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Remember when Leonardo DiCaprio remarked, "I'd like to take you out for a steak dinner!" in Catch Me if You Can? Well, I was offered a steak and lobster dinner at The Keg Yaletown. I'll get this out-of-the-way first, I personally love The Keg, so it was with no hesitation that I accepted. The reason for this generous invite was to sample some of the items found on their Summer Lobster Menu. We were seated at the rooftop patio and not only is it a great space to hang out, the natural light made for great pictures!
We were started off with an order each of the Crispy Lobster Tacos tossed in crispy rice and served with cabbage slaw and cilantro. Despite the crunchy exterior coating, the nuggets of lobster remained moist with a buttery rebound texture. It was served atop a soft and warm tortilla accented by a crunchy slaw consisting of cabbage, green onion, cilantro and red onion. Completing the concoction was a jalapeno maple aioli that was creamy, sweet and spicy. Oh and the lemon wedge was not merely a garnish as it added the necessary acidity to brighten up the flavours.
Onto the main even, we had the 6 oz Sirloin Steak and 1/2 Atlantic Lobster with baked potato (with butter, sour cream, bacon and chives), veggies, lemon and hot butter. Once again, the lobster was prepared nicely as the meat was buttery with the classic lobster meatiness. It was naturally sweet, but I still used the accompanying butter and lemon. Well-charred and done medium-rare, my steak was prepared properly. However, there was a ribbon of sinew that made it a bit chewy. As for the baked potato, it was a really good baked potato. Soft, hot and pillowy soft inside, it was subjected to a good amount of butter and sour cream (and bacon of course). Even though I was full, I finished it.
While we were dining on the steak and lobster, something occurred to us - we were missing a major component of The Keg dining experience... Yes, we never got any Sourdough Bread! I'm sure they didn't want to fill us up with unnecessary carbs, but c'mon, that soft and chewy fresh-baked loaf is a must! After that, we still had to tackle the Billy Miner Pie. For those unfamiliar, it is The Keg's signature dessert consisting of mocha ice cream on a chocolate crust with hot fudge, caramel and almonds. Despite looking rather large, the cake ate very light and almost airy. It was definitely sweet, but not terribly so. I especially loved the cookie crust as it was crunchy while not heavy. Once again, another solid meal at The Keg and yes, a real treat due to the lobster.
*All food, beverages and gratuities were complimentary*
The Good:
- Yes, it isn't cheap per se, but still good value for what you are getting
- Love that sourdough bread
- Wonderful rooftop patio at the Yaletown location
The Bad:
- My steak was a bit tough due to the sinew
For all the Dim Sum spots in Richmond, there are still a select few I haven't tried. Hence, it has been my recent mission to hit them all (with Garden City Hot Pot and Yue Delicacy the most recent). Interestingly, Kirin, being one of the most obvious has been largely ignored since I've been to the other locations. Yet, as I've said before, not all locations are created equal especially when it comes to Chinese food. Much of the technique involved is by "feel" rather than formula which means it is harder to replicate. Finally, I got to experience the dim sum service at the Richmond Kirin thanks to ChineseBites.
Food came out faster than we could take pictures of it. I tackled the Siu Mai first and they were pretty solid. Consisting of a good mix of shiitake, pork and shrimp, the dumpling exhibited a nice overall rebound texture. The shrimp was buttery and did the snap texture thing. It was well seasoned with a good balance of sweet and savoury. Didn't really matter though as I doused it in XO sauce anyways. That would be the same with the Haw Gow, but I did try it before the dousing. I found the skin to be on the thicker side, but it still had a nice elasticity and chew. Inside, the shrimp filling was modest in portion size, but it was buttery and moist with a meaty snap. I found it trended towards the sweeter side.
One of my favourite items from the Dim Sum service was one of their specialty items which was the Deep Fried Minced Fish and Shiitake Bean Curd Rice Noodle Roll. Beyond the soft, yet elastic rice noodle, the lightly crispy exterior of the bean curd roll was contrasted nicely by the bouncy fish mousse. The sweetness of the fish mousse took nicely to the sweetened soy. As a comparison of sorts, we also got the regular version of Ja Leun (Chinese Donut Rice Noodle Roll with Bread Crumbs). I found the donut to be pretty crunchy while the rice noodle was just like the one in the specialty roll. This was a nice contrast of textures.
Continuing with rice noodle, we were served the Pork Liver Rice Noodle Roll. Since there were more folds, the noodle was thicker, yet ultimately still soft with elasticity. Personally, I love liver and eat it lots by itself. I'm not completely sure it went well with the rice noodle roll though. It may have possibly been due to the doneness of the liver. It was more cooked than I would've liked (but hardly overdone though). I enjoyed the Black Bean Spareribs on Steamed Plain Rice Noodle Roll much more. The noodles were soft, yet not overly soft. They were the beneficiary of the aggressively garlicky sauce as well as the meat juices of the bouncy ribs.
Another one of my favs was the Pan Fried Pork Belly and Preserved Vegetable Bun. Seared on both sides, the bun was aesthetically-pleasing with a rich brown hue. It was only slightly crisp though giving way to an appealingly soft and fluffy bun. Inside, the filling was tender and moist with the full-flavour of pork belly and the salty tang of the preserved veggie. We also had the Steamed Abalone and Chicken Bun which was also soft and fluffy. Inside the filling was buttery and tender with an impactful saltiness and meatiness. Not sure if I got too much brininess, but it was tasty nonetheless.
For our fried items, there was the Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling with Consomme and Deep Fried Tofu with Minced Pork. I liked how the exterior of the deep fried dumpling was thin and crunchy as it held up to the mild-tasting consomme. Inside, the shrimp filling was buttery and had the classic cold-water crunch. I found the tofu to be lighter than it appeared. It was rather airy and completely crispy on the outside. The modest amount of pork filling was nicely seasoned and tender. The accompanying sauce was savoury and aromatic.
I was super happy to see the Assorted Offal Hot Pot as this is a must order when it comes to Dim Sum (at least for me). I found the flavours to be a little light, but it didn't really matter as each piece was subjected to chili oil. It was an interesting mix of honeycomb tripe, spleen, lung and intestine. For me, I'm a big fan of the lesser known offal (as opposed to the more popular offal???) and this hit the spot. Back to a more standard item, we had the Mini-Lo Mei Gai (sticky rice). This was very good with glutinous rice that was neither too wet nor dry. There was plenty of ground pork filling with shiitake and dried scallops which afforded an array of flavours.
The most surprising item was the Xiao Long Bao as most non-Shanghainese versions are as good as an all-season tire in the snow (wouldn't matter in Richmond anyways...). These featured a thin wrapper with a considerable amount of soup inside. With that being said, the soup was mostly sweet, but it was decent nonetheless. I found the meat to be very good as well being moist and not overly loose. The one item that was pretty pedestrian was the Steamed Tofu topped with Minced Fish and Shrimp. There was nothing inherently wrong with the dish as the fish mousse balls had a nice rebound and tasted naturally sweet with hits of brininess from the dried shrimp. To me, they were just good fish balls, nothing else.
We ended off on a sweet note, of course, with the Thousand Layer Cake. No, there weren't really that many layers, but you get the idea. Consisting of alternating layers of bun and sweetened duck egg yolk custard, this was just right texturally. It was sweet, but not incredibly so while the substantial layers of egg yolk. Now as you can probably see, there were many unique dishes mixed in with some standard ones. I found the regular items to be on point while the panfried buns and spareribs on rice noodles the highlights of the specialty dishes. Overall, it was a good Dim Sum service.
*All food and gratuities were complimentary*
The Good:
- Generally on point
- Comfy dining space
- Validated parking
The Bad:
- Hit and miss with the specialty items
With time ticking on my Groupon to Boteco Brasil, Viv and I made it out there with only days to spare. Yes, I realize that the amount I paid never expires, but I just couldn't stomach the loss of a deal... There have been too many times I've lost out since we kept delaying and delaying. The pain of losing out on a deal is akin to being forced to pay for parking in Downtown after barely missing a free spot. Or worse, eat at a Restaurant where there was a coupon available and find out afterwards! The pain!
As part of the deal, we were given a choice of appie where we mixed and match 2 different ones in the Coxinhas and Pastel Carne. With shredded chicken and spices (lotsa parsley) stuffed within a potato dough pocket, the Coxinhas were rather mild with only the pungency of parsley present. However, the house-made hot sauce made a huge difference with a tart and slightly spicy kick. I found the chicken a touch dry though. As for the Pastel Carne, these ground beef stuffed pastries were enjoyable to eat. Flaky and light on the outside, the ground beef and onion filling was also mild, but moist. It was served with a vinaigrette salsa. I also added the Polenta Frita with garlic aioli and these were fantastic. Lightly crisp with a soft almost creamy centre, these were flavourful on their own possibly due to a combination of ample seasoning and cheese. The accompanying aioli was definitely garlicky.
Onto our mains, we had the Picanha with rice, beans, fried banana, toasted cassava flour and fried cassava root. This was prepared beautifully medium rare (but on the more rare side, which was perfect IMO). Lightly salted, the meat was able to shine on its own with a buttery meatiness. There was a proper sear on the outside and the side of cassava flour added a nutty saltiness (there was bacon in it too). Loved the cassava root as it was super crunchy while still soft on the inside. Our second dish was the Feijoada (black bean pork stew) was served with rice, sauteed kale, toasted cassava flour and salsa. I found the flavours to be subtle with some smokiness and muted saltiness. The beans were soft without being mushy while the pork was tender. I liked the one slice of smoked sausage as it was meaty and succulent.
For dessert, we had the Bolo Prestigio or chocolate and coconut cake with beijinho filling and topped with brigadeiro. We enjoyed the fluffiness of the cake, yet at the same time the chocolatey richness as well. The cake itself wasn't very sweet, but the beijinho filling was super sugary. Our second dessert consisted of Mario's Gelato accompanied by Doce de Leite. Again, the creamy and light gelato wasn't overly sweet, but the caramel was sweet with depth. It was smoky and silky. Overall, we had a pleasant meal at Boteco Brasil and seeing how there aren't many Brazilian restaurants in town, it was also interesting.
The Good:
- Something different (not many Brazilian restos in town)
- Nice people
- Decent
The Bad:
- Nice staff, but over-extended
- Place is rather warm, best to sit outside
- Somewhat under-seasoned
Posts
Remember when Leonardo DiCaprio remarked, "I'd like to take you out for a steak dinner!" in Catch Me if You Can? Well, I was offered a steak and lobster dinner at The Keg Yaletown. I'll get this out-of-the-way first, I personally love The Keg, so it was with no hesitation that I accepted. The reason for this generous invite was to sample some of the items found on their Summer Lobster Menu. We were seated at the rooftop patio and not only is it a great space to hang out, the natural light made for great pictures!
We were started off with an order each of the Crispy Lobster Tacos tossed in crispy rice and served with cabbage slaw and cilantro. Despite the crunchy exterior coating, the nuggets of lobster remained moist with a buttery rebound texture. It was served atop a soft and warm tortilla accented by a crunchy slaw consisting of cabbage, green onion, cilantro and red onion. Completing the concoction was a jalapeno maple aioli that was creamy, sweet and spicy. Oh and the lemon wedge was not merely a garnish as it added the necessary acidity to brighten up the flavours.
Onto the main even, we had the 6 oz Sirloin Steak and 1/2 Atlantic Lobster with baked potato (with butter, sour cream, bacon and chives), veggies, lemon and hot butter. Once again, the lobster was prepared nicely as the meat was buttery with the classic lobster meatiness. It was naturally sweet, but I still used the accompanying butter and lemon. Well-charred and done medium-rare, my steak was prepared properly. However, there was a ribbon of sinew that made it a bit chewy. As for the baked potato, it was a really good baked potato. Soft, hot and pillowy soft inside, it was subjected to a good amount of butter and sour cream (and bacon of course). Even though I was full, I finished it.
While we were dining on the steak and lobster, something occurred to us - we were missing a major component of The Keg dining experience... Yes, we never got any Sourdough Bread! I'm sure they didn't want to fill us up with unnecessary carbs, but c'mon, that soft and chewy fresh-baked loaf is a must! After that, we still had to tackle the Billy Miner Pie. For those unfamiliar, it is The Keg's signature dessert consisting of mocha ice cream on a chocolate crust with hot fudge, caramel and almonds. Despite looking rather large, the cake ate very light and almost airy. It was definitely sweet, but not terribly so. I especially loved the cookie crust as it was crunchy while not heavy. Once again, another solid meal at The Keg and yes, a real treat due to the lobster.
