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I've never been that fond of sweets, but for some reason, I tend to crave them during the holidays. Could it be the festive nature or just because everyone else is treating themselves? I'm not completely sure. I can go through an entire year without eating chocolate, but when Christmas arrives, I can dust off a whole box. Well, it isn't exactly Christmas (even though the stores are hawking products already), yet with a tasting at Lisa Lou's Chocolate Bar organized by Sharon, I guess I was getting my fill of sweets early. It was on Thanksgiving Day, so I guess it was technically a holiday.
We started off strong with my favourite of the tasting - Lily (lemon & coconut). Can you believe the most enjoyable chocolate, in my opinion, is actually vegan? Mind blown yes. Consisting of coconut oil and milk as well as roasted coconut, this was very aromatic with caramelized sweetness. I loved the crispy crunch of the brown rice as well. Despite the prominent "Raspberry" label, I was pleasantly surprised that the caramel filling was not overly sweet nor tart. For me, it worked as it let the bitterness of the dark chocolate come through. I can see how some mind find it a bit too mild-tasting though.
One of the sweeter chocolates was the Marc consisting of almonds, bourbon and malt. It started off with a caramel sweetness followed by a bourbon finish. It was aromatic with a nutty crunch from the almond. Although this was the sweetest of the bunch, it worked in this application. Made up of sour cherry, pistachio and crispy brown rice, Sue was another favourite of mine. Naturally, the sweet tartness of the cherry helped keep things light and it was a perfect compliment to the dark chocolate. Again, the crispy crunch of the rice helped keep textures interesting.
For once, I brought my daughter out for one of these tastings since Nora said she was bringing hers (she didn't... ahem...). Anyways, my daughter really loved the Passionfruit as it was filled with an impactful amount of filling which was tart, yet not incredibly sweet. Super flavourful and hard to eat just one. On that note, we also sampled some of their Caramels including Raspberry and Meyer Lemon. These were soft, chewy and buttery. I would've liked them to be a touch firmer, but the flavours were intoxicatingly powerful. I had the meyer lemon and it was balanced in terms of sweetness and tang.
The last item I sampled was one the Vanilla Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich. By the time I took a bite, the ice cream had melted somewhat due to the lack of stabilizers. This meant it was creamy and naturally textured. I found it semi-sweet while the brownie was firm enough to keep thing together while being thin so that it wasn't cumbersome to eat. Overall, I quite enjoyed the products at Lisa Lou's. I found that the chocolates were the most consistent product.
*All chocolates and treats were complimentary*
The Good:
- Purposeful flavours that weren't overwhelming nor too sweet
- Dark chocolate had a nice firm texture giving way to silkiness
- Lots of products
The Bad:
- I enjoyed the caramels, but they could've been firmer since most of them stuck to the wrapper
People usually associate a pub as a the destination of choice after team sports. Hey, I don't disagree with that as it is a great place to grab a beverage and non-offensive eats for usually a decent price. However, due to my upbringing, I'm more inclined to go for Chinese food. Now, the wonton noodle thing gets a bit repetitive, so the next best thing is Hong Kong-style cafe fare. Yet, most of the late night HK-style cafes reside in Richmond. So one of the few choices in Vancouver is an oldie in i-Cafe. We made several stops here to get a variety of dishes.
I decided to go big or go home, so 3 items it was. I began with the Lobster Bisque topped by puffed pastry. It was stretched rather thin so there really wasn't much to be had. On the other hand, that ensured crispy and flakiness without undercooked pastry either. As for the soup itself, I found it somewhat thin and really sweet. There was some lobster essence to be found, but it was quickly overwhelmed from the amount of seasoning. Interestingly, there was no lobster meat to be found, rather, it was replaced by shrimp.
Since it was late night, I had their mini-versions of the Baked Spaghetti Bolognese and Baked Pork Chop Rice. These were indeed mini, even for the price of $9.95. I found the spaghetti to be a bit soft, but par for the course. The meat sauce was full of beef, but at the same time was on the sweeter side and lacking depth. Overall, it was still decent. I enjoyed the rice better as the fried rice base was chewy and nutty. The pork chop on top was beautifully tenderized and sported only a light breading. There was more than enough sauce to flavour both the rice and pork chop, however, it was also very sweet and equally salty. They could've eased up on the seasoning.
Milhouse went for 2 dishes himself, copying my pork chop rice and also having the Fried Noodle with Beef in black pepper sauce. This was also a mini portion and yes, it was small. I found the noodles to be appealingly crunchy while topped with just enough pepper sauce that was also on the salty side. The ample amount of beef was tender and subjected to enough wok heat. Lionel Hutz ended up with the Singapore Fried Noodles which was decent. The curry flavour was definitely there as well as proper seasoning. Chewy and not overly greasy, the noodles were subjected to enough wok-heat too. Dish was lacking in ingredients though.
On another visit with Milhouse, I finally decided to go really big in the Combo A featuring beef tenderloin, sirloin and ox tongue with spaghetti, black pepper sauce, soup and beverage. I have to say that my plate of food had to be one of the best executed versions I've had in a while. The tenderloin was buttery tender while the sirloin was just as good being meatier. Peppery and impactful, the black pepper sauce was on point, except there wasn't enough of it for the spaghetti. One caveat though, the carrots were too mushy. For some inexplicable reason, I also got the Mini-Curry Beef Brisket with rice. As you can see, this was larger than the other mini-dishes. It featured tender nuggets of brisket which required very little effort to chew. They were bathed in a spicy sauce that was thick and flavourful.
Milhouse went for the Baked Grouper in Cream Sauce on rice. This was another well-executed dish where it was served bubbling hot. The fish was both plentiful and expertly prepared where it was soft and flaky. We found the cream sauce to be rather thick, but it did taste good with a balanced amount of savoury and sweet elements. There may have been a bit too much of it as the rice became rather wet. Overall, these 2 visits were pretty solid and we felt the service was generally good. Prices are on the higher side, but not unlike its closet competitor in Gloucester.
The Good:
- Generally on point eats
- Decent service
- Fairly comfortable dining space
The Bad:
- A bit pricey
- Somewhat salty
It's been a long time since I had originally visited Gyoza Bar when it first opened. We went with a pretty large group and ended up trying a good variety of dishes. We loved the simple, yet elegant space featuring an open kitchen. Living up to its namesake, the gyozas were pretty good (at least the pork version was) and aesthetically-pleasing. We weren't as convinced with the ramen and the other creations as much. Shortly after that, they changed the menu and added build-your-own bao boards. I never did get to try that, but that was about to change as I re-visited the place with Sharon, Nicole and Nora.
In addition to some tasty beverages, we were started off with the Prawn Ceviche accompanied by gyoza skin crackers. The large and meaty prawns were naturally sweet with a firm snap. I didn't find them to be particularly flavourful on their own, but when combined with the yuzu citrus marinade, things livened up. The brightness of the citrus was further amped by the pungency of the red onion and cilantro. Visually stunning, the Roasted Beet Gyoza surprised me since it was almost "meaty". The Earthy shredded beets were mixed with feta cheese offering up a robust texture. As evidenced in the picture, the dumpling skin was ultra-thin and seared up crispy on the bottom.
Onto an actual meaty offering, we had the Hamachi Kama that were nicely fried up where the meat was moist and sweet. There was definitely the taste of the sea happening here where the natural flavours were not drowned out by the sweet and salty soy dressing. I found that the veggies underneath soaked up all of the sauce and hence were a bit overseasoned. But it really was all about the fish where the collar meat was on point with an almost buttery texture.
A visit to Gyoza Bar wouldn't be complete without an order of their Pork Teppan Gyoza served with spicy miso and umami soy. They've changed their recipe since the last time where the pork is less processed being meatier and chewier (in a good way). Therefore, the gyoza ate more substantially. The dumpling skin was razor thin being appealingly chewy while the bottom was nicely crisped up. We also tried the Chili Shrimp Teppan Gyoza featuring the same features as the pork gyoza except with buttery and sweet shrimp. We found a few of them to be a touch salty though. It came with cilantro-garlic vinegar which was tart, sweet and aromatic.
The most impressive dish was the Family Bao Board consisting of Soy-Garlic Tenderloin Skewers, Korean-Spiced Pork Rib, Maple Garlic Soy Chicken Skewers and Miso Baked Scallops Dynamite. One of my favourites was the sous-vide ribs where the meat was super tender and aggressively lacquered with a sweet and spicy gochujang glaze. Since the scallops were served whole, guts and all, the flavours were not only sweet, but also incredibly briny. For me, I loved it as well as the spicy and buttery miso sauce. Condiments on the board included pickled cucumber, Asian slaw, kimchi, gochujang, srirracha aioli and herb dijon aioli.
We ended off the main dishes with the Tamari-Shoyu Tonkotsu Pork Ramen with chashu and ajitama egg. I found the pork broth to be flavourful with a certain umaminess that was Earthy and rich. It was somewhat silky with a considerable amount of meatiness as well as understated saltiness. The noodles were thin and chewy, but I personally prefer them to be thicker. With that being said, it didn't make or break the dish. Fatty and meaty, the chashu was texturally more firm than buttery while the egg was perfectly runny. I would've liked to see larger slices of chashu though.
For dessert, we were served a plate consisting of Japanese Green Tea Cheesecake and Mochi Ice Cream. I absolutely loved the cheesecake as it was rich and immensely cheesy. I didn't think the green tea was that noticeable though. The mochi was soft with a slight elasticity while the melted ice cream was semi-sweet. Overall, this revisit was pleasant where the gyozas remained the star of the show. However, the interactive and visually-appealing bao boards add a fun and tasty option. As for the ramen, the broth was better this time around while the noodles were chewy (I still personally like thicker ones though). I will be returning for sure and it doesn't hurt that there is a Travelzoo coupon available too.
*All food and beverages excluding gratuities were complimentary*
The Good:
- Solid gyozas featuring a meaty filling and ultra-thin wrapper
- Fun Bao Boards
- Simple, rustic dining space
The Bad:
- Ramen broth is good, but I thought the chashu could be softer and larger in size
Posts
I've never been that fond of sweets, but for some reason, I tend to crave them during the holidays. Could it be the festive nature or just because everyone else is treating themselves? I'm not completely sure. I can go through an entire year without eating chocolate, but when Christmas arrives, I can dust off a whole box. Well, it isn't exactly Christmas (even though the stores are hawking products already), yet with a tasting at Lisa Lou's Chocolate Bar organized by Sharon, I guess I was getting my fill of sweets early. It was on Thanksgiving Day, so I guess it was technically a holiday.
We started off strong with my favourite of the tasting - Lily (lemon & coconut). Can you believe the most enjoyable chocolate, in my opinion, is actually vegan? Mind blown yes. Consisting of coconut oil and milk as well as roasted coconut, this was very aromatic with caramelized sweetness. I loved the crispy crunch of the brown rice as well. Despite the prominent "Raspberry" label, I was pleasantly surprised that the caramel filling was not overly sweet nor tart. For me, it worked as it let the bitterness of the dark chocolate come through. I can see how some mind find it a bit too mild-tasting though.
One of the sweeter chocolates was the Marc consisting of almonds, bourbon and malt. It started off with a caramel sweetness followed by a bourbon finish. It was aromatic with a nutty crunch from the almond. Although this was the sweetest of the bunch, it worked in this application. Made up of sour cherry, pistachio and crispy brown rice, Sue was another favourite of mine. Naturally, the sweet tartness of the cherry helped keep things light and it was a perfect compliment to the dark chocolate. Again, the crispy crunch of the rice helped keep textures interesting.
For once, I brought my daughter out for one of these tastings since Nora said she was bringing hers (she didn't... ahem...). Anyways, my daughter really loved the Passionfruit as it was filled with an impactful amount of filling which was tart, yet not incredibly sweet. Super flavourful and hard to eat just one. On that note, we also sampled some of their Caramels including Raspberry and Meyer Lemon. These were soft, chewy and buttery. I would've liked them to be a touch firmer, but the flavours were intoxicatingly powerful. I had the meyer lemon and it was balanced in terms of sweetness and tang.
The last item I sampled was one the Vanilla Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich. By the time I took a bite, the ice cream had melted somewhat due to the lack of stabilizers. This meant it was creamy and naturally textured. I found it semi-sweet while the brownie was firm enough to keep thing together while being thin so that it wasn't cumbersome to eat. Overall, I quite enjoyed the products at Lisa Lou's. I found that the chocolates were the most consistent product.
