The River House

Gosh, the last time I was at the River House in Ladner, it was for a friend's wedding.  That was 15 years ago!  Suffice to say, I don't remember anything about the food, let alone even how to get there.  Well, we finally returned due to Bubbly's birthday.  Chill decided to invite all of Ladner, so we ended up taking over the pub portion of the restaurant.  As such, we decided to order a mix of dishes that also included both pub and main restaurant.

My daugther took one look at the kid's menu and balked.  Something about chicken strips and burgers that is not up to her standards...  princess...  Anyways, she inexplicably order the New England Clam Chowder as her meal.  It was relatively thick and more floury than creamy.  It did taste okay though with some brininess combined with an appealing saltiness.  We got an order of Nachos for the table and it was pretty large.  We liked how they layered the cheese as well as not dumping a load of wet ingredients on top. They also gave us a crap load of generic salsa and sour cream.

For myself, I went for something more refined in the Bouillabaisse.  This was an interesting take on the dish as the saffron broth was fairly thick and spicy.  Actually, it was probably too spicy as it masked the natural sweetness of the well-prepared prawns, scallops, clams and mussels.  On the other hand, the halibut and salmon were overcooked.  For Viv, she went casual in the Slow-Roasted Turkey Club with fries.  We appreciated the use of real turkey breast, however, it was pretty dry and bland.  Even the rest of the ingredients (applewood smoked bacon, red pepper aioli and aged white cheddar) in the sandwich couldn't add any impact to counteract compliment the meat.

Costanza decided on the RH Ultimate Burger that was marginally larger than the kid's burger (which was half the price).  Hey, it wasn't Earth-shattering, but the burger was well-made.  The patty wasn't exactly juicy, but it wasn't too bad.  The bacon was crispy and meaty while the brioche bun was not dry.  Elaine also had a burger but with Lemon Pepper Salmon instead.  Despite its appearance, the salmon was not dry and exhibited a nice seared crust.   The lemon pepper was rather muted, but the crispy onions and dijonnaise added the necessary flavours.  On the side of the last 3 items, the house-cut fries were pretty decent with a light crispiness.  As much as the food wasn't Earth-shattering, it was decent enough.  Based on the dishes we had, the Riverhouse is okay for bite if you are in the area.

The Good:
- Nice waterfront location
- Okay food

The Bad:
- A little pricey
- Friendly service, but a bit slow (however, we did have a large group)
 

La Brasserie

Heading into the home stretch, the Poutine Challenge brought me to an ol' favourite in La Brasserie.  However, things have changed since my last visit in 2009.  First, it closed suddenly in 2014 only to be re-opened with new owners and some of the former staff in 2015.  Seeing how it would be a good idea for a new blog post, I invited Emily to join me for a complete meal to compliment the Truffled Poutine entry in the challenge.  To take advantage of natural light, we ate super-early at 4:00pm.

Getting right to it, we dug into the aforementioned Truffled Poutine with Kennebec frites, cheese curds, chicken gravy and truffle oil.  The base of the poutine, being the frites, were excellent.  they were crispy without losing any soft potatoness.  They held up well to the ample gravy which was thick, rich and purposefully seasoned.  In big chunks and retaining a wonderful squeakiness, the cheese curds were plentiful from top-to-bottom.  The only thing we would've changed was the amount of truffle oil.  It was appealingly Earthy, but there was too much of it.

Up next, we had a small portion of the Steak Tartare.  It was made with beef tenderloin served on crostinis and accompanied by mixed greens.  Although the steak was fresh and visually appealing, there were some chewy portions including a piece of sinew.  It was still relatively tender and was seasoned nicely with hits of mustard and shallots.  I thought the amount of acidity was perfect as it kept the flavours bright.  We also ordered the 1/2 lb. of Moules Mariniéres prepared in a broth consisting of shallots, confit garlic and herbs in white wine.  Cooked beautifully and being relatively plump and buttery, the mussels were the beneficiary of a tasty briny broth.  It had the aromatics thanks to the shallots and garlic while the wine was cooked down properly.  It was also well-seasoned without being reliant on salt.  Even the crusty baguette was outstanding.

For our mains, we were recommended the Beer Brined Rotisserie Chicken.  Normally, we don't order chicken since there are more interesting items on most menus.  However, this was a solid choice.  Thanks to the flavourful brine and expert execution, the chicken was tender and juicy (even the breast meat).  Sporting a fully-rendered and aesthetically-appealing skin, the chicken was further enhanced by the smooth and mildly seasoned confit garlic jus and red cabbage (not sure if this matched the chicken though).  A side of their fabulous frites was included.  The last plate of food was also the best being the Lamb Cheeks with carrot & German potato mash, local seasonal vegetables and lamb jus. Each piece of cheek was tender, gelatinous and full-flavoured from the braise.  With just the right amount of silky lamb jus, there was enough depth-of-flavour without watering down the plate.  The rest of the root veggies and the kale were prepared perfectly while the mash was sweet, savoury and smooth.  So despite the change in ownership and over 6 years in between visits, La Brasserie still remains a tasty option on Davie.

*Poutine was complimentary*

The Good
- Well-prepared proteins
- You're not going to leave hungry
- Proper seasoning

The Bad:
- Same as last time, the tartare could be better
- I realize it is a truffle poutine, but a little goes a long way

North Noodle House

To say that New Westminster is a black hole of tasty eats would be a fair comment.  All my New West friends often lament the lack of choice other than some sushi joints.  Well, to be fair, there is Longtail Kitchen, Tamarind Hill and one of my personal favs, the Spud Shack.  On my last visit to the aforementioned Spud Shack, I was somewhat shocked to see a Northern Chinese joint right next door featuring hand-made noodles.  Nope, not exactly the type of restaurant one could associate with New West.  So more than a year later, we finally made it out to North Noodle House.

We were able to snag one of the limited tables in the place.  For myself, I didn't really care if no one else would be interested in the Cumin Lamb.  I wanted the dish and if I had to eat it myself, so be it.  The dish was mainly comprised of lamb with a bed of cilantro.  This was much better than the one I had at Chuanyue.  Evenly fatty and completely tender, the lamb was subjected to decent work-heat.  I liked how the spice level came at me in layers as I ate the dish while the cumin was still apparent.  Something that I wasn't expecting too much of was the Beef Pancake Roll.  Surprisingly, it featured a soft onion pancake that was flaky and a touch greasy.  It reminded me of the one found at Peaceful.  Inside, there was more green onion and buttery tender slices of beef shank with quite a bit of hoisin.

As for the noodles, we got the Cutting Noodles stir-fried with woodear mushrooms and egg.  This was large portion consisting of chewy thick noodles that exhibited a nice rebound texture.  The wok-heat was "okay" where the caramelization of flavours was mild (as the dish was somewhat wet).  Hence, the impact of the dish was not very apparent.  It was more of a study of textures than actual flavours.  Up next was the Dragging Noodles with beef in soup.  The noodles were mildly chewy while sitting in a flavourful clear broth.  It was a bit surprising as this type of clear both is usually rather mild and almost bland.  As for the beef, it was buttery tender, yet a bit underseasoned.

Lastly, we had the Pan-Fried Dumplings that looked appealingly seared until golden brown.  As fluffy as they appeared (made with fresh dough), the dumplings were mostly dense, yet crispy on the bottom.  Inside, the pork and green onion filling was flavourful and juicy.  It was well-seasoned being sweet, aromatic and tender.  With a bottle of vinegar at the table, I was able to be aggressive with it where it livened up the thick "bao" wrapper.  The dumplings were more visually-appealing than the actual eating-enjoyment.  Despite this, the rest of the dishes were pretty solid, especially for New West.  Definitely an option for a quick meal if you were in the area.

The Good:
- Solid hand-made noodles
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Seasoning for the cutting noodles could be more impactful
- The bao dough could be lighter