La Bonne Soupe

As mentioned in my previous posts, in a perfect world, Viv and I would be dining at Per Se if we weren't with the kiddies.  However, with children in tow, we were limited in where we could eat.  There were suggestions of lame chain restaurants and the standard Chinese food, but in the end, we had to find something more original.  Since we were heading to Momofuku Milk Bar for dessert after dinner, we ended up at the nearby kid-friendly La Bonne Soupe.

As there was a kid's menu, my daughter ordered the chicken strips to my dismay.  So much so, I didn't bother taking a picture of it.  Shockingly, it was my son who went off the board and had the Croque Monsieur.  He dusted the creamy and cheesy thing off.  It came with some really crunchy frites which he also finished.  He cleaned the plate!  For myself, I had the Steak Pomme Frites which also came with the same crunchy frites.  As for the steak, it was nicely seared and seasoned.  It was a perfect medium-rare being juicy and really tender.

Viv had the Duck Confit with crunchy potatoes and greens.  Featuring relatively rendered skin, the duck leg was not overly salty.  There were some tender and gelatinous portions combined with drier parts as well.  Loved the crunchy potatoes as they emulated the frites, but just in a different form.  Elaine went for the Egg White Omelette and it was soft and well-made with chives, onions and ham. Pretty simple, yet at the same time it was fluffy and light.  There was some mild flavours going on which was fine by her.

Costanza's 2 boys ended up with the Lasagne a la Francaise which was a crepe filled with bolognaise and bechamel sauce and baked with mozzarella.  As you can clearly see in the picture, it was a whole lot of mozzarella and sauce.  Hence, it ate rather wet with only thin crepes separating the meat and cheese.  It was meaty and mild-tasting with more cheese flavour than tomato tang.  Although the food at La Bonne Soupe was hardly the best French food we've ever had, it served a purpose and it that job well.  Our 2 families felt comfortable in the relaxed and classy ambiance while having the kid-friendly options available on the menu.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Attentive service
- Kid-friendly 

The Bad:
- Decent, but have reasonable expectations 

Joe's Shanghai (Chinatown)

The last time we visited Joe's Shanghai in New York's Chinatown, we came away mildly happy.  You see, since we are spoiled silly by the great Chinese food in Vancouver, everything else pales in comparison.  To be fair, we've had some really good Chinese food elsewhere, but in general as a whole, the best we've had is in Vancouver, specifically Richmond.  So this time around, Joe's Shanghai was not on the itinerary.  Yet, as things turned out, we ended up at Joe's Shanghai since it was convenient and the kiddies were missing Chinese fare.

So the one dish that Joe's Shanghai is famous for is the Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings).  We got 3 steamers since the kiddies love them.  Much like our last encounter, we found the dumpling skin to be on the thicker side, especially at the top.  With that being said, it wasn't doughy or anything like that.  There was a considerable amount of soup which was slightly sweet and savoury, but no other distinguishing flavours.  The meat filling was tender and moist.  We also got the Pan-Fried Dumplings which were seared up crispy on the bottom.  They didn't ease up on the grease though.  I found the skin to be thick and doughy though.  Again, the filling was good though being moist and tender.

We decided to get a mix of cold appies as a plate of 3 options.  These included Soya Duck, Vegetarian Duck and Jellyfish.  Meaty and nicely gelatinized, the duck was on the saltier side, but not devoid of other flavors.  We found the texture to be on point while the skin was fairly rendered.  The bean curd skin of the vegetarian duck was a bit on the chewy and harder side, but okay.  Inside, the abundance of shiitake were sweet and buttery, yet everything fell apart.  With a buttery snap, the jellyfish was well-marinated being balanced between sweet and savory.  Since we were devoid of veggies in most of our meals, we went for the Sauteed Pea Shoots with Garlic.  These were good being crunchy and nicely seasoned with whole chunks of garlic.

We ended off the meal with 2 noodles including the Shanghainese Soup Noodles and Beef Noodle Soup.  I enjoyed the former more as the soup was flavorful with a certain meatiness and silkiness.  The thick noodles were al dente and had soaked up some of the dark soy flavours.  On top, the mix of meat and cabbage was on point with crunch and tender meat.  The beef noodles were okay, but the biggest issue was the meat itself.  They used sliced beef shank rather than specifically made meat for the dish.  It just wasn't substantial enough or robust.  Noodles were okay and soup was pretty mild.  So did this visit change our feelings about Joe's Shanghai?  Not really, but it is still decent.  We just don't believe it is a must-visit for out-of-town visitors.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Okay pricing
- Fairly good XLBs

The Bad:
- Indifferent service
- Decent, but not great  

Momofuku Noodle Bar

While we were in Toronto, there was a moment where we considered visiting Momofuku.  However, we saved that for our visit to the New York City location with Costanza and Elaine.  We made our way out to their location in East Village to find out that the wait was over an hour long.  Sure, we expected as much, but with a group of 8, it didn't look promising.  So we ended up splitting our group into 2 tables of 4.  Since we didn't feel like standing around for 1+ hours, we did dessert first at the nearby Veniero's Pastry.

Finally seated and after a slice of cheesecake, we started with the Scallop Crudo with ginger, charred corn and crispy chicken skin.  This was completely on point and a delight to eat texturally and taste-wise.  The buttery and sweet scallops were lightly complimented by the smoky sweet corn and background ginger essence along with a light tang.  The crunch of the skin was a necessary texture.  We also got the Smoked Chicken Wings with pickled chili, garlic and scallion.  I found the wings to have unevenly rendered skin, but for the parts that were good, it was on point and flavourful from the glaze.  It was a combination of sweet dark soy with a touch of spice and light tanginess.  I didn't get much smokiness and I did find the wings a touch mealy.

The best thing we had by far were the Shrimp Buns with spicy mayo, pickled red onion and shredded lettuce.  We found the bun quality to be excellent being soft and warm with a slight elasticity and chew.  Inside, the shrimp patty was absolutely delicious.  It was buttery, sweet, cold-water crunchy and well-seared.  The spicy mayo provided a creamy kick while the lettuce brought it down a notch.  Yummy.  Now onto the Momofuku Ramen, we found the noodles to be on point and probably some of the best we've had.  They were chewy and al dente with a nice rebound texture.  As for the broth, it was indeed flavourful and meaty, but really salty.  The pork belly was very lean and smoky from the sear.  It wasn't as buttery as expected.

Our last dish was the Chilled Spicy Noodles with Szechuan sausage, Thai basil and candied cashews.  We were warned that this was a spicy dish and boy was it ever.  There was a kick that lasted and lingered, yet at the same time, we could taste the meatiness of the sausage and sweet crunch from the cashews.  Again, the noodles were on point being appealingly chewy.  Overall, we found our visit to Momofuku Noodle Bar to be okay.  I guess it was over-hyped in our own minds, so it might've been a bit unfair.  Yet at the same time, we've had better versions of some of the dishes elsewhere.

The Good:
- Some uniqueness compared other spots in town
- David Chang (yes, the name)
- Baos were good

The Bad:
- Ramen too salty for me
- Not worth the wait

Mercato

For all of the recommendations I received from various sources, sometimes the restaurants we end up visiting while in another city are based purely on circumstance.  It could be that some places are just not kid-friendly while others are not located nearby where we would end up.  Hence, most of the spots we visit may not be the "usual" nor overly sexy.  This brought us to Mercato, which was somewhat near our hotel, for lunch one day.  This lil' Italian spot sure seemed homey and just the right place for 2 families.

We began with the Frittura di Pesce which was a bounty of fried calamari, shrimp and cod.  We found the batter light and crispy while totally not greasy.  The calamari was large and tender while retaining an appealing chewiness whereas the shrimp were meaty with a firm snap.  As for the fish, it was buttery and flaky with even less batter then the calamari and shrimp. I particularly liked the mild tomato dipping sauce.  Next, we had the Spinaci Salad with raisins, apples and goat cheese.  This was lightly dressed which allowed the ingredients to be heard such as the sweet apples, even sweeter raisins and creamy gamy goat cheese.

For my main, I had the Orecchiette Cime di Rapa e Acciughe (broccoli rabe, anchovies, bread crumbs, garlic and olive oil).  This was a drier concoction with firm pasta coated with bread crumbs.  It wasn't particularly flavourful until mixed in with the crisp rabe since the anchovies had adhered to them.  Together, the flavours were good.  Viv ended up with the Gnocchi with beef and pork ragu.  The tender nuggets of potato pasta were a good balance of soft and firm.  Hence, there was a nice bite to them.  The rich ragu had body and depth while not subjected to much salt.

Our kiddies had the Lasagna with béchamel and beef ragu.  Due to the béchamel, the whole thing was creamy and rich.  However, the hearty ragu added a real meatiness while providing body to the dish.  What brought it all together was the mild, yet flavourful tomato sauce which had a cheesiness to it.  Costanza's kiddies had the Spaghetti with fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil.  As simple as this was, the execution was on point.  Featuring al dente pasta and an abundance of flavourful and tart chunks of tomato, the whole thing tasted fresh and bright.

The best dish of all was the Seafood Linguine which was the beneficiary of an array of seafood including calamari, shrimp, mussels and clams.  The sauce was impactful with the taste of white wine and briniess from the shellfish.  Even though it seemed too saucy, the pasta was well-flavoured and the seafood was on point. As I mentioned in the intro, sometimes the best places are the ones off the beaten path.  I'm not sure if Mercato qualifies as such, but it was definitely not on our radar.  I guess it should've been from the start.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Nice people
- Priced-right

The Bad:
- Seating is a bit tight

Pizza Suprema

Sometimes, I wonder if our vacations are actually a break at all.  When we travel, it is almost like we do a marathon sightseeing mission where we don't even have time to rest.  Hence, we need a vacation from our vacation when we get home.  So after a long day of walking and walking some more at The Met (that place is huge!), we were in no mood to travel far for food.  We kept it close with a visit to Pizza Suprema for some NYC pizza action.

We got several slices to go including the Meatlovers and Suprema.  Predictably salty, due to the abundance of meatballs, sausage, pepperoni and ham, the pizza was loaded with flavour.  I could've done with less salt, but it was expected.  The tomato sauce was really good being tangy and nicely seasoned.  The best part was the crust as it was chewy and nicely crisped up.  The Suprema (their signature pizza) was loaded with many toppings including sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni, sauteed onions, roasted red peppers and fresh mushrooms.  This was a bit less salty than the meatlovers and replaced that with sweetness.

The kids loved the White Pizza that was essentially cheese bread with romano, ricotta and grande mozzarella and fresh garlic.  This had no sauce which meant the crust was chewy and drier.  This was appealingly garlicky.  The best slice, in my opinion, was the Chicken Parmigiana since it was less salty and had plenty of cheese.  Moreover, there were nuggets of crispy pieces of breaded chicken strewn on top.  So with all of the choices for pizza in the city, we ended up at Pizza Suprema due to convenience.  With that being said, it was still a great choice as it was good and didn't cost us a fortune.

The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Properly seasoned chewy crust
- Impactful sauce

The Bad:
- The ones with lots of meat are pretty salty (but as the owner says, try the plain cheese)
- Can have long lines at times

Ta Bom Korean Cuisine

Many-a-time, we find the tourist approach to most of the ethnic cuisine we find in town.  Never specific to one region nor really any rhyme or reason, we essentially find the greatest hits under one roof.  So it comes as no surprise that the usual stuff is found on Korean restaurant menus such as mandu, japchae, bibimbap, BBQ, gamjatang and so on...  However, Ta Bom in Coquitlam has brought us the hot plate complete with main dish, and sides of egg, corn and cheese.  If you have ever been to LA, then this is old hat, but for the rest of us, this has taken Vancity by storm (as evidenced by the long lineups).

I joined Kirsty, Diana, Amy, Joyce and Nancy to try out this new type of BBQ out on Austin Ave (mind you, Kirsty and Nancy had already sampled it beforehand).  We ended up with 2 hot plates including the Bulgogi and Spicy Octopus with Pork.  Slowly sizzling, the bulgogi was emitting an intoxicating aroma of caramelized beef.  Picking up a piece and dunking it into the melted cheese, I got an ooey gooey bite with crispy beef bits giving way to sweet and tender thinly sliced meat.  The fluffy egg on the side was texturally appealing as well as the sweet pop from the corn niblets.  Saucy and spicy, the baby octopus were tender with an easy chew.  There was also sweetness from both the octopus and the sauce itself.  The rice cake was also a textural surprise hidden underneath the onions.

After we were all done, the remaining spicy sauce and bits of pork were saved for the Fried Rice.  Yes, we made fried rice akin to a dolset on the hot plate.  Now we weren't able to do this with the bulgogi since there was no "sauce".  Hence, make sure you order the right hot plate if you want rice later.  After a brief wait, the rice crisped up and formed a chewy crust while it also soaked up the flavourful sauce. 

On another visit, we had the Spicy Pork Hot Plate with corn, cheese and egg.  Unfortunately, they couldn't serve it on the butane burner due to some regulatory inspection thing.  Hence, they heated it up in the kitchen and served it to us with the egg cooked separately.  Suffice to say, the experience was not as good as the first time, especially without the option of the fried rice at the end.  As for the pork, it was tender and aggressively dressed in a similar sauce as the octopus.  It was sweet and slightly spicy.  We also got the Seafood Pancake which was pretty thick and aggressively fried.  Hence, the exterior was crispy while the inside was a touch doughy.  It was still decent though with enough seafood and conservative with the green onion.

One dish I kept eating and eating was Mom's Pop Chicken.  It featured tender nuggets of chicken that were lightly battered and nicely fried up.  It was coated with a sweet gochujang sauce that was impactful being sweet, spicy and tangy.  It went really well with the side of rice accompanying the Pork Bone Soup.  About that soup, it was a bit thin in terms of flavour where it didn't have the aromatics we normally find in the soup.  It was tangy from the veggies and had a light meat flavour.  The pork bones themselves could've been more tender as well since the meat stuck to the bone.  As you can see, the main draw at Tabom is the hot plate.  The other stuff is decent, but nothing memorable.  If you want the full meal deal (as in the burner), you will have to wait as they are scheduled to do renos in December.

The Good:
- Dat hot plate with cheese!
- Fairly friendly service
- Dat fried rice at the end!

The Bad:
- Other dishes we had were average
- Lineup all the time (well, not as much right now without the burner)  

Carnegie Deli

You'd think after eating so many different things, I wouldn't go back to a tourist trap of sorts right?  Well, there were 2 reasons we made our way back to Carnegie Deli on our recent visit to NYC.  First, we were travelling with Elaine and Costanza (yes, we visited Tom's Restaurant too...) and they've never been to the place before.  Second, I never blogged about it.  This visit almost never happened because Carnegie Deli was closed for a year due to the "gas stealing" fiasco.  In fact, Carnegie is scheduled to close at the end of this year, for good.

Just like last time, we waited stupidly in line for about an hour to pay large amounts of money for sandwiches with far too much meat in them.  Yup, we had the Woody Allen again with equal portions of corned beef and pastrami.  However, it seemed smaller than we remembered it.  Don't get me wrong, it was still a lot of meat!  I liked the pastrami more as it was buttery and nicely peppery on the outside.  The corned beef was pretty dry and rather bland.  Was the sammie worth $29.99?  Certainly not, but I guess it is the touristy thing to do.  To relive every moment, I once again, got a Tongue Sandwich (no, not from Viv...  LOL) and it was good. The slices of tongue were tender and buttery with a nice rebound.  It was also well-salted also (and went well with the mustard).

To round out the meat sammies, we got the Beef Brisket which was definitely meaty.  However, we found it to be incredibly dry and bland.  Sure, that is what the mustard was for and it certainly made a difference.  This was our least preferred of the sammies.  My daughter went for the Tuna Melt and nearly dusted off one of the 2 really enormous mounds.  The tuna was lightly dressed, hence it was on the drier side.  However, that also meant it wasn't overly wet nor greasy.  There was a considerable amount of melted cheese on top which added the necessary flavour as the tuna itself was rather plain.

For my son, he just had to get something boring like the Burger with American cheese.  Nothing really interesting, but decent nonetheless.  The burger patty was large and fairly moist while nicely seared on the outside. There was enough melted cheese on top to hide the entire patty. Costanza's youngest son went for his standby being the Mac n' Cheese.  It was actually not bad being creamy and Velvetta-like.  The pasta was not overdone, but again, nothing to write home about either.

For dessert, we once again got a slice of NY-Style Cheesecake with strawberries.  I can see how many people wouldn't like this as it was super heavy and rich.  For me, this was just right since a cheesecake is not a cheesecake unless every bite is cheesy, rich, creamy and thick.  Since Costanza likes his desserts lighter, he got the Banana Cream Pie.  I'm not sure if this was exactly less rich, but it certainly was airier and creamy.  I thought it was okay, but nothing particularly special.  Sadly, Carnegie is really a tourist trap and I've had better deli-meat sandwiches elsewhere.  It's sad to see it go, but at the same time, not really either.

The Good:
- The touristy thing to do
- Large sandwiches that you can take an IG photo of and brag about it
- Efficient service

The Bad:
- The sandwiches are actually sub-par
- Expensive
- The lineup is ridiculous