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As much as there are a wide array of Vietnamese restaurants in the GVRD, there are some dead spots of sorts. Referring to Burnaby, I can attest to the lack of choices in the Burnaby North area. Yes, there is the token Pho 101, but that is about it. One would have to travel down Hastings closer to Boundary to find more options. Another black hole of Vietnamese cuisine resides in the Brentwood area where up until recently, there were no choices. Enter Pho D'Lite tucked away in the Whole Foods complex. I think they have the market cornered for the time being!
Of course, Viv and I decided to check it out. I spotted the Butter Garlic Wings on the menu and of course had to do my "is it as good as Phnom Penh routine". Although they were flavourful and nicely spiced with hits of garlic, the skin was soft and fatty. There was no crispiness at all. Furthermore, there was a considerable amount of grease. We found the Pho Dac Biet to be well-portioned with a decent amount of thinly sliced meats. They were tender while the broth was clean and lightly seasoned. The most dominant flavour was the sweetness of daikon.
We also got a Vermicelli Bowl with spring roll, lemongrass chicken and sausage. Considering that one item costs $10.00 whereas 3 costs $13.00, it seemed to us that it was worth the extra $3.00. This was a fairly decent dish where the spring roll was crunchy with a moist filling. The chicken was not succulent per se, but it was hardly dry either. Loved that the skin was well-rendered. There was no absence of seasoning either.
On another visit, I had the Bun Bo Hue and I found the broth to be rather one-note. There was definitely spiciness, but not much in the way of aromatics. I would've liked to have some seafoodiness to add another layer of flavour. Although it was missing both the pork knuckle and blood, the meats were decently tender and well-portioned. We really enjoyed the Pork Belly with rice as the sauce was aromatic from the coconut milk and ever-so-slightly spicy with a background sweetness. The meat was really tender and moist.
The kiddies shared the Lemongrass Chicken, Pork Chop and Sausage on Rice. Texturally, the chicken was still moist despite a slightly dry exterior. We found it drier than the first time. It still tasted quite aromatic though. As much as the pork chop seemed thin and dry, it was fairly tender and once again, well-marinated. The pork sausage had a nice rebound and tasted rather sweet. Overall, the 2 visits to Pho D'Lite were pleasant enough with decent eats. Sure, it won't be confused for the best Vietnamese in town, but there is nothing else like it in the neighbourhood.
The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Decent eats
- Okay service
The Bad:
- Of course there is better, but if you live nearby, this is rather convenient
- Can be rather busy and more than 30 mins free parking is hard to find
With all the newer sexier options for Dim Sum these days, the ol' skool spots are often left out of the equation. Hey, with an avant garde decor and pricey modern Dim Sum, Chef Tony is probably the antithesis of places such as Continental out on Cambie Road in Richmond. Geez, I've remember frequenting Continental as a kid! Entering the place, it is like a time warp where the large dining hall-like space brings back memories of large wedding banquets. Add in the push carts and yep, it's like we're partying back in the 80's. So how does the place stack up to the newer and more trendy spots? Well, we did a revisit to see for ourselves.
Since all the food was in push carts, we got most of it right away. Why don't I just start with the standards in the Haw Gow and Siu Mai? To be frank, I was super surprised that both were pretty good. Being relatively thin, the haw gow skin also featured an appealing elasticity. Inside, the shrimp filling was sweet with the aromaticness of sesame oil. Texturally, there was the desired buttery snap. As for the siu mai, they textures of both the pork and shrimp were on point. The chunks of pork exhibited a rebound while the shrimp emulated the filling in the haw gow. There was a good mixture of both where there was plenty of seasoning as well.
Off to the Beef Meatballs, they also nailed down the expected texture. Processed enough, the meat was buttery tender while not completely mousse-like. There were bits of meat still present. I liked how they were easy on the greens which meant they didn't overwhelm the already subtly seasoned beef. On the other hand, the Phoenix Talons (chicken feet) were heavily seasoned with garlic. This was a good thing as the dish was impactful. We found the chicken feet to be pretty large and well-prepared with soft cartilage and relatively soft skin. It was a tad on the dry side in some spots though.
For me, I did what I usually do and got the Steamed Honeycomb Tripe. By appearance alone, this was a winner. I loved how each piece was substantial in size while at the same time, tender with an appealing chew. They were actually pretty bang on being just soft enough without becoming mushy. The flavours were also in balance with a nice garlickiness too. That flavour profile was also true for the Steamed Pork Spareribs except the natural meat flavours came through. There was a mix of pieces but more of the rib portions (which is a good thing). The texture was more meaty than bouncy, but that didn't matter as the dish was still good.
We couldn't decide which Rice Noodle Roll to order, so we got them all! These included the shrimp, beef and BBQ pork. Consistent across the board, the rice noodles were soft and not too thick with a nice elasticity. We found the shrimp to be decent with a snap while the beef was similar to the meatballs. Surprisingly, the BBQ pork was our favourite as it was stuffed full of meat that was lean and flavourful. Also indecisive, we got both versions of the Spring Rolls including shrimp and pork. These came out hot and crunchy while not greasy. The shrimp was again very similar to the other ones we had while the pork filling was a touch dry, but it was not fatty either.
Onto some filler items, we had the Lo Mei Gai. These were fairly large in size for mini-versions. They were stuff full of soft glutinous rice that was on the wetter side. In the middle, there was no absence of ground pork and shiitake mushrooms. I found the flavours to be mild, yet enough to flavour the rice. Staying with carbs, we ordered a plate of Yang Chow Fried Rice. This was well-executed and the beneficiary of hight wok heat with chewy, dry and nutty rice. It was also well-seasoned. I would've liked to see a tad more in the way of shrimp and BBQ pork, but that didn't affect the dish too much.
For dessert, we got a couple orders of Egg Tarts where also on point. The puff pastry shell was flaky and buttery while fully cooked throughout. In the middle, the silky egg custard was fairly sweet and very smooth. The egg tarts were a really good end to a super surprising Dim Sum service. As much as Continental doesn't have the sexiness nor modern appeal of other newer spots in town, it still stacks up well in the food department (complete with ol' skool push carts!).
The Good:
- Above average Dim Sum
- Spacious
- Push carts, if you are into that
The Bad:
- Interior looks dated and not really inviting
- Push carts are cool, but it also means you have to wait for your favourites
As if one revisit for lunch at Victoria Sushi wasn't enough, we ended up doing another at Nor Boo Korean for dinner. Let me set this up - we were actually at Marshmallow's swank Coal Harbour condo waiting to watch the Canada Day fireworks. However, we needed to eat dinner first! Originally, it was suggested we get some takeout from Urban Fare across the street. However, my son and daughter were being picky, so we ended up taking the walk up to Robson. Then came the complaints about walking too far, so we stopped at the first place after that, and it happened to be Nor Boo.
As per usual, we were started off with some Banchan, but for some reason that escaped us, they only brought 3 for the whole table of 7. Not only was there not enough, the logistics of trying to share 3 small plates at a long table didn't make much sense. We had to ask them for more. It consisted of stewed potato, sprouts and kimchi. Nothing amiss with the first 2, but the kimchi was far too sweet in our opinion. Before our larger dishes, Viv and I shared the Spicy Chicken Wings. They were indeed spicy and predictably sweet as well. The batter on the outside was pretty aggressively thick and crunchy. Surprisingly, the skin underneath was fairly well-rendered whereas the meat was juicy and tender.
To change things up a bit, we decided to share the Bossam instead of our standby of Japchae. We figured it was worth the extra money as we got a substantial amount of pork belly over some potato starch noodles. Tender with gelatinized fat, the pork belly was well-portioned (as mentioned). Rolled up in the Napa cabbage, it was nicely complimented by the gingery and spicy pickled radish and bean paste. For myself, I got the Intestine Soup which was a pretty standard base being spicy with some tang and aromatics from the perilla seeds. On the other hand, the ample amount of intestine did add some textural variation as well as a slight gaminess.
We found the Dolset Bibimbap a disappointment because the rice itself was far too wet. To make matters worse, the hot stone bowl wasn't hot enough to form a rice crust either (probably due to the wet rice as well). Hence, the dish ate very mushy and wasn't aromatic nor did it have the crunch of the crust. On the other hand, there was nothing wrong with the preparation of the toppings. Interestingly, they failed to bring us any gochujang as we had to ask for it. The kiddies shared the BBQ Chicken and it was nicely seared while still staying tender and moist. It was somewhat mild-tasting, with only a bit of sweetness. Generally, Norboo is more known as a late-night spot than anything else. Hence, we weren't surprised the food was a bit hit and miss. Service was decent, yet very sparse.
The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent portions
- Open late
The Bad:
- Not enough servers
- Hit and miss
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As much as there are a wide array of Vietnamese restaurants in the GVRD, there are some dead spots of sorts. Referring to Burnaby, I can attest to the lack of choices in the Burnaby North area. Yes, there is the token Pho 101, but that is about it. One would have to travel down Hastings closer to Boundary to find more options. Another black hole of Vietnamese cuisine resides in the Brentwood area where up until recently, there were no choices. Enter Pho D'Lite tucked away in the Whole Foods complex. I think they have the market cornered for the time being! 
Of course, Viv and I decided to check it out. I spotted the Butter Garlic Wings on the menu and of course had to do my "is it as good as Phnom Penh routine". Although they were flavourful and nicely spiced with hits of garlic, the skin was soft and fatty. There was no crispiness at all. Furthermore, there was a considerable amount of grease. We found the Pho Dac Biet to be well-portioned with a decent amount of thinly sliced meats. They were tender while the broth was clean and lightly seasoned. The most dominant flavour was the sweetness of daikon.
We also got a Vermicelli Bowl with spring roll, lemongrass chicken and sausage. Considering that one item costs $10.00 whereas 3 costs $13.00, it seemed to us that it was worth the extra $3.00. This was a fairly decent dish where the spring roll was crunchy with a moist filling. The chicken was not succulent per se, but it was hardly dry either. Loved that the skin was well-rendered. There was no absence of seasoning either. 
On another visit, I had the Bun Bo Hue and I found the broth to be rather one-note. There was definitely spiciness, but not much in the way of aromatics. I would've liked to have some seafoodiness to add another layer of flavour. Although it was missing both the pork knuckle and blood, the meats were decently tender and well-portioned. We really enjoyed the Pork Belly with rice as the sauce was aromatic from the coconut milk and ever-so-slightly spicy with a background sweetness. The meat was really tender and moist.
The kiddies shared the Lemongrass Chicken, Pork Chop and Sausage on Rice. Texturally, the chicken was still moist despite a slightly dry exterior. We found it drier than the first time. It still tasted quite aromatic though. As much as the pork chop seemed thin and dry, it was fairly tender and once again, well-marinated. The pork sausage had a nice rebound and tasted rather sweet. Overall, the 2 visits to Pho D'Lite were pleasant enough with decent eats. Sure, it won't be confused for the best Vietnamese in town, but there is nothing else like it in the neighbourhood.
