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I'm sure you're quite familiar with the soft-serve ice cream craze that has hit our city in the past year or so. In fact, we've seen some pretty innovative and crazy stuff with liquid nitrogen ice cream setting up shop. However, for some odd reason, I personally have seemed to have missed something along the way. UYU, the 2nd place to offer gourmet soft-serve in town opened up nearly a year ago, but I just never got around to trying it. Once again, it took an invite for me to get my butt into gear. We were there to try some of their new products including the classics as well.
We tried the new stuff first in the Matcha White Iced Chocolate and Iced Belgian Chocolate Hazelnut. The first thing I noticed was that they weren't too heavy. There was still some creaminess, yet in a drinkable manner. I found the chocolate hazelnut to be on the sweeter side packing a good amount of initial chocolate flavour and finishing off as well. On the other hand, the matcha was less sweet (still sweet though) with a light and appealing bitterness. Again, it wasn't overly heavy and was actually rather refreshing. My favourite was actually the Signature UYU Cereal Milkshake (the one with cereal on top). Sure, it was definitely sweet, but the crunch from the cereal provided a nice texture to the not-too-thick beverage. The Belgian Chocolate Milkshake was similar in consistency, but much richer in flavour. I would say this was the sweetest drink of the bunch.
Of course we were not visiting UYU without giving their soft-serve a try right? We ended up trying all of the available flavours including the Classic Milk with cereal, dried raspberries and drizzle. Compared to the others made with Avalon milk, the one at UYU was definitely lighter and only semi-sweet. Depending on your personal preference, this could be just right or not as rich as the other places. We also tried the Earl Grey with dried blueberries and nuts. This was on point with a definite hit of bitterness that wasn't too strong, but at the same time stood up both to the soft-serve and to the addition of toppings.
Okay, you might know my personal bias against anything banana and desserts. So it is by no surprise that I was only mildly interested in the Banana with dried raspberries and banana chips. I found the banana flavour to be impactful, so it was aromatic and sweet. I'm sure banana-lovers would prefer this and also any Minions running amok, but I'll gladly stick to the original and earl grey. So if I focus on the items I did like, the soft serve was rich, yet relatively light. It wasn't overly sweet, which was fine by me. On the other hand, if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, the milkshakes and ice chocolates would be up your alley.
*All ice cream and beverages were complimentary*
The Good:
- Soft serve not overly sweet
- Lighter than the others
- Totally customizable
The Bad:
- For me personally, not sure about the banana flavour
- Again, for me, the Milkshakes and Ice Chocolates could be a touch less sweet
You'd think after eating at 5 different places in Richmond over a 5-hour period, the last thing we would need was a 10-course Chinese Meal. Well, you either severely underestimated me or thought that Tourism Richmond didn't mean business. Once our rest break of 3 hours was over, it was time to put on our stretchy pants for some Joey-like (from friends) meat sweats. We made our way over to Vivacity Restaurant located on Alexandra Road (aka "restaurant row")
As usual, we were started off with the Japanese Appetizer Platter consisting of smoked salmon, sliced beef shank, mock goose (marinated shiitake wrapped in bean curd skin), wakame and panko fried prawns. I found the drizzle of mustard atop the salmon to be interesting, yet wasn't offensive either. The beef shank was sliced a bit thick which didn't impact its tender texture. I thought that mushrooms in the mock goose could've been less wet while the prawns were buttery with a light snap and completely crunchy on the outside. Next, we got the Deep Fried Crab Claws with shrimp mousse. I liked how the exterior was lightly crispy while not greasy. However, the shrimp mousse was a bit soft and lacking the usual rebound texture.
The Sauteed Scallops and Prawns with snap peas was pretty much on point in execution. Crunchy and still vibrant, the snap peas and celery were well-seasoned albeit a bit greasy. As for the seafood, the scallops were buttery and just cooked through (being naturally sweet). The prawns were nicely butterflied and cold-water crunchy. For our soup course, the starch-thicken broth didn't resemble anything like a typical Fish Maw Soup. Sure, there was egg drop and fish maw in it, but the topping of cilantro, cucumber and green onion sure made things look different. In fact, it made things taste completely unexpected with a certain brightness which also lightened up the thick and mild-tasting broth.
Our next two items took the meal to a whole new level. The first was the Steamed Lobsters with garlic and green onion. As simple as this preparation was, it helped highlight the natural sweetness of the lobster. Normally, we see this with king crab and I wasn't complaining as the ample amount of seasoned garlic went well with the lobster meat (which was steamed just enough). To further elevate the dinner, we were presented with Braised Whole Abalone with pea tips. Suffice to say, I was pumped to eat this dish! It was a real treat to dig into a whole silky abalone which had the usual tender chewy texture. I liked how the dish wasn't oversalted either.
Hitting the table after these was the House Special Salty Chicken. I found the dark meat to be juicy and succulent while completely flavourful. As for the white meat, it was soft and tender while not being dried out. What made this dish was the wok-roasted salt "sauce" that gave the chicken a rich flavour that was slightly smoky. Interestingly, our steamed fish was rather confusing to us as we couldn't figure out what it was. It turned out to be Red Tilapia. Another surprise is that it didn't eat like tilapia as the meat was more robust and flaky. I guess the fact they steamed it expertly ensured the meat wasn't going to be mushy.
Our last savoury items was the Seafood Fried Rice. It was dry, nutty and chewy. Completely ungreasy, the rice was subjected to enough wok heat. I did find the large amount of greens a bit distracting from the overall dish. With that being said, there was plenty of seafood, including flaky fish, to made this rice quite fulfilling. Onto the sweets, we were served 2 items including the Osmathus Jelly with wolfberries and lychee as well as Almond Cookies and Fried Sesame Pastries. Shaped into cute little koi, the jelly was mildly sweet and floral with the nice hit of lychee. This was fine way to finish a truly decadent meal especially with the 2 lobsters and whole abalone.
*All food and gratuities were complimentary*
The Good:
- On point execution of proteins
- Not heavy on the salt
- Spacious dining room
The Bad:
- Shrimp mousse was not right with the crab claws
If you haven't figured it out by now, I take particular joy in ridiculing Richmond traffic and the associated collateral damage. However, at the same time, I totally admit that it is still worth the effort to travel into Richmond because of the seemingly endless array of outstanding eats. So when I was contacted by Tourism Richmond to go on a 2-day food tour focusing on hidden gems and hole-in-the-wall type joints, I was more than happy to participate. When they offered to do all the driving, that completely made my day.
On day one, we started off at a Richmond staple in HK BBQ Master. Widely known as the best all-around Chinese BBQ in the GVRD, we were treated to all of their favourites. These included BBQ Duck, Soy Chicken, BBQ Pork and my personal favourite Roast Pork Belly. Sporting crispy well-rendered skin in an attractive mahogany hue, the BBQ duck was tender and succulent. Flavours were good with complete penetration by the marinade. Buttery and juicy, the soy chicken was also the beneficiary of being properly marinated and prepared where the meat was flavourful while not salty. Smoky and sweet, the exterior bark on the BBQ pork had a nice char. The meat itself was fatty and tender while being full-flavoured. With only moderately fatty meat, the roast pork was succulent and well-seasoned with a crunchy, yet airy crackling. We tried to pace ourselves here, but alas, it was so tasty, we nearly finished it all.
After that, we took the short stroll over to The BBT Shop for some bubble waffle action. Unlike traditional bubble waffle spots, The BBT Shop offers up creative and monster-sized versions of the dessert. Case in point, the Super Matcha Bubble Waffle with green tea ice cream and red bean was no small dessert. Lightly crisp on the outside while soft and muffin-like on the inside, the waffle was sweet with only the mild hint of green tea. However, the red bean was pretty sweet and it made up for any subtleties. We also got the Mango Parfait with a bubble waffle laced with cubes of mango, whipped cream, cheesecake pieces and cereal. I enjoyed this very much as it was refreshing despite appearing to be heavy. There was plenty of ripe mango for every spoonful as well as lots of crunch cereal bits.
From here, we headed over to the Richmond Public Market, specifically Xian Cuisine for a bowl of Lamb Noodles in Soup. The real draw here is that all of the noodles are made to order by hand. We literally watched the noodle master do his thing and then right into boiling water immediately after. The result was chewy al dente noodles that exhibited an appealing elasticity. Moreover, the soup itself was excellent with impactful flavour beyond just salt. I could taste various spices especially cumin. As for the lamb, it was tender and only slightly gamy.
Our last stop before a break in eating was at Empire Centre. We visited James Snacks and had their signature hot pot rice. We ended up with the Pork Sparerib Hot Pot Rice that was made-to-order. Due to the care taken in preparing the dish, the claypot was hot enough to create a crunchy rice crust. The rest of the rice was nutty, chewy and aromatic. On top, there was a considerable amount of well-marinated spareribs (that were actual rib pieces rather than fat or cartilage). There was enough garlic and black bean to not only flavour the ribs, but the rice as well. A surprise addition was the wonderful Spicy Dumplings from Shanghai Station. These sported buttery and tender dumpling skin with a moist and flavourful pork filling. Tossed in sesame paste and chili sauce/oil, the aromatic and spicy flavours emulated Dan Dan noodles. After this, we took a 3-hour break to rest our jaws and stomach for a 10-course meal at Vivacity.
Originally, my first ever visit to Hakkaku Ramen came when it first opened its doors. I had met up with Karl and although the food was okay, there were some flaws. This was mostly due to the chewy and dry chashu. However, that was like in 2011 and the place is still there and in fact, doing fine. So either people are completely unaware of what makes good ramen or more likely, they have improved. With that in mind, I met Gordo for lunch one day and then came back with Milhouse on another.
For my first revisit, I had the Shrimp Ramen which employed a shio broth. I didn't go for the heavy broth and hence, it was rather light and somewhat creamy. There were no fat floaties (as you would find in the full fat broth), so it didn't eat too rich. Although there was enough impact from the broth, it wasn't overly salty. As for the noodles, I found them to be on the softer side. Interestingly, I found the shrimp patties to be quite appealing with a sweet snap and butteriness. Gordo and on the subsequent visit, Milhouse both had the Miso Ramen with pork belly and full-fat broth. Yes, this was much richer and even creamier due to the fat content. I found the flavour to be mildy salty with the depth of miso and the nuttiness from the fat. Again, the noodles were rather soft.
My second visit included the Hot Miso Ramen with pork belly and full fat broth. Again, this was rich and slightly greasy due to the fat content. It wasn't particularly spicy, even with the addition of more hot garlic pepper paste on the side. With that being said, the broth was still full of depth. Yes, the noodles were too soft for my liking once again. The slice of rolled pork belly was mostly moist and tender except for the meatier portion which was on the drier and chewier side. I also got a side of Gyoza and they were beautifully prepared with a uniformly crispy bottom. The dumpling skin was thin and tender while the filling was a nice mix of moist pork and cabbage.
Milhouse was rather hungry and added a Chashu Don and Chashu Burger to his meal. As expected, both were somewhat similar since they employed the same chashu. Hence, the meat had tender portions combined with some chewier parts. Flavourwise, there was a nice cooked pork essence while not being too salty. The rice in the don was chewy while not dry. As for the bao, it was mostly soft except for the edges which were chewier. As you can see, there are still some deficiencies at Hakkaku Ramen, but really, the stuff was still decent especially for the area. They have to fix that soft noodle problem though.
The Good:
- Broth is fairly creamy and rich
- Reasonable pricing
The Bad:
- Noodles are too soft (could request firmer though)
- Chashu could be more buttery
Posts
I'm sure you're quite familiar with the soft-serve ice cream craze that has hit our city in the past year or so. In fact, we've seen some pretty innovative and crazy stuff with liquid nitrogen ice cream setting up shop. However, for some odd reason, I personally have seemed to have missed something along the way. UYU, the 2nd place to offer gourmet soft-serve in town opened up nearly a year ago, but I just never got around to trying it. Once again, it took an invite for me to get my butt into gear. We were there to try some of their new products including the classics as well.
We tried the new stuff first in the Matcha White Iced Chocolate and Iced Belgian Chocolate Hazelnut. The first thing I noticed was that they weren't too heavy. There was still some creaminess, yet in a drinkable manner. I found the chocolate hazelnut to be on the sweeter side packing a good amount of initial chocolate flavour and finishing off as well. On the other hand, the matcha was less sweet (still sweet though) with a light and appealing bitterness. Again, it wasn't overly heavy and was actually rather refreshing. My favourite was actually the Signature UYU Cereal Milkshake (the one with cereal on top). Sure, it was definitely sweet, but the crunch from the cereal provided a nice texture to the not-too-thick beverage. The Belgian Chocolate Milkshake was similar in consistency, but much richer in flavour. I would say this was the sweetest drink of the bunch.
Of course we were not visiting UYU without giving their soft-serve a try right? We ended up trying all of the available flavours including the Classic Milk with cereal, dried raspberries and drizzle. Compared to the others made with Avalon milk, the one at UYU was definitely lighter and only semi-sweet. Depending on your personal preference, this could be just right or not as rich as the other places. We also tried the Earl Grey with dried blueberries and nuts. This was on point with a definite hit of bitterness that wasn't too strong, but at the same time stood up both to the soft-serve and to the addition of toppings.
Okay, you might know my personal bias against anything banana and desserts. So it is by no surprise that I was only mildly interested in the Banana with dried raspberries and banana chips. I found the banana flavour to be impactful, so it was aromatic and sweet. I'm sure banana-lovers would prefer this and also any Minions running amok, but I'll gladly stick to the original and earl grey. So if I focus on the items I did like, the soft serve was rich, yet relatively light. It wasn't overly sweet, which was fine by me. On the other hand, if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, the milkshakes and ice chocolates would be up your alley.
