Cannibal Cafe (Granville)

*Restaurant is closed*

There once was a time where staying home for New Year's Eve (sans party) was a no-no.  However, as time passed and being a responsible adult trumped careless fun, spending a quiet evening at home with the kids became the norm.  This would be the case again this year as we celebrated NYE with Ryan Seacrest.  But before we relegated ourselves to the family room for the countdown, we headed into Downtown for our last meal for 2015.

We ended up at Cannibal Cafe partly due to another Groupon, but mostly because of my son.  You see, we've been eating some much Asian food lately, he was dying for a burger.  But before that, we shared some Mini-Dog Pops first.  These were comprised of halved hot dogs (length-wise and width-wise) fried in beer-batter.  Although fairly salty, the mini-dogs were blessed with a light and crunchy coating.  The honey mustard helped cut the saltiness more than the ketchup though.  For my son, he had the kid's Cheeseburger and Fries (with the addition of bacon).  This was pretty solid with a meaty 3 oz. patty that was neither dry nor juicy.  There was ample cheese and lean bacon that was all encased in a soft brioche bun.

My daughter, being the junior foodie, wanted no part in any kid's meal opting for the Slammin' Salmon with a side of Poutine instead. Pretty ambitious for an 8-year old as the burger consisted of a house-made patty, avocado, smoked salmon and orange basil mayo.  This was a pleasant if not fairly dry burger where the salmon was lacking moisture.  Taste-wise, it wasn't lacking since the patty was peppery while the smoked salmon provided the saltiness.  The side of Poutine featured meaty fries that were mostly crispy while dressed in a somewhat salty gravy with legit cheese curds.  Viv ended up with the Farmhouse consisting of a turkey patty, bacon, caramelized onions, cranberry relish and smoked gouda (in lieu of goat cheese).  Surprisingly, the turkey patty was pretty moist while the cranberry relish took things over with a noted sweet-tang.

For myself, I had the Big Blue with a blue cheese-stuffed patty topped with more blue cheese, onion ring and horseradish chive mayo.  One bite into the well-charred patty and boom, the creamy blue cheese hit me in the face (literally, it was everywhere).  The flavours were pungent and sharp and the ample cheese helped keep things moist.  Although the large onion ring was crunchy, the actual onion was hard to eat as it was the outer layer.  For my side, I had the Mac n' Cheese (which I subsequently relinquished to my son) was a bit floury and not cheesy enough in texture and taste.  Despite this and some other minor issues, we did enjoy our burgers and the friendly service at the Cannibal Cafe.

The Good:
- We got some stellar service
- Decent burgers

The Bad:
- A bit pricey

Lonsdale Kebab

*Restaurant is closed*

It was the start of Christmas holidays and although there were many eats planned for the next 2 weeks, I made it a point to eat out anyways.  Wait, isn't that all-the-time?  Instead of going for the default (such as White Spot), I thought the kids should eat something different.  Different like...  Persian!  Hey my son loves meat, so meat on a stick (well it was cooking) sounded as good as any other idea.  Who doesn't like meat on a stick anyways?  Right, a vegetarian and vegans...

We started things off with the Hummus accompanied by pita bread.  Chunky and a touch gritty, the hummus was pleasant enough with mild garlickiness.  We would've liked to see some more acidity, but it was not a big deal.  Texturally, I didn't mind the intermittent chunks of chickpea, but I can definitely see some people not liking it.  A minor detail would be the pita as it was rather dry.  Included with the combo for 2, we were served a House Salad that featured fresh veggies in a yogurt dressing.  Nothing much to comment other than there was nothing amiss.

As mentioned, we got the Combo for 2 which included one skewer each of chicken and beef in addition to 2 skewers of ground beef.  Although not aggressively charred, the meats were pretty good.  We especially enjoyed the saffron chicken as it was succulent and tender.  There was a background armoaticness to compliment the mild seasoning.  We found the sirloin to be either tender and moist or a bit chewy dependent on the piece.  That wasn't an issue with the ground beef as it was juicy and easy to chew.  There was a considerable hit from the sweet onions.

For myself, I had to get the Lamb Shank which was reheated by the microwave.  Not a huge problem, but some exterior parts were dried out as a result.  Inside was much better as the meat was tender and gamy just like how lamb shank should be.  It was mildly seasoned where it sat in its braising liquid that featured onions.  Although I personally prefer the nearby Zeitoon, we thought the items we tried at Lonsdale Kebab were decent with all things considered

The Good:
- Really friendly owner
- Decent

The Bad:
- Lamb was a bit chewy on the outside
- More of a takeout spot as the dining space is limited

Angelina's

You know when you watch movies at Cineplex and they have those ads pointing out rude people like Harvey Hogger, Tommy Texter or Suzy Seat Kicker?  Well, I'd like to add a Tammy Table Troll (sorry if I insulted all the Tammys out there).  You see, we were waiting for a table at Angelina's and witnessed 2 ladies occupy a table for 4 prior to us arriving and after us leaving (that would put it at 3 hours, more on that later...).  Anyways, we did end up getting a table and set off to use another one of my many Groupons.

For myself, I decided to try their Seafood Benny featuring smoked salmon and baby shrimp.  Smothered in a enough Hollandaise that hid almost everything underneath, the sauce actually ate rather light with a mild flavour and lack of acidity.  The poached eggs were perfectly runny while the smoked salmon was generous in portion.  That included the good amount of buttery baby shrimp, which were a bit salty.  We weren't fans of the potatoes though as some were undercooked.  The fruit was attractive and fresh though.  Viv continued the fruit theme with her Berry Pannekoeken topped with strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.  This was also served with fresh whipped cream and a berry compote.  Thin and fairly light, the pannekoeken was nicely textured and mildly flavoured.

My daughter decided on the Smoked Salmon and Spinach Pannekoeken with Edam cheese.  This was fairly straightforward with the same light and thin pannekoeken topped with melted cheese, fresh spinach leaves and smoked salmon with a side of Hollandaise.  This was pleasant enough with little fanfare.  Going more heavy duty, my son had the Bacon and Eggs Pannekoeken.  This was a pretty savoury with salty bacon which went well with the syrup and pannekoeken.  Of note, the prices of these items were about $3-$5 less than De Dutch.  However, the one thing that annoyed us was the time it took for our order (over 45 minutes!).  That was the same for others too as we observed, which would mean that the ladies hogging the table were definitely there for over 3 hours.  I digress.  Overall, we liked the food at Angelina's, just be prepared to wait. 

The Good:
- Friendly people
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Food took forever
- Parking is scarce 

Jin Jiang Shanghai Restaurant

Another year and another stab at the Social Media Choice for the Chinese Restaurant Awards (was named Blogger's Choice last year...).  This time around, we settled on 5 dishes to be included in the judging for 2016.  One of my suggestions made it to the ballot being the Drunken Chicken (or Wine Chicken) which is a classic Shanghainese dish that features chicken poached in Xiaoshing wine.  Now before you anoint Long's as the winner before we even start, it was our job to find the best one regardless of reputation.

My first foray brought me back to Jin Jiang located in the Best Western on Kingsway in Burnaby.  They were going through some drastic renos, so the picture of the front is a stock photo.  Without further ado, we went straight for the Drunken Chicken to start.  It definitely looked appetizing and it was pretty decent.  Featuring tender and succulent chicken with a thin layer of gelatin underneath the gelatinized skin, there was a mild hit of wine.  We liked how it wasn't too salty nor sweet, but the overall impact was not very strong.  By the same token, the Hot & Sour Soup was fairly bland and lacking depth.  Despite the strong presence  of vinegar and chill oil, there was a severe lack of salt which was further highlighted by the flavourless soup base.  On the positive side, the ingredients were plentiful with crunchy wood ear and bamboo shoots with some shrimp.

Of course we had to get a steamer of the Xiao Long Bao (which my kids now absolutely adore).  These featured a relatively thin dumpling skin where the top twirl was only slightly doughy.  Inside, there was a decent amount of soup that was sweet with a touch of ginger.  I would've liked to see a stronger wine presence though.  As for the meat, it was tender and "springy", hence being overall appealing.  The Pan Fried Pork Buns featured the same filling as the XLBs.  As a result, there was a measurable amount of juice squirting out after the first bite (and also the one we cut for the picture...  all that soup lost on the plate!).  The bun portion was soft and airy while the bottom was pan fried until golden brown and crispy.  This was one of the highlights of our meal.

Rather than going for the usual Peking Duck for the kiddies, we wanted to do something different this time.  Thus, we went for something that still involved wraps with the Shredded Pork in Chili and Garlic Sauce (crepes were an extra charge).  Well, that was a fail as the kids thought it was too spicy.  For the adults, that wasn't an issue, however, we did find it overly sweet.  The shredded pork was on point though being properly marinated with a tender chewiness and that classic rebound texture.  Now we didn't abandon ordering duck though since we got the Deep Fried Smoked Duck.  Yes, this was one of the dishes we judged last year and despite not winning, the one here is respectable.  We found the skin crispy and generally well-rendered.  The meat was succulent and full of smoke flavour (maybe a tad too much) while well-salted.

To lighten things up from the heaviness of the previous 2 dishes, we got the Steamed Silky Tofu with Shrimp.  This was predictably a very mild-tasting and easy-to-eat dish.  Curiously, the dish was not served steaming hot as anticipated.  Of course they couldn't steam it for too long as the shrimp on top would've been overcooked, but the dish was lukewarm at best.  With that being said, the tofu was silky while the shrimp was cold-water crunchy.  Lastly, we got the Deep Fried Bun served with condensed milk.  This was fried just right with a golden crunchy exterior with a soft fluffy interior.  Seeing that this has been the 4th time I've eaten here, I can definitively say the food is decent, but of course, cannot compete with the places found in Richmond.

The Good:
- Decent
- Extensive menu
- Relatively nice dining space

The Bad:
- Hit and miss
- Not a fan of the parking lot
- Service hit and miss too 

Tea Wok

*Restaurant is now closed*

Tea Wok...  Where have I seen that name before?  Wait, there was Tea Work which was formerly located on 41st and Victoria.  There was another I believe on Kingsway at Nelson in Burnaby as well (now a Szechaun Chongqing).  Were they all related?  If so, I wasn't holding too much hope for the food.  But when we were thwarted at The One with a long lineup (when does that ever happen?), Milhouse, Lionel Hutz and myself had to resort to alternative measures in obtaining late night eats in Burnaby.  So we ended up at Tea Wok in the former location of 508 Bistro.

We started with 2 classic Taiwanese appies including the Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets and Red Fermented Deep Fried Pork.  Fairly large in portion size, the chicken nuggets were crispy, almost crunchy on the outside.  It was nice spiced where there was definitely a salty peppery thing going on.  However, we didn't get much five spice.  As much as the exterior was well-seasoned, the chicken itself was bland.  It was juicy and succulent though.  Appearance-wise, the pork cutlet looked legit with an appealing red hue.  Unfortunately, it was completely devoid of any of the classic fermented pungency.  Furthermore, the batter was greasy and slid off.  Inside, the pork itself was rather dry and chewy.

For his main, Milhouse had the Dried Noodles with Minced Meat Sauce and stewed egg.  For $6.50, this was a substantial dish with slippery and chewy noodles.  The meat sauce was sweet and flavourful where it completely seasoned every strand of noodle.  I would've liked to see more viscosity as the sauce was pretty watery and didn't actually adhere to the noodles.  As a result, the meat sat on the bottom of the bowl.  Lionel Hutz went for the Satay Shredded Pork Pan Fried Noodles which the server misheard as seafood noodles.  We give them credit for correcting the problem no questions asked.  As for the the satay noodles, they were al dente and fully spiced with satay.  There was minimal moisture which meant there was decent wok heat.

For myself, I went for the standard being the Taiwanese Beef Noodle.  It was too bad that the broth itself was rather weak and lacking in depth.  In fact, the pickled mustard greens was the dominant flavour.  However, the noodles were toothsome and the sliced beef shank was melt-in-my-mouth tender.  So due to our low expectations, the stuff here at Tea Wok did the job, especially for late night.  However, for Taiwanese cuisine aficionados, you better best move on because there are too many deficiencies to overlook.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Decent portions

The Bad:
- Average food at best
- Lack of service

Mezbaan Fine Indian Fusion

*Location is closed*

Variety. That's something my son didn't have in his vocabulary even a few years ago as he subsisted on mac n' cheese, grilled cheese and cheeseburgers.  Now, if this was a cheese-eating contest, I guess he'd do okay.  However, a piece of me died inside every time he'd choose one of the aforementioned items over tastier options.  He's expanded his eating repertoire and we felt it was time to go eat some Indian food at Mezbaan Fine Indian Fusion (thanks to another Groupon) before he forgot he had tried it in the past.

We tried the kiddies out with both the Paneer Pakora and Fish Pakora.  We all found the fish pakora to be superior partly due to the benefit of an actual protein.  The fish was soft and flaky while retaining its shape and integrity.  The batter was super light and nicely spiced by caraway and cumin.  It was further enhanced by the spicy cilantro chutney.  From there, we moved onto the Tandoori Chicken served on a sizzling cast iron plate.  By virtue of using only the leg, the meat was fairly tender and succulent.  It was marinated enough to have some penetration of flavours, but in the end, it was rather mild tasting.

Due to their low spice tolerance, we got the Butter Chicken in its mildest form.  Hence, the dominant flavour was the tangy tomato paste accented by only a slight amount of creaminess.  As mentioned, there was little to no spiciness as requested.  But that didn't mean there was no flavour at all.  The small chunks of chicken ranged from tender to dry.  For myself, I had the Lamb Rogen Josh in a spicy version.  I found the pieces of lamb to be succulent and moist.  However, the sauce was lacking in depth and richness.  It wasn't even that spicy.  There seemed to be a lack of toasted spices in the mix.

As a side, we got a couple orders of the Garlic Naan which was more crispy than bread like.  It was well charred which afforded a smoky flavour.  However, we didn't notice much garlic. My son devoured it along with the butter chicken.  In that sense, mission accomplished as there wasn't any grilled cheese to be found anywhere.  In terms of overall food quality, it was decent and definitely serviceable.  Obviously, I've had better (especially since I have access to the great Indian food in Surrey on a daily basis), but Mezbaan is alright for the neighbourhood.

The Good:
- Decent for the area
- The service we got was alright for a family run operation
 - Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Flavours could be bolder (and I'm not talking about the spice level)
- Place is a bit run down  

Lin Chinese Cuisine (ChineseBites)

Trepidation.  That would be the best way to describe my feelings about the most recent ChineseBites meetup at Lin Chinese Cuisine.  Should I go?  You see, my very first visit ever to Lin was a very good one with their tasty XLBs and various other house specialties.  But with every subsequent meal, it seemed to slide further and further downhill.  What would this experience be like this time?  Well, of course my curiosity got the better of me and yes, I did end up going.

We were started off with a couple of appies including the Marinated Gluten and Shanghainese Vegetables with Pressed Tofu.  Appealingly chewy with little bursts of flavour, the gluten would've been great except for one thing - it was far too sweet. Normally, the dish is sweet, but this was too much so.  There was a need to balance it off with soy or just add less sugar (probably Chinese brown sugar in this case).  We were glad the Shanghainese Vegetable with Pressed Tofu was not that sweet.  In fact, it was rather subtle in taste where there was only a mild savoury-sweetness. Texturally, I thought the greens were tender while retaining a bite.  The brightness of the veggies was apparent as it kept things light despite the dense pressed tofu bits.

As if the previous dish was an interlude of sorts, we continued down the sugary theme with the Smoked Fish.  The whole thing was so sweet, it masked the balanced amount of smokiness.  With the firm texture and sugary glaze, the dish ate more like candied fish than a smoked fish.  Too bad really, since the textures and smoke were on point.  Something that was much more mild was the Chef’s Special Supreme Hotpot Soup.  Despite being somewhat of a home-cooking style of dish, it was something that was perfect for a cold Winter's night.  It featured a subtly-seasoned broth with Napa cabbage, mung bean vermicelli, meatballs, pork belly, dumplings and tofu. I've made something like this at home before and yes, it isn't hard to make, but this one was solid nonetheless.

Okay, enough of these other things, we had to get to what Lin is known for - their Xiao Long Bao.  Made-to-order (much like the other legit XLB joints in town), these were served steaming hot.  The dumpling skin was thin with only a touch of resistance to the chew.  Inside, the meat was a tad gritty but not too much so.  There was a good amount of soup that was on the sweeter side with some savoury elements and ginger notes.  As if they were playing with our tastebuds, the Green Onion Halibut was stingingly sweet.  So much so, I didn't even realize it was halibut, despite being well-prepared (soft and flaky).  Even the apple amount of caramelized green onion stalks could not break through the overwhelming sugary taste (that added even more sweetness, but I couldn't taste much of the onion).

We then moved onto a dish that was expected to be sweet in the Honey Prawns. This is one of their signature items and it didn't disappoint.  I've had this dish several times before and it was more or less the same.  It featured large prawns that were meaty with a firm snap.  The exterior was crunchy and held up to the ample amount of mayo-honey sauce.  Was this dish sweet? Yes, but it worked in this case.  It goes without even saying that the Braised Pork Ribs were...  sweet.  Yes, the glaze was syrupy and in need of some balancing flavours.  I must clarify that it was beyond even the acceptable level of sweetness found in say, BBQ pork (like the one found at HK BBQ Master).  On the flip side, the meat was very good though being super tender.

Next, we were served a dish I knew that would be good - the Tea Smoked Duck. Similar to other times I've had it, the duck was fairly large and smoky (but not too much).  The meat was tender and fatty while being quite salty.  As much as the skin was not well-rendered in some parts, the part around the drumstick was crispy and tasty. From sweet to salty and onto spicy, we had the Shanghainese Spicy Tofu & Seafood Hotpot.  With peppers strewn throughout, this was spicy as advertised.  I found the tofu to be silky soft while not completely falling apart.  The seafood was on point with flaky fish and crunchy cold-water shrimp.

Ending off our savoury dishes, we had the Shanghainese Vegetable with Rice Cake. This was generally quite mildly seasoned which was welcomed after a barrage of sweet, salty and spicy dishes.  I particularly enjoyed the thick-sliced rice cake which were chewy and soft at the same time.  The ample amount of greens helped brighten up things a bit while offering up some bits of crunchiness.  For dessert, we had the 8 Treasures Sweet Sticky Rice. Now this is typically really sweet due to the honey glaze on top, but due to the many sweet dishes we'd already eaten, this was over-the-top.  Again, too bad really since the sticky rice was done right.  So it goes without saying that the theme of the meal (over 50% of it) was sweet.  Too bad really since their XLBs are still good while the duck, prawns and rice cake were decent as well.  They really need to scale back the sugar though as it ruined what may have been good dishes otherwise.

*All food and gratuities were complimentary*

The Good:
- Solid XLBs
- Decent portion size

The Bad:
- Overuse of brown sugar
- Naturally, the service was good since it was an invited event, but the times it wasn't, the service can be pretty sketch