Pizzeria Spacca Napoli

When it seemed like the Neapolitan pizza craze has started to settle down, we get another joint opening up.  However, the location might throw some people for a loop.  No, it's not in Downtown Vancouver, and in fact, it is not in Vancouver at all.  Rather, Pizzeria Spacca Napoli resides right in the heart of Port Moody.  Yah, not exactly the hotbed of authentic Italian eats, but it's nice to see the burbs benefiting from development and hence, something other than chain restaurants.

Seeing how we had enough carbs on the menu already, we started with the Caprese Burrata. This was a good choice as the burrata was fresh being creamy and buttery.  It sat atop arugula dressed in basil-mint pesto that was impactful and herbaceous in appearance and flavour.  It went well with the fresh and slightly tart tomatoes.  Before we got to the pizzas, we had their daily pasta special - Penne with tomato sauce and mozzarella.  This was a solid offering with al dente pasta enveloped in a tart and chunky sauce.  There was a good amount of melted mozzarella to break up the tomatoness.

Moving onto the pizzas, we went with the classic Margherita with tomato, fior di latte and fresh basil.  On the surface, the pizza looked aesthetically-pleasing with even leoparding.  One bite and yes, there was a good nuttiness as well as tasty smokiness.  The crust was nicely crispy and chewy inside while being well-seasoned.  However, the rest of it was a bit too soggy for my tastes.  I realize that the middle is generally more tender, but the entire crust, other than the outer edge was fairly wet and spongy.

Our next pizza, the Boscaiola, had even more moisture due to the addition of smoked mozzarella, sausage and mushroom.  Taste-wise, the smokiness of the cheese was subtle and tasty as well as the plethora of mushroom.  There was also a good amount of lean sausage, but it was rather bland.  Again, the visuals suggest a legit Neapolitan pizza.  In many aspects, it was, but unfortunately, the crust literally didn't stand up.  There is definitely potential at Spacca Napoli and my hope is that they ultimately get there because the space is nice and the people are too.

The Good:
- Nice dining space and vibe
- Proper leoparding
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Soggy crust
- A little pricey

    

Snowy Village

I gotta say...  after resisting IG for the longest time, I'm totally addicted to the endless stream of food pictures.  I can't seem to put my phone down to have a proper conversation with anyone!  So it is by no coincidence that I've had a steady supply of Snowy Village pics over the past few months.  I never did make it out to their original Richmond location as it was never convenient to do so.  After a recent visit with Sean, I also made a subsequent revisit a week later with Joyce, Grace, Sophia, Kirsty, Nancy and Diana.

We decided to try their Red Bean Taiyaki, yet for some reason, we got 2 for the price of one.  Hey, we weren't going to complain!  As you can see in the picture, one was more tanned than the other.  Not much difference in texture as both were crispy and flaky much like a croissant.  However, the darker one did have a more intense caramel flavour.  Okay, we have an inherent bias against red bean anything, but this one was bearable.  Texture was not too gritty and it was pretty sweeet. The free one turned out to be Sweet Potato.  We found it too heavy and mild-tasting for our liking.

For our Bingsoo, we got one each of the Mango and Oreo (large size).  These were pretty decently portioned for the price (the amount of mango).  I thought that the amount of ripe mango was generous (although a bit overripe).  The ice underneath was fairly fluffy and purposefully sweet.  I would order this again and gladly pay the $14.00 (some might disagree).  At first, I was pretty concerned with the Oreo as the addition of the cookie can make any dessert super sweet.  This was not the case.  It was sweet yes, but not overwhelmingly.  I enjoyed the crunch of the crushed cookie with the fluffy ice.

The same good things could not be said about the Green Tea or Injeolmi (small size).  I didn't get much in the way of any aromatics and bitterness from the tea.  In fact, all I got was red bean.  As for the Injeolmi, it was also mild-tasting (but that was expected) where the red bean took over.  I did enjoy the aromatics though and the chewy rice cake.  Despite being the small size, I found that they were more than enough to share (not sure if one needs the large).  Overall, we had a hit and miss experience at Snowy Villlage.  We loved the mango and Oreo bingsoo as well as the taiyaki pastry.  The green tea and injeolmi bingoo was so-so and the fillings for the taiyaki were nothing special.

The Good:
- Reasonably priced for the portion size
- Depending on the flavour you choose, it can be pretty good (mango in this case)

The Bad:
- After 2 visits, I found things a bit sweet (although some flavours can be more mild)
- Not many seats to be had     

The Ramenman

Often, I think we are caught up in the "it should be this way" mentality where we lose our minds when we find out there is ketchup in our Pad Thai.  Honestly...  Shouldn't we be more concerned if something tastes good?  As much as the history of a food item and who prepares it can be important factors, it should come down to: is it something you would want to eat again?  This is exactly the scenario with The Ramenman just off Robson (ramen central) on Bidwell.  They choose to be different and their creations are not necessarily something you would expect.  After many failed missions to eat there, I finally made it out due to an invite.

Sean joined me to tackle the menu including the Regular Chicken Broth with chicken and pork.  Before I got to the chicken broth, the sous-vide meat was a game-changer.  Although both appeared to be undercooked, this was a result of the sous-vide process and yes, they were fully cooked.  The pork was succulent and tender while the chicken was buttery.  Definitely different, but welcomed in my opinion.  As for the broth, it was silky, rich and full-bodied.  House-made, the noodles were chewy and nicely firm.  Next, we tried the Vegetarian Miso Broth that made me realize I can do without meat.  Nah, we added some pork anyways.  Consisting of mushroom, miso and smoked kombu, the broth was "meaty" with depth and thickness.  There was a rich saltiness combined with the Earthiness of the mushroom as well as a subtle smokiness.

Next up was the interesting and unique Chicken Stew that was thick like sesame paste.  It was unmistakably poultry tasting with a background sweetness.  Personally, the taste was great, but the texture was too thick and a bit gritty for me.  Again, noodles were on point as well as the bouncy tender pieces of sous-vide chicken.  Our last bowl was the Chicken & Clam Broth which featured fresh in-the-shell clams and white wine.  Hence, the broth was somewhat similar to vongole pasta, but just with soup.  Although the wine had been properly cooked down, there was an unmistakable crisp white wine flavour.  I could taste some brininess from the clams, but it would've been even better with more clam juice.  Apparently there was truffle oil as well, but I hardly noticed it (which was a good thing).

The most surprising dish of all was the Japanese Curry Beef & Chicken with 63 degree egg.  This was rich, lightly sweet and definitely savoury with a background spice.  The meats were super tender (almost melt-in-my-mouth soft) with some meatiness.  Loved the addition of the egg as it added a silkiness.  Even the rice was on point being chewy and dry enough to take on the sauce.  This was only a small portion, but still hearty enough.  Personally, I would order the large and call it a meal.

We ended things off with the Chicken Karaage and Scallop Gyoza.  Lightly battered and crisp, the tender nuggets of chicken were juicy and succulent.  They were well-seasoned with purposeful saltiness and some spice.  The accompanying chili mayo added a creamy heat.  Beautifully browned and crispy on the bottom, the gyoza featured a thin dumpling skin that was tender while not too soft.  Inside, the filling was meaty and moist with little pops of buttery scallop. The side of garlic chili oil was nutty and spicy.  Overall, I really enjoyed the different, yet still familiar food at The Ramenman.  Sure, it might be a bit out there for some, but they do stand out in a sea of ramen in Downtown Vancouver.

*All food and beverages excluding gratuities were complimentary*

The Good:
- Dares to be unique
- Succulent sous-vide meat
- On point execution of nearly everything

The Bad:
- Wasn't a huge fan of the chicken stew
- I would've liked to see more broth as the noodles soaked it up quickly
     

Hanwoori

For me personally, I've always maintained that Hanwoori, out on Imperial near Kingsway, has been consistently one of the better Korean restaurants in the GVRD.  However, there are a wealth of other spots out on North Road that could easily challenge that assertion though.  As true as they may be, year after year, Hanwoori still remains popular.  Since I haven't been back to the place in 7 years, it was about time we paid them a visit.  This was actually for my son's birthday dinner as for some reason, Korean eats is his favourite.

Luckily we made a reservation because the place was packed.  Somehow they put down my name as Trevor (???).  Anyways, we began with the standard Banchan featuring salad, kimchi, broccoli, bamboo shoots, sprouts, daikon and potato.  For me it was all about the potato as it was soft (without being mushy) and just sweet enough.  Kimchi was nice too with a solid crunch giving way to impactful spiciness.  Bubbling hot, we got the Gori Gom Tang that sported a generous amount of tender and gelatinous oxtail.  The soup itself was silky with a certain rich fattiness.  I didn't have to add too much of the accompanying salt for the soup to have impact (but I did need to add it though).

Naturally, we had to get Combo A for the table as my son would have a fit if he didn't get some Korean BBQ.  The plate consisted of short rib, beef, spicy pork and chicken.  Since we were seated at a window booth, there was not actual ventilation above us.  Hence it got rather smoky and hot (the whole restaurant was warm).  Furthermore, we had to cook on a portable burner rather than a built-in one.  No matter, as it still seared up the meat nicely.  I found the quality of the meats to be quite good especially the short ribs.  They were buttery and tender with the classic chewiness.  I wasn't fond of the bulgolgi though as it was in very small slices and basically disintegrated on the grill.

Rounding out the meal with some carbs, we got both the Dolset Bibimbap and the Jajangmyeon.  As evidenced in the picture, the bibimbap was nicely constructed with vibrant and fresh veggies.  Underneath, the rice wasn't overly soft, but since the stone bowl wasn't supersonic hot, a crust didn't actually form.  Nevertheless, it was still good.  As for the jajangmyeon, it was on point.  The noodles were chewy and plentiful while the black bean sauce on top was balanced.  Nice sweetness from the onions while the bean paste offered up a mild saltiness. 

The last item was the Nagogi (Sweet & Spicy Chicken with veggies).  This was pretty sweet and only a touch spicy.  I found the chicken to be a little dried out while the exterior wasn't as crunchy as it appeared.  It had soaked up all the sauce and had become moist.  This was a pretty large portion, but then again, it better be for a whopping $23.95. So, in the 7 years has my opinion about Hanwoori changed?  I would actually say yes.  I've had better Korean food along North Road for less coin.  Therefore, Hanwoori is still a decent option, but hardly the must-visit as it was before.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Service has improved, we got some
- Decent portions

The Bad:
- On the pricier side
- Good, but not great
- Place needs better ventilation and A/C