippery "noodles" were appealing in terms of texture while the veggies added some crunch.  Of course we couldn't forget about the selection of Banchan which included stewed potatoes, kimchi, broccoli, sprouts and lettuce.  Of note, the potatoes were not overly sweet, but completely underdone being crunchy.  I thought the sprouts could've been more aggressively seasoned.  The best of the bunch was the kimchi with a good amount of crunch accented by spice with background sweetness and pungency.

Bubbling hot, the Haemul Sundubu (Spicy Seafood Tofu Soup) hit the spot for a cold night.  It was spicy while balanced in flavour.  There was plenty of silky tofu accompanied by a runny egg yolk and a bevy of small pieces of seafood (that were rather chewy and hard to find).  If this wasn't enough food (with the meat still to come), we added the Kkanpoongki (Sweet and Spicy Deep Fried Chicken) for good measure.  Overall, it was "okay".  The crispy pieces of chicken were still somewhat moist while the sauce did not reach every piece.  It was more sweet than spicy though.  

Onto the main event, we were presented with a really larger platter of meat consisting of Spicy Pork, Beef, Chicken, Beef Short Ribs, Marinated Prime Rib, Mussels, Shrimp and Squid.  The highlight was definitely the prime rib as they were buttery soft and well-seasoned.  It was so soft and tender, there was little effort to chew them. Surprisingly, the spicy pork was not spicy at all.  We had to dip it into the sauce for flavour.  As for the other items, they were pretty typical and nothing was particularly amiss.  All-in-all, our meal was pleasant while not offering up anything particularly memorable (except for the bits of prime rib). Service was hit and miss though as some servers were friendly and attentive while others didn't have the time of day.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Large restaurant with plenty of tables
- Meats were relatively good quality

The Bad:
- Not cheap
- Service was hit and miss  

Neptune Seafood Restaurant

When it seemed like a meal with my mother-in-law was transitioning from Chinese water torture to something bearable, it came to a crashing end.  Having no choice but to sit at the same table for a baby one-month at Neptune Seafood Restaurant in Richmond, the nightmare began even before I got a chance to sit down.  There she was gossiping at the top of her lungs about people who were sitting within an earshot.  Viv couldn't sink deeper into her seat expressing complete embarrassment.  At least I had an excuse to leave early due to a hockey game later that night...

As with any Chinese banquet meal, the Appetizer Platter arrived first sporting sliced beef shank, hokkigai, shrimp, vegetarian goose and jellyfish.  If we could describe this dish with one word, it would've been "sweet".  It was if they forgot there was other ways to flavour the items other than sugar.  With that being said, the texture of the jellyfish was pretty good being buttery with an elasticity.  The shrimp were a bit annoying to eat since they were so small.  Next up was the Peking Duck carved table side.  They left a significant amount of meat attached to the crispy skin.  I liked how the layer of fat was pretty minimal.

We moved onto the Fish Maw and Crab Meat Soup next.  Although it was watery in consistency, the broth did have impact with a muted sweetness accented by the soft fish maw and large pieces of fluffy crab meat.  The second course of the Peking Duck was the usual Duck Lettuce Wrap that was subjected to enough wok heat.  Hence, there was plenty of caramelized flavours to go with the nice addition of Chinese sausage.  Interestingly, there wasn't enough lettuce for all of the filling (similarly to the duck skin and crepes).

For our main seafood item of the meal, we got a pair of Lobsters prepared in a consume sauce.  I liked how there was just enough sauce to coat each piece without being goopy or too wet.  It was on the saltier side though.  As for the lobster itself, one of the two was rather scrawny and hence a bit overdone due to the lack of meat.  The other one was okay though with sweet bouncy meat.  Graced with an artificially colour enhanced skin, the Free Range Chicken was prepared very well.  Beneath the gelatinized skin was moist and almost juicy meat.  It was well-seasoned while the condiment of ginger and green onion was on point.

Now for the most bizarre interaction of the night.  When the Abalone Mushrooms & Pea Shoots arrived, my MIL confidently proclaimed it was sliced abalone.  To which I replied, "no, that is not abalone".  It was actually abalone mushroom which was toothsome and buttery while the pea shoots were overdone a tad.  After we were done, she looked at me and spelled out "abalone mushroom" as if I was the one who thought it was abalone.  I could do nothing but face palm...  After than, there was no mistaking the Steamed Rock Cod dressed with scallions and sweet soy.  We found the fish to be obliterated being chewy and almost dry.

From this, we moved onto the usual ending dishes - Chow Yee Mein and Chicken & Lettuce Fried Rice.  Although a bit firm and "wet" where it lacked enough wok heat for caramelization and sear, the noodles seemed to be coloured by dark soy rather than being flavourful.  The noodles ate like they were merely tossed around with sauce.  As for the fried rice, it was terrible.  With clumps of mealy and dry rice, this was not fried rice.  There was a lack of flavour, wok heat and nuttiness associated with fried rice.  Again, it looked like they merely tossed it around without actually stir-frying it.

For dessert, we were served the usual Cookies as well as Baked Tapioca Pudding.  Cookies were fine, but the tapioca pudding was not very good.  It was not even remotely hot where the pudding was stiff and dry while the butter crumb pastry topping was wet and not fully cooked.  At the very least, the lotus paste filling was not overly sweet.  The faults of this dish as well as a few others could be partially forgiven because it was a multi-course banquet type meal.  It is hard to execute with consistency with the volume of food.  However, there still needs to be a minimum level of quality, especially a restaurant of Neptune's class.  If we take that into account, the meal was lackluster at best.

The Good:
- Fairly attentive service
- Nice renovations
- Lots of parking

The Bad:
- Lackluster food
- Smallish tables