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Since the very first time I ever visited EBO in the Delta Burnaby, it remained a go-to place especially with the kids (very kid-friendly fine dining restaurant). Not only did it dish out fairly inventive and solid eats, it was all done in the burbs which was convenient for us. Dan Craig, the Executive Chef at the time, did more than the expected for a hotel restaurant and now has moved onto SoCo in Toronto. Now at the helm is Chef Keith Pears (also winner on Chopped Canada), who continues the "Experiences Beyond Ordinary", which was on display at a recent invite to try their tasting menu.
We were started off with a different version of Wagyu Beef Carpaccio. Normally, we'd see the parm/truffle aioli with arugula, but not at EBO. Rather, the thin slices of buttery, yet meaty beef was brushed with a fish sauce Asian vinaigrette and topped with horseradish aioli, triple crunch mustard, house pickles and yes, a touch of arugula and squid ink parm chip. Due to the acidity of the vinaigrette, mustard and pickles, this was a light and appetizing dish. Loved the textural contrasts of the pickles and chip as well.
Normally, I'm as excited to see a tomato salad as much as my mother-in-law walking through the front door. However, the Heirloom Tomato Salad was one of those dishes that made an impact and I'm still tasting it in my mind as I write this post. The brightness and acidity of the dish was very impactful with the white balsamic and salted compressed peaches as well as the pickled tomatoes. Add in the sweet balsamic and the flavours started to blend from tangy to sweet continuing onto the creamy stracciatella and crunch from the almond praline. Adding some saltiness and body were the 2 slices of Serrano ham.
One dish that could've been better was the Local Salmon with lardo and Hollandaise, black radish, pine nuts and ikura. Okay, to clarify, there was nothing really wrong with the salmon as it was barely cooked-through and moist. Furthermore, the aromatic pine nuts and the brininess from the ikura added aroma to the dish. I thought the Hollandaise was creamy and pleasant enough, yet could've used more lemon. The problem was the overly firm and dense seared bacon and Manchego gnocchi. It was a shame as the flavours were spot on where the cheese wasn't too gamy while the bacon did its thing.
Everything was well with the Albacore Tuna Poke though. This "deconstructed" version consisted of tuna sashimi, tataki and belly with compressed watermelon, ponzu, ikura, avocado and crushed sesame. This was very tasty in terms of flavour and textures. The tuna was buttery and sweet being complimented nicely by the poke dressing that was purposefully salty (also bits of fleur de sel) with balanced amounts of sweetness and acidity. Loved eating the refreshing and concentrated flavours of the compressed watermelon last.
I was pretty happy to see the Moroccan Spiced Lamb consisting of deboned rack and loin mousse sausage since I never get to eat it at home (Viv doesn't prefer it). The meat itself was tasty due to the Moroccan spices and it didn't hurt that it was prepared a beautiful medium rare too. Moreover, the demi on the side was silky and rich with definite hits of reduced red wine. As much as the rack of lamb was on point, the mousse with a chunk of loin within was the real winner as it was texturally interesting being buttery and succulent. I found their version of a tabbouleh salad to be light and creamy from the smoked yogurt. In between this and the next dish, we were presented with a Champagne Freezie... It was pretty sweet, but that was a nice refreshing surprise.
Okay, whenever I see chicken on the menu, it generally disappoints. Now, the Roast Chicken Duo didn't do such a thing here. It featured a sous-vide and seared chicken breast as well as thigh presse. Both were succulent and moist while nicely accented by the Shao Xing sauce which was salty with a background hint of sweet wine. The chanterelles did their woodsy thing while the sweet carrot puree kept things balanced. If this wasn't enough, the crispy chicken skin added a crunch and the freshly shaved truffle added another layer of Earthiness.
We ended off with a Peach Mille Feuille with almond financier, brown butter powder, and popcorn ice cream. I found the dessert to be mildly sweet with buttery layers of crepe with plenty of fruit in between. The tartness of the gel made the flavours pop more than they would've without. Light and aromatic, the popcorn ice cream could've been a touch creamier. But really, there were very few flaws to be found for this tasting menu. It was well-thought out and the execution was spot on. Loved the use of acidity and balance of flavours. It appears that Executive Chef Keith Pears has succeeded in continuing the tradition of elevated eats at EBO.
*All food, beverages and gratiuties were complimentary*
The Good:
- Better than most hotel restaurants
- Kid-friendly
- Spacious and comfortable
The Bad:
- Use of acidity for the first 3 dishes was noticeable. For me, I loved it. However, for others, it could be too much
Hey! Where is today's post? Didn't you say that you were going to resume daily posts in September? Well, I lied. I'm so enjoying just posting every other day, I'm going to keep this format until further notice. It isn't a case of no content because I have enough from the trip to last me into the new year! I'm just lazy... Forgive me. There will be a post tomorrow though and there will be intermittent daily posts here and there when I need to get something out quick. Take care!
Despite being a rec softball team that has played many seasons and tourneys, I've never witnessed any teammates drinking beer... Yes, we actually go out to play softball rather than getting smashed. Go figure... Well, after a game at nearby Montgomery Park, it was decided that we would not go for Asian food and yes, we were going to drink beer! So we made the short drive over to Best Neighbours that seemed like the right place to do it (with food of course). I guess it was since another softball team was already there grabbing a bite and beverage.
Sens Fan and Miss Y both had a few orders of Chicken Wings (flavours included Thai, Hot and Salt & Pepper). Although the wings were rather small in size, they were not overcooked. Therefore, the meat was fairly moist. By the same token, the skin wasn't as rendered as I would've liked. As for the Thai wings, they were aggressively sauced which meant they were pretty sweet with a touch of spice. Miss Y also had the Calamari which actually appeared larger than it was. There was more batter than actual squid. With that being said, the calamari was decently tender while the batter was lightly crispy. I found the tzatziki more creamy than rich, but it was definitely garlicky.
Miss Y must've been hungry since she also got the Spanakopita (which R2D2, Bear and I got an order as well). We liked how this was prepared as a large piece rather than small little triangles. This way, there was much more filling, making the spanakopita more flavourful and cheesy. The large amount of spinach and cheese wasn't overly wet though and did not affect the crunchy phyllo pastry. For that table, we got a large Pizza with half consisting of Italian sausage, hot pepperoni and capicolla and the other half with pepperoni, peppers and mushrooms. We weren't overly enthused with the crust as it was dry and dense being almost "cardboard-like". There was plenty of toppings and cheese though as well as a mild-tasting tomato sauce.
R2D2, Bear and I couldn't only share an appie and pizza, so we got an order of the Baked Lasagna as well. This was loaded with melted cheese on top and just the right amount of meat sauce with the not overdone noodles. For this type of lasagna, it was pretty good as the sauce had a nice consistency and was well-balanced in flavour as well as sporting tender nuggets of beef. Seeing this was still not enough, we got the Platter for 2 which included Roast Lamb, Dolamades, Chicken Souvlaki, roast potato, rice, salad and pita bread. We enjoyed the tender and fatty roast lamb which was well-marinated, yet the chicken souvlaki was a little on the drier side (but not too bad). It was well-charred and marinated though. When it was all said and done, we were pretty stuffed from the generous portions of decent eats. Prices were not exactly cheap though.
The Good:
- Fairly solid eats
- Large portions
- Decent service
The Bad:
- On the pricier side
- Pizza crust could use some work
You've probably heard me yammering away about hotel restaurants every now and then. For full-service hotels, it is a standard and really a necessity since people need to eat, either in the restaurant or with room-service. For me, I generally like to explore what is around, but there are some instances I eat at the hotel I'm staying at due to convenience. On the flip side, while I'm in town, I tend to avoid hotel restaurants unless the Executive Chef is given freedom to be creative. But a Groupon was able to convince me to give Hidden Tasting Bar & Social Lounge (in the Westin Grand) a go even though it hasn't been on my to-eat list.
We brought the whole family out including the grandparents. This way, we could try more dishes! For our appies, we had the Calamari which was crispy and well-seasoned (being spicy with a hint of dill). The squid itself was a tad on the chewier side and the whole dish was fairly cold. I thought the tzatziki was on point being garlicky, tangy and thick. Our next dish was the Smoked Chicken and Pear Flatbread with caramelized onions, blue cheese, grana padano and frisee & tomato salad. Due to the enormous amount of wet toppings, the middle of the flatbread was doughy and soft. The flavour profile was on the sweeter side due to the onions, pear and balsamic reduction. The chicken was probably the best part being moist and flavourful.
Moving onto the mains, I went for the Crab Tortellini with Seared Scallops. This looked and ate more like an appetizer than an entree. I thought the whole dish was a fail since the pasta was cold, hard and undercooked. Inside, the crab was not fluffy either. Despite being buttery and well-salted, the scallops were not seared properly. I loved the herb soil, but the vanilla carrot puree was underseasoned. On the flip side, my mom's Steak Frites was executed quite well. The 7 oz sirloin was a beautiful medium-rare and tender. Silky, rich and full of depth, the red wine jus complimented the seasoned steak and the crispy frites.
My dad went for the Confit Halibut with creamy mushroom veloute and chorizo hash. Crispy with a nicely seared exterior, the halibut was moist and flaky on the inside. It was also well-seasoned without being salty. We found the veloute a bit too thick while the hash looked rather pale. It did taste okay though. Viv didn't end up receiving her Pan Seared Arctic Char until we were half-way through our meal because they had accidentally given it to another table. We knew this because we overheard it, yet no one explained it to Viv (who was left waiting). It was beautifully executed though with crispy well-seasoned skin and moist inside. Underneath, the yam puree was smooth and undersalted while the mash potatoes were chunky. Both had a hint of lemon.
For the kiddies, my son had the Mac n' Cheese with thick sliced homemade maple bacon and granny smith apple relish. This was on point with al dente noodles enveloped in a creamy and cheesy sauce spiked with smoky bacon. We tried it with the apple relish and it really worked with a crunchy sweetness. The thick and lean bacon was a real treat on its own. Looking like it could feed 2 people, my daughter didn't stand a chance against the Turkey Club with maple bacon, garlic aioli and Guinness cheddar. A little dry, the shaved turkey breast was full-flavoured and spicy. Along with the cheddar and crispy bacon, there was no absence of flavour going on. For a seemingly standard dish, this club sandwich was very good.
For dessert, we ended up sharing 4 of them including the Chocolate Flan Cake featuring cream cheese and condensed milk flan dark chocolate cake, salted caramel sauce fresh berries. Due to the rich ingredients, the flan ate as such. Very sweet due to the caramel sauce, the moist and rich chocolate cake was further sweetened by the custard on top. Also very chocolaty was the Double Chocolate Brownie with strawberry ice cream. Dense, but just right, and moist, the brownie was purposefully sweet. The side of strawberry ice cream was okay, but wished it was salted caramel as indicated on the menu.
My mom doesn't stray far from her favourites when it comes to dessert, so she wanted the New York Cheesecake with strawberry rhubarb compote. This was fairly light and creamy for a baked cheesecake. We could taste the cream cheese and the sugar content was just right. The compote was balanced as well. My daughter attacked the Saint Horone all by herself, but I was still able to try it. I found the choux pastry to be dry while the custard was not too sweet. As much as she ate it, we thought this was the weakest of the desserts. Overall, we felt that Hidden represents the hotel restaurant quite well. Okay eats, but nothing really memorable. Interestingly, the service we received was really friendly, but hardly professional. Plates weren't cleared when new dishes arrived and the lack of explanation of the messed up Arctic Char wasn't acceptable.
The Good:
- Okay pricing for a Downtown hotel restaurant
- Calm, quiet and comfortable space
- Serviceable
The Bad:
- A little rough around the edges, needs refinement
- Service was friendly, but for those who expect more, it wasn't professional
As mentioned in my post on Chef Corner in Burnaby, I lamented the lack of Hong Kong-style cafes outside of Richmond and to a lesser extent Vancouver. It's like there is a black hole of sorts once we cross Boundary Road into Burnaby and beyond. I'm pretty sure there are people in the burbs who enjoy a baked pork chop rice with a cold Horlicks on the side. So why are we inundated with chain restaurants and sushi joints but nary a place that serves ox-tongue spaghetti??? Well, I guess we have to start somewhere and M Cafe in Coquitlam exists for that purpose. I gathered up the family including my parents to see if this place is legit or not.
We decided to get some of the classics including the Baked Pork Chop Rice. This was a pretty decent version with a chewy fried rice base. On top, there was enough sauce to moisten things up as well as providing the usual sweet and mildly tart hits. The pork chop was decent in size and still a touch crispy on the outside. It wasn't super moist, but hardly dry either. It was fairly tender. Interestingly, this was the small size and we felt it was plenty big already. The same could be said about the Baked Seafood Linguine with cream sauce. We wondered what a large size would entail. Despite sporting overcooked noodles, there was a generous amount of fish, imitation crab, baby scallops, shrimp and mussel on top. Although the sauce was more milky than creamy, it had a nice consistency and was well-seasoned.
My son was all about the Dual Set Combo because he loves the sole fillet cutlet. Something about the crunchy panko coating... Well, it was definitely on point texturally as well as the flaky and moist fish inside. The other item was the chicken steak and it was succulent and well-seared. It had a kick to it thanks to the ample chili flakes. He got linguine noodles as a side and with the influence of grandma, selected the lobster sauce. With just a mild hint of lobster, the sauce was thick and not overly salty. This also included a choice of soup and beverage. We ended up choosing the soup since he was didn't like the other choice. But he did like the $1.50 we added for the puff pastry topping on the Cream of Mushroom. Again, the soup wasn't creamy, yet rather milky. With that being said, it was decent being well-seasoned and full of mushrooms.
Viv and I wanted to try their build your own noodle soup with the vermicelli in Laksa Soup topped by tender beef and fish tofu. Although this was far from an actual laksa (being thin and watery with only a bit of spice and lacking coconut milk), it was fine for what it was. There was a tonne of chewy noodles in the broth and they didn't skimp with the ingredients either. In addition to the filler of Napa cabbage, we never seemed to run out of tender slices of well-marinated beef. On the other hand, there wasn't much of the fish tofu. My mom spotted the Baked Salted Chicken special for $14.88 on the table and it really was a fantastic value. This was a whole chicken that was pretty tender and moist, especially for free-range. There was no lack of flavour from the wok-tossed salt either.
Something that was completely devoid of impact was the Braised Beef Brisket and Daikon Hot Pot. Yes, we realized it was in a clear broth, but the whole thing really needed some salt. Also, the beef brisket was really thinly sliced short rib, which was dry and slightly chewy. The daikon was quite good though as it rode the fine line between being too soft and too firm. So after trying a good array of dishes, M Cafe offered up good value and decent eats out in Coquitlam. Sure, there is better in Richmond and Vancouver, but if you weren't willing to travel, M Cafe does the job.
The Good:
- Decent for its location
- Large portions
- Spacious restaurant
The Bad:
- The place itself needs repairs and a thorough cleaning
- Again, only decent, but if you didn't want to drive far...
I really hate when a restaurant closes and/or changes name before I get a chance to post about my visit. What a waste! That was the case with Chom Chom Korean Fusion out on North Road on the Coquitlam side. Too bad on another note as the owner was super-friendly and the prices were fair. Well, I hope Busan Daeji Gukbap (the replacement) will last longer because I'm getting this post as fast as I can! Viv and I stopped by for lunch one day and the reasonable prices appeared to carry over.
Prior to our order, we were serve the obligatory Banchan consisting of kimchi, pickled daikon and spicy daikon. These were pretty standard, especially the pickled daikon due to the simple ingredients involved. However, I did enjoy the spicy daikon as it was crunchy and appealingly flavourful. The kimchi was okay, but more sour than spicy. Our first dish was the Cold Buckwheat Noodles which were ice cold as it should be. They were nicely chewy and nicely flavoured by the vinegary broth. Loved the plethora of pickled daikon, Asian pear and cucumber. The few slices of beef were a touch dry, but still fairly tender.
From cold, we went to boiling hot with the Spicy Pork Bone Soup. It sported 4 large bones with tender and flavourful meat. As much as the broth didn't look promising in colour nor viscosity, it was ultimately tasty with only a purposeful amount of spice accented by a real meatiness. We could really taste the perilla seeds despite not seeing any. Lastly, we got a small order of Fried Chicken, which was rather generous in portion size. With completely rendered and crunchy skin, this was prepared expertly. Also, the chicken was succulent and juicy. We only wished there was more seasoning involved. Overall, we felt the food at BDG was more than acceptable especially for the price. We only hope that it lasts longer than Chom Chom.
The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Generous portions
- Okay service
The Bad:
- Place is a bit dingy, could use renos
- Fairly small menu
Posts
Since the very first time I ever visited EBO in the Delta Burnaby, it remained a go-to place especially with the kids (very kid-friendly fine dining restaurant). Not only did it dish out fairly inventive and solid eats, it was all done in the burbs which was convenient for us. Dan Craig, the Executive Chef at the time, did more than the expected for a hotel restaurant and now has moved onto SoCo in Toronto. Now at the helm is Chef Keith Pears (also winner on Chopped Canada), who continues the "Experiences Beyond Ordinary", which was on display at a recent invite to try their tasting menu.
We were started off with a different version of Wagyu Beef Carpaccio. Normally, we'd see the parm/truffle aioli with arugula, but not at EBO. Rather, the thin slices of buttery, yet meaty beef was brushed with a fish sauce Asian vinaigrette and topped with horseradish aioli, triple crunch mustard, house pickles and yes, a touch of arugula and squid ink parm chip. Due to the acidity of the vinaigrette, mustard and pickles, this was a light and appetizing dish. Loved the textural contrasts of the pickles and chip as well.
Normally, I'm as excited to see a tomato salad as much as my mother-in-law walking through the front door. However, the Heirloom Tomato Salad was one of those dishes that made an impact and I'm still tasting it in my mind as I write this post. The brightness and acidity of the dish was very impactful with the white balsamic and salted compressed peaches as well as the pickled tomatoes. Add in the sweet balsamic and the flavours started to blend from tangy to sweet continuing onto the creamy stracciatella and crunch from the almond praline. Adding some saltiness and body were the 2 slices of Serrano ham.
One dish that could've been better was the Local Salmon with lardo and Hollandaise, black radish, pine nuts and ikura. Okay, to clarify, there was nothing really wrong with the salmon as it was barely cooked-through and moist. Furthermore, the aromatic pine nuts and the brininess from the ikura added aroma to the dish. I thought the Hollandaise was creamy and pleasant enough, yet could've used more lemon. The problem was the overly firm and dense seared bacon and Manchego gnocchi. It was a shame as the flavours were spot on where the cheese wasn't too gamy while the bacon did its thing.
Everything was well with the Albacore Tuna Poke though. This "deconstructed" version consisted of tuna sashimi, tataki and belly with compressed watermelon, ponzu, ikura, avocado and crushed sesame. This was very tasty in terms of flavour and textures. The tuna was buttery and sweet being complimented nicely by the poke dressing that was purposefully salty (also bits of fleur de sel) with balanced amounts of sweetness and acidity. Loved eating the refreshing and concentrated flavours of the compressed watermelon last.
I was pretty happy to see the Moroccan Spiced Lamb consisting of deboned rack and loin mousse sausage since I never get to eat it at home (Viv doesn't prefer it). The meat itself was tasty due to the Moroccan spices and it didn't hurt that it was prepared a beautiful medium rare too. Moreover, the demi on the side was silky and rich with definite hits of reduced red wine. As much as the rack of lamb was on point, the mousse with a chunk of loin within was the real winner as it was texturally interesting being buttery and succulent. I found their version of a tabbouleh salad to be light and creamy from the smoked yogurt. In between this and the next dish, we were presented with a Champagne Freezie... It was pretty sweet, but that was a nice refreshing surprise.
Okay, whenever I see chicken on the menu, it generally disappoints. Now, the Roast Chicken Duo didn't do such a thing here. It featured a sous-vide and seared chicken breast as well as thigh presse. Both were succulent and moist while nicely accented by the Shao Xing sauce which was salty with a background hint of sweet wine. The chanterelles did their woodsy thing while the sweet carrot puree kept things balanced. If this wasn't enough, the crispy chicken skin added a crunch and the freshly shaved truffle added another layer of Earthiness.
We ended off with a Peach Mille Feuille with almond financier, brown butter powder, and popcorn ice cream. I found the dessert to be mildly sweet with buttery layers of crepe with plenty of fruit in between. The tartness of the gel made the flavours pop more than they would've without. Light and aromatic, the popcorn ice cream could've been a touch creamier. But really, there were very few flaws to be found for this tasting menu. It was well-thought out and the execution was spot on. Loved the use of acidity and balance of flavours. It appears that Executive Chef Keith Pears has succeeded in continuing the tradition of elevated eats at EBO.
