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Here we are, on another one of my Groupon adventures. Enticed by the extra 25% off during the month of December, I impulsively purchased a bunch without much research nor use of common sense. That led to the regrettable visit to Deacon's Corner. However, I was hoping for better results at Benjarong Thai Cuisine in the former location of Transylvania Flavour right beside BC Sushi. Upon entering, it was pretty obvious much of the furnishings and decor remained. Didn't matter to us as it was a comfy and almost homey environment.
We started things off with the Coconut Prawns drizzled with a spicy mayo dressing. Crunchy and not overly greasy on the outside, the prawns ate well. Texturally, the prawns were meaty with a slight snap. There was definitely the aroma of coconut and the spicy mayo provided a decent amount of heat. Next up was the Chicken Satay served with a spicy peanut sauce and cucumber relish. These satay skewers were graced with a good amount of breast meat. They were caramelized on the outside where the turmeric and other spices were quite impactful. In terms of doneness, the meat was still decently moist inside. I particularly liked the peanut sauce as it was rich and provided a sweet heat.
Onto our mains, we went with 2 noodle dishes including the Pad See Ew. This was a relatively large portion especially for Thai cuisine. We found that there was much more chicken and veggies than actual rice noodles. We asked for all of dishes to be spicy and they did not disappoint in this regard as the dish ate as such. Despite that, we still felt there was far too much palm sugar added to the stir-fry. Furthermore, the noodles were a bit soft in our opinion. We also had the classic Pad Thai that featured tofu puffs rather than pressed tofu. That changed the dish somewhat, but didn't bother us too much. Once again, it was too sweet in our opinion. It is true that the dish had some heat, but it couldn't balance out the palm sugar. On the other hand, the tartness of the tamarind really came through.
For our curries, we chose 2 items that were not our usual MO at a Thai Restaurant (ie. Green Curry et al). We ended up with the Penang Curry with Sirloin Beef which sported a considerable amount of lean meat. This was enough for 2 portions elsewhere. Naturally, with Thai cuisine, the meat was not tenderized, which meant it was a touch chewy. As for the curry itself, it followed the trend being sweet as well as packing a spicy punch. For our second curry, we had the Choo Chee Curry with prawns and scallops. Although sporting the same shade of red as the Penang, this curry was more aromatic and even sweeter being less spicy. We were pretty impressed with the doneness of the seafood as it was on point with buttery scallops and shrimp that exhibited a snap.
For dessert, we were all served Sweet Sticky Rice with taro steamed in banana leaves. Texturally, the rice was too dry and not glutinous which indicated that they were not soaked sufficiently and/or steamed enough. They were indeed quite sweet with soft taro inside. Overall, the food at Benjarong was decent while moderately priced. We liked how they actually made things spicy and flavourful when we requested that the dishes be prepared as such. Despite everything appearing like there was red food colouring added, it was merely the result of the red ceiling tiles...
The Good:
- Decent eats
- Spicy meant spicy
- Fairly good service
The Bad:
- A bit too sweet
- Sticky rice was not very good
Congratulations to KEN B for winning the Click & Collect contest! Ken, please email me at admin@shermansfoodadventures.com to claim your prize!
It seems like that the humble bubble tea has been around forever. From it's introduction into Vancouver in the 80's (started in Taiwan in the early 80's) to the usual explosion (Vancouver loves fads) in the 90's. At the turn of the century, it seemed to leveling off, but for some reason or another, this "fad" didn't go away. In fact, it branched out and continued growing into markets outside of the usual Asian clientele. Recently, Chatime has burst onto the scene with seemingly a new location opening up every few months. I've visited the Broadway location before and now they have set up shop in the fast-growing and ever-changing Surrey neighbourhood of Whalley.
Once again, ChineseBites has partnered up with Chatime and we were invited to sample some of their bevvies. For myself, I had to go with their most popular drink - Roasted Milk Tea with Grass Jelly. I opted for 30% sugar and it was the right call as it allowed the natural flavours to come through. Aromatic with a strong tea presence, the drink was milky (almost creamy) with the background bitterness of the grass jelly. Anything over 50% sugar would've overwhelmed these subtle flavours in my opinion. To test this theory out, I got the Milk Tea with Pearls with 50% sugar. The addition of 20% more sugar was evident, but still allowed the tea flavour to come through as well as the milkiness. As for the pearls, they were on point being chewy while not melting.
My daughter was happy as a clam when we told her she could order whatever she wanted (even 2 drinks if she could finish). So she stared with her go-to bevy - Mango Smoothie with Rainbow Jelly. Definitely milky, but still resembling a slush, it was plenty sweet even at 50% sugar. This was partially due to the addition of rainbow jelly (where some of the residual packing syrup mixed into the drink). I think they would be best off naming this a milky slush rather than a smoothie. For her second drink, she had the Strawberry Yogurt with Coconut Jelly, again at 50% sweetness. Now the visuals doesn't cry out yogurt because it was made with yakult rather than the stuff you would find at Safeway. As such, it was more icy than smooth, but still had a refreshing sweet tang.
Viv decided to go for 2 similar options including the Passionfruit Green Tea with Coconut Jelly at 50% sugar and Lychee Green Tea with Coconut Jelly also at 50% sugar. By virtue of both being green tea based, the flavours were alike. However, the lychee was a bit sweeter and less tangy. With that being said, whenever there is coconut jelly involved, the drink gets sweeter due to the residual syrup. As we were drinking away, the question came up, "how does Chatime compare to other bubble tea spots in town?". Well, Viv came up with the best answer: it's decent and holds it own, but since there is an actual system regarding sugar and ice content, it makes it easy to customize.
*All beverages were complimentary*
The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Easily customizable
- Decent
The Bad:
- Flavours are good, but some could use a bit more intensity
- Personally, the slushes could be more blended
Late night eats are always welcomed after a hockey game, especially one that don't involve a drive-thru . However, there was one place I avoided despite being open into the wee hours of the night. 9 Dishes, with their array of spicy offerings was not the best idea prior going to bed. Hence, we never made it out to the place before its closure. However, Gala Cafe, tucked in Old Orchard Mall in Burnaby has resurrected the aforementioned 9 Dishes. Emily and I decided to check it out one day in hopes of a tongue-numbing experience.
In an unexpected fashion, we were given a blank order sheet to write down our order. Also, we served ourselves when it came to water and tea refills. So essentially the place was a de-facto counter service restaurant. We dug into the Cucumber with Garlic first and it was definitely fresh and crunchy. But it was lacking in impact, especially with the mild garlic and slight savoury notes. Next up, we had the Shredded Pork Stomach with soy, cilantro and chilis. As flavourful as it looked, the dish was actually rather tame. Despite this, the pork stomach was appealingly chewy and properly prepared (not too gamy). There was a nice combination of soy, spice and background sweetness.
Something Emily really wanted to try was the Chicken in Chili Sauce (or more commonly known as Mouth-Watering Chicken). It definitely looked legit being immersed in chili oil with scallions, cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds. Hence there was a spicy aromatics to go with the tender and meaty chicken. On the other hand, we felt the flavours didn't necessarily pop, rather it just lightly coated the chicken. We could done with spicier, but it was a good dish nonetheless.
For our larger items, we tried the Braised Chicken with Potato and Peppers (since the table beside us seemed to be enjoying it). This was a massive offering and completely justified the $15.99 price tag. It featured tender nuggets of potato (that didn't melt into a mush) and large pieces of chicken leg (which were still juicy with flavour penetration). The dish was indeed spicy (with peppers and Szechuan peppercorns) and savoury with plenty of depth, but once again, we could've done with spicier.
Continuing with even more peppers, we had the Szechuan Water Boiled-Fish that looked promising. We felt the quality of the fish was spot on being buttery soft and flaky while maintaining a bite. Even with a bevy of crushed Szechuan peppercorns, the dish did not cause much tongue-numbing (if at all). Now with that being said, it was delicious and very appetizing despite this. It just might be that we are spicy freaks, whereas many would find most of the dishes plenty spicy. In the end, I mulled over whether the place was worth a return visit. I concluded yes, because we could always ask for spicier.
The Good:
- Well-prepared eats
- Generous portions
The Bad:
- Service, what service?
- Could be spicier
Going for Dim Sum during the holidays can often be even busier than the regular weekend rush since people are either off work and/or it is a great way to meet up as friends and family. Since we were planning to do some dim summing on Boxing Day morning (which was also on a Saturday), we went for something less obvious and most likely less busy - Pink Pearl. Yes, we fully knew that we were giving up some quality for pure convenience and minimal craziness. Mind you, last time I was here, it was with the MIL, so there was a whole lot of craziness in memory only.
Since the place still employs push-carts, we were able to grab food pretty quickly. Okay, let me rephrase that... The pushy push-cart ladies ensured that we ordered food and ordered it ASAP! As much as push carts can be novel, it can also compromise the integrity of the food, which it did for both the Haw Gow and Spinach Dumplings. It is true that the dumpling skins were too thick and possibly too dense, but the fact they had been sitting around exacerbated the problem. On the other hand, the shrimp filling was decent with a mix of whole pieces and some mousse as a binding agent. There was a considerable amount of sesame oil essence to go with the ample seasoning. With the spinach dumplings, it was essentially the same except for the addition of soft spinach.
As much as the pushy push-cart ladies wanted us to order every dumpling under the sun (even ones that were already on our table!), we held firm and went for some other items instead. They included the Phoenix Talons (Chicken Feet) and Steamed Pork Spareribs. Despite disheveled-looking, the chicken feet were actually pretty good. Both the fried skin and cartilage underneath were soft and plump while not melting away. There was a good balance of savoury and sweet with some garlic and peppery notes. As for the spareribs, they were not exactly salty, but the flavours were so intense, it could only be the result of a good amount of MSG. Hence, the pumpkin underneath soaked it all up which made each bite rather flavourful. Texturally, the meaty ribs exhibited the classic bounce texture.
At this point, we were asked again if we wanted more dumplings including the Sui Mai. Even with clearly 2 steamers of such in plain view! WTH? Anyways, these contained almost an equal amount of pork and shiitake mushrooms. Therefore, the dominant flavour was the pungent rehydrated meatiness of the shiitakes. The chunks of pork were fairly soft with only a bit of chew. I liked there was very little fat. From meat dumplings to Beef Meatballs, the texture was pretty much on point. There was the desired rebound from the processed meat, yet there was still some natural meatiness remaining. There was a minimal amount of green onion and some bits of water chestnut adding some crunch. The whole thing was mildly seasoned with only a touch of sweetness, but we were dunking it into Worcestershire sauce anyways.
With the current trending moving away from one large Lo Mei Gai in favour of either 2 or 3 mini-versions, it was a complete surprise to be served the ol' skool portion. The benefit was a more uniformly moist, yet glutinous sticky rice. Underneath, there was a bevy of ground pork, dried shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. Ultimately, this was one of the better items we had. Another decent offering were the BBQ Pork Buns. They were large and filled with plenty of lean BBQ Pork. It was sauced with a balanced amount of sweet and savouriness where the colour was quite appealing (love that allura red E129!). As for the bun itself, it was fluffy and light while mildly sweet.
Onto a few deep fried dishes, my son really, really wanted the Deep Fried Taro Dumplings. Since these were sitting in the push cart for who-knows-how-long, they weren't exactly hot. As such, the crispy exterior was compromised where the layer closest to the soft mashed taro was rather dry. Other than that, the dumpling was not very greasy with a meaty filling that was well-seasoned. The kiddies were not feeling it for the regular spring rolls and specifically requested the Shrimp Spring Rolls instead. So we ended up getting 2 plates piping hot from the kitchen. Good thing too as it didn't suffer the same result as the previous taro dumplings. Hence, they were hot and crunchy while easy on the grease. Inside, the shrimp/mousse filling was bordering on salty, but tasted quite good. Texturally, the shrimp exhibited a buttery snap.
An interestingly-prepared dish was the Bean Curd Skin Rolls. Normally, this would feature a pork filling that would be either fatty or tenderized. However, this one was pretty meaty and almost beef-like in texture. No matter, as there was a good amount of wood-ear mushrooms to break up the monotony. This was rather salty in my books since the sauce on the outside was already pretty flavourful. Another ol' skool dish was the Assorted Beef Offal featuring honeycomb tripe, lung, brisket and some daikon. The stewed offal was pretty "new" which meant nothing was melting while the textures were on the chewier side (especially the brisket). Furthermore, the whole thing was rather gamy since the dish was very mildly seasoned.
Onto our last 2 dishes, we had the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll first. It sported fairly firm rice noodle sheets that resulted in a rather still roll. Inside, there was a modest amount of whole shrimp which were well-salted and exhibited a meaty snap. By itself, the rolls were plenty seasoned, but the sweet soy added even more flavour. Lastly, we had the Baked Egg Tarts for dessert. These were decent even though being a bit underbaked. Lacking colour and a consistent flakiness, the tart was mostly crispy with defined layers. There was a butteriness that was complimented by the silky and sweet egg custard. As much as the Dim Sum service at Pink Pearl was acceptable, the overall consensus was of "meh". But we expected that due to our choice of venue.
The Good:
- Okay pricing
- Spacious
- Lots of parking
The Bad:
- Meh food
- Pushy push cart ladies
Sometimes fancy doesn't necessarily translate into "having a good time". On the other hand, it really depends on the acitivity. Now, we're not talking about Iggy Azalea fancy as in "champagne spillin', you should taste that". I can't believe I just quoted Iggy Azalea... Anyways, Viv and I wanted to enjoy a meal by ourselves, but didn't really want to spend Cioppino's-type money unless they "better get my money on time, if they not money, decline". Gawd, I quoted her again! So... we headed to nearby Campagnolo Roma instead.
Although we didn't care which item arrived first, the actual appetizer did hit the table before everything else. It was the Smoked Octopus Salad with potato, arugula, jalapeno and garlic chips atop a squid ink vinaigrette. As expected, the star of the show was the octopus which exhibited a mild smokiness while being a tender chewy. We thought the flavours worked in harmony including the spicy sliced jalapenos. The dish could've done with less olive oil though. Sitting in a significant amount of liquid, the Spaghetti Carbonara was really peppery. Good thing we like pepper, because for some, it could be considered out-of-balance. We enjoyed the al dente noodles as well as the salty bits of bacon and Parmesan cheese.
Our second pasta was the Rigatoni all’amatriciana with cured pork belly in a spicy tomato sauce. We found the the rigatoni to be chewy, yet softer than the spaghetti. Although the tomato sauce did not lack impact, it wasn't particularly spicy. I would rather classify it as zesty with a good amount of tang which was balanced off by the massive amount of pecorino on top. That combined with the pork belly made the dish rather salty (but still good). Our last item was the Pizza Margherita which featured a crispy crust from the edge to nearly the middle. The dough was properly seasoned where it was appealingly chewy after the initial crunch of the crust. I would've liked to see more charring though. We enjoyed the tomato sauce as it was tangy and fresh-tasting. Overall, this re-visit to Campagnolo Roma was decent all within a casual environment (and no, it wasn't fancy).
The Good:
- Reaonably-priced
- Okay eats
The Bad:
- Pastas are a bit saucy
- Not the most spacious of places
Posts
Here we are, on another one of my Groupon adventures. Enticed by the extra 25% off during the month of December, I impulsively purchased a bunch without much research nor use of common sense. That led to the regrettable visit to Deacon's Corner. However, I was hoping for better results at Benjarong Thai Cuisine in the former location of Transylvania Flavour right beside BC Sushi. Upon entering, it was pretty obvious much of the furnishings and decor remained. Didn't matter to us as it was a comfy and almost homey environment.
We started things off with the Coconut Prawns drizzled with a spicy mayo dressing. Crunchy and not overly greasy on the outside, the prawns ate well. Texturally, the prawns were meaty with a slight snap. There was definitely the aroma of coconut and the spicy mayo provided a decent amount of heat. Next up was the Chicken Satay served with a spicy peanut sauce and cucumber relish. These satay skewers were graced with a good amount of breast meat. They were caramelized on the outside where the turmeric and other spices were quite impactful. In terms of doneness, the meat was still decently moist inside. I particularly liked the peanut sauce as it was rich and provided a sweet heat.
Onto our mains, we went with 2 noodle dishes including the Pad See Ew. This was a relatively large portion especially for Thai cuisine. We found that there was much more chicken and veggies than actual rice noodles. We asked for all of dishes to be spicy and they did not disappoint in this regard as the dish ate as such. Despite that, we still felt there was far too much palm sugar added to the stir-fry. Furthermore, the noodles were a bit soft in our opinion. We also had the classic Pad Thai that featured tofu puffs rather than pressed tofu. That changed the dish somewhat, but didn't bother us too much. Once again, it was too sweet in our opinion. It is true that the dish had some heat, but it couldn't balance out the palm sugar. On the other hand, the tartness of the tamarind really came through.
For our curries, we chose 2 items that were not our usual MO at a Thai Restaurant (ie. Green Curry et al). We ended up with the Penang Curry with Sirloin Beef which sported a considerable amount of lean meat. This was enough for 2 portions elsewhere. Naturally, with Thai cuisine, the meat was not tenderized, which meant it was a touch chewy. As for the curry itself, it followed the trend being sweet as well as packing a spicy punch. For our second curry, we had the Choo Chee Curry with prawns and scallops. Although sporting the same shade of red as the Penang, this curry was more aromatic and even sweeter being less spicy. We were pretty impressed with the doneness of the seafood as it was on point with buttery scallops and shrimp that exhibited a snap.
For dessert, we were all served Sweet Sticky Rice with taro steamed in banana leaves. Texturally, the rice was too dry and not glutinous which indicated that they were not soaked sufficiently and/or steamed enough. They were indeed quite sweet with soft taro inside. Overall, the food at Benjarong was decent while moderately priced. We liked how they actually made things spicy and flavourful when we requested that the dishes be prepared as such. Despite everything appearing like there was red food colouring added, it was merely the result of the red ceiling tiles...
