Ancora

For what seemed like a really long time (the only way I can describe it), C Restaurant occupied some prime real estate right by False Creek.  Overlooking Granville Island and out into English Bay, the place had the location down pat.  Food was good too with Chef Robert Clarke at the helm.  However, the place just didn't quite make it with questionable service.  Finally, it bit the dust much the other Harry Kambolis establishments such as Nu and Raincity Grill.  Taking its place is Ancora featuring Japanese Peruvian cuisine.  We finally had some time to check it out.

Prior to our actual appies, we were presented with an Amuse Bouche of butternut squash soup with kale powder and olive oil.  Although this was only a small taste (as it should be), it was impactful. It was silky and rich where it went down smooth.  The flavours were super intense being sweet with an equal amount of saltiness.  I could have had a large bowl of this, but hey, we needed to save our appetites for the rest of the dishes!

For my starter, I had the Barely Cooked Steelhead Trout which was neatly rolled atop skin chicharron, avocado puree and topped with lemon crème fraiche and herring caviar.  Probably better described as raw (which I prefer anyways), the trout was buttery, sweet and soft.  I thought the thick crème fraiche was tart enough for impact while the caviar on top was lightly briny.  The most noticeable ingredient on the plate was the bright and herbaceous creamy avocado.  Viv went for the prix fixe menu and began with the Tempura Prawn Roll with masago, cucumber and spicy mayo.  This was a pretty substantial appie featuring chewy sushi rice that was a bit dense.  Inside, the crispy prawn was meaty and nicely prepared.  Despite the large amount of spicy mayo, the flavours were actually quite mild.

Costanza was intrigued by the Peruvian-inspired Spicy Prawn Causa sporting tender spiced Yukon potatoes.  Sandwiched in between them were crispy and meaty prawns that were beautifully cooked.  Flavours were impactful and robust due to the combination of avocado mousse, kale chips, rocoto-harissa and escabeche sauce.  There was this creamy and spicy initial hit that gave way to a variety of herbs and brightness.  Costanza thought this was the best of the appies.  I agreed mostly with that statement, but Elaine's Lobster Bisque was a real treat too.  It was super rich yet wasn't heavy as they showed restraint with the cream.  There was the classic aroma of lobster shells that was deeply impactful without being super salty.  This was poured table side onto a crispy black cod croquette and chive crème fraiche.

For my main, I had the Grilled Big Eye Tuna served rare.  As much as I had difficulty cutting into the slices of tuna, they ate very well.  With a light taste of the sea, the tuna was buttery soft while retaining a bit of firmness.  The real star of the plate was the fantastic Romesco sauce that was nutty, sweet and ever-so-lightly tart.  It complimented the fish without killing its natural flavour.  Underneath, the acidic kale salad added the necessary brightness to the dish.  I found the salt cod croquette to be crispy with a mildly salty and dense filling.  Costanza also ordered fish in the Aji Panca Glazed Sablefish with yam & oregano pavé, roasted fennel, wakame chimichurri and ocopa sauce.  Compared to my relatively mild-tasting tuna, this was outright a slap in the face with a deeply savoury glaze that was slightly sweet.  The fish itself was buttery and flaky, yet exhibited caramelized flavours.

Viv and Elaine both had the Pacific Ling Cod atop forbidden rice chorizo paella with shrimp, baby squid and Peruvian corn.  The fish itself was nicely seared on the outside while mildly seasoned.  It was a bit on the firmer side though.  I really enjoyed the chewy rice as it was flavourful and the amount of ingredients was generous. The pimenton emulsion was predictably cheesy and salty, which was certainly interesting.  It was powerful enough to give the mild fish a kick start.  Viv and Elaine picked the same desserts as well in the Yuzu-Passionfruit Tart with coconut sorbet, rum caramel and black sesame gel.  This was a refreshing way to end the meal where the flavours were tangy, lightly sweet and aromatic.  We thought the thick rum caramel really worked when combined with the more subtle-tasting ingredients.

We also got the Chocolate Cake to share for variety purposes.  The cake was not as sweet as it appeared which was appealing while being definitely chocolatey.  The crispy wafer and soft cake was encased in firm mousse and finished with a velvety ganache.  To provide balance and brightness, the passion fruit sorbet and curd did just that with a sweet tanginess.  Last but not least, we were presented with a plate of Petite Fours consisting of shortbread filled with dulce de leche and raspberry macarons filled with chocolate.  Ultimately, we thought our meal was pretty solid and of course the location can't be beat.  Sure, the menu is rather pricey, but the rent can't be cheap.  So if you are willing to splurge a little...

The Good:
- Awesome location, especially in the daytime
- On point service
- Carefully crafted food

The Bad:
- Pricey but you are paying for the location too
- Maki sushi was okay, but was the weakest dish     

East One Chinese Restaurant

For many of you, I'm sure you have seen East One in that viral Facebook post.  You know, the one claiming that they were serving up plastic rice?  Personally, I thought that was a crock of sh*t.  I've eaten then a few times and no, I did not eat any plastic rice.  In fact, this viral video was proven a hoax and indeed, there was no plastic rice served at East One.  This particular visit occurred just before "plastic-gate" where we went for a family meal including the grandparents.

We went for their build-your-own-meal for 5 which included soup, a bonus dish, rice and dessert for $75.88.  The first item to arrive was the "free" Half Chicken served with the usual ginger & green onion condiment.  Nicely gelatinized, the chicken skin exhibited an attractive hue (with the help of food colouring).  Underneath, the meat was succulent and tender while mildly seasoned.  That wasn't an issue as the condiment was pretty salty in itself.  Contrasting the chicken, the Scrambled Eggs & Shrimp was pretty pale and lifeless-looking.  No matter, as the eggs were fluffy with the right doneness.  The shrimp were large and buttery with a clean snap.  We found the dish mildly-seasoned.

Up next was my son's favourite dish being the Brisket & Daikon Hot Pot.  This came out sizzling and featured brisket which was actually tender and succulent.  Normally, brisket can turn out pretty dry and chewy, but this was on point.  Furthermore, the amount of sauce wasn't excessive while being nicely balanced.  I thought the daikon was just soft enough in texture, but was incredibly bland.  The brisket and daikon was probably cooked separately.  Although the Peking Pork Chops were also not particularly aesthetically-pleasing due to its pale hue (I guess I love food colouring), it ate better than it appeared.  The pork chops were tender and juicy while decently flavourful from the tangy and sweet sauce.  I would've liked to see a bit more crispiness from the exterior of the pork chops though.

I personally am not a fan of anything sauced in sweet mayo (maybe except ebi mayo), so I was already biased towards the Fried Fish with sweet mayo sauce.  However, it wasn't as revolting as I had envisioned.  First of all, there was a restrained amount of glaze, yet it was pretty sweet though.  Secondly, the fish was fried up beautifully being crispy while still flaky inside.  In fact, the crispiness held up to the sauce.  Our last dish was the Gai Lan with Beef.  Despite appearing vibrant, the gai lan was soft and lacked any crunch.  This was probably due to being blanched too long in baking soda water.  Other than that, the dish was nicely seasoned the beef was tender.  Overall, we enjoyed the meal at East One and it didn't break the bank.  No plastic rice too...

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Service has improved since Venice Garden
- No plastic rice

The Bad:
- Some dishes were a bit small
- Tables are squished together     

Narita Sushi

With all of the small Japanese restaurants around, it is often difficult to find one that is actually decent.  We have to understand that not everyone has high expectations for Japanese food and many of these spots survive purely on bento boxes and California rolls.  To illustrate this, just think Panda Express or Manchu Wok.  Now, I'm not dumping on these places because as much as I like to enjoy well-made food, there are times I'm not too picky and something serviceable will do me just fine.  So with that in mind, we visited Narita Sushi (tucked away in a strip mall on Lougheed Hwy) without any expectations.

For a little unassuming spot, it was pretty busy during lunch where we snagged the last table available. Upon reviewing the menu, it was without any hesitation that I ordered the Seared Salmon Oshi (always want to compare with Miku).  Well, this one looked similar, but ate very differently.  First of all, the rice was a touch dry while the mayo dressing had a strong mayonnaise flavour.  I found the slice of jalapeno on top much too thick which was not pleasing texturally nor flavour-wise.  We also got the Washington Roll which also featured dry rice.  However, we enjoyed the texturally on-point salmon on top.  They were also conservative with the drizzle of sauce.

Moving onto the Deluxe Assorted Sashimi, it looked pretty appealing and well-prepared.  Looks weren't deceiving as the fish was on point texturally except for the overly chewy Tai.  The sockeye salmon was fairly sweet just like in the Washington roll.  Even the Atlantic salmon was decent being buttery and not devoid of flavour.  Although some slices were a bit larger than others, we liked how they didn't make them too big (better texturally). Consisting of ebi, fish and veggies, the Deluxe Tempura featured crispy batter that was not too greasy.  We found the ebi buttery with a light snap while the fish was decently moist.

For the kiddies, it was all about the Chicken Teriyaki served atop sprouts and cabbage on a sizzling hot plate.  The chicken was appealing to look at with a well-charred exterior.  It was a bit dry in some spots, but not overly so.  There was only a modest amount of teriyaki sauce which meant it wasn't too salty nor sweet.  This was decent and in fact, most of the other dishes could be considered good.  Sure, the sushi rice could've been better, but for a small little random spot, Narita is more than serviceable.

The Good:
- Above-average
- Friendly service
- Well-priced

The Bad:
- Sushi rice a bit dry
- Place is small, don't expect big tables 

Grand Crystal Seafood Restaurant

Generally, it is a pretty safe bet that most Dim Sum spots in the GVRD will offer up at the very least, a serviceable experience.  Of course, there are the outliers that truly disappoint including a horrific experience in PoCo at the now defunct Ruby Restaurant.  Now being located in PoCo made it much less of a surprise, but the former Victory Restaurant in Crystal Mall was truly a shocker.  How did a Chinese restaurant survive all this time in a Chinese mall with crappy food?  Well, I guess this was answered as it closed and now Grand Crystal took its place.  

We decided to check out their Dim Sum service to see if things have changed in any way.  Well, we did know for sure that the nightmarish circular parking lot with pie-shaped space was still there to piss us off...  Well, it didn't exactly start off on the right foot since the Phoenix Talons (Chicken Feet and sorry about the pun) were awful.  The combination of it not being fried enough and over-steamed rendered the dish into a mushy mess.  There was no texture left in these things.  On the other hand, the satay flavour was impactful though with a briny spiciness.  Similar in flavour, the Tripe and Tendons were pretty good as both retained a bite while completely tender.  The tripe could've been rinsed a bit longer as it was a bit gamy.

When I bit into the Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling), it made me go hmmm... (and not like C+C Music Factory style either).  Very similar to the old Victory, these were filled with large chunks of inedible fat.  Normally, fat added to the dumpling creates a moist and bouncy texture, but this was just not appealing.  Flavours were okay though being natural meat flavoured with some sweetness.  Could've used more shrimp and shiitake though.  As for the Ha Gau, the skin was chewy, possibly too chewy.  The shrimp filling was good though with natural sweetness, but it was also lacking in seasoning.  We would've liked to see more sesame oil and white pepper.

Off to another disappointing dish, the Donut Rice Noodle Roll was not appealing whatsoever.  Starting with the donut itself, the texture was too crunchy (possibly from refrying) and worse, the whole thing was so oil-drenched that the bottom of the dish was a lake of grease.  To top it off, the rice noodle was too thick and floury.  Of course, that didn't bode well for the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll either.  In fact, the rice noodle was even thicker and more dense.  The one thing going for this rice noodle roll was the shrimp itself.  They were large and exhibited the desired snap texture, but similar to the ha gau, they were bland and under-seasoned.

Moving onto the Beef Meatballs, they were large in size, but the colour was an unappealing pale gray.  Texturally, there was a slight rebound to the meat, but in the end, it was too soft for our liking.  That didn't make or break the dish though.  We thought the meat was rather bland with only the green onion and cilantro adding some form of flavour.  Again, not a huge issue as normally, one would eat it with Worchestershire sauce anyways.  One dish that was completely on point was the Steamed Pork Spareribs.  These were garlicky and well-seasoned with a touch of spice. The big pieces were meaty with very little fat nor cartilage.  I liked how there was a natural meat chewiness while still being tender and bouncy.

Another solid dish was the Garlic Spring Rolls as the outside was uniformly crunchy, hot and not greasy.  Inside, the shrimp filling was meaty with only a slight rebound.  It was fairly moist despite the deep fry.  There was also a good amount of flavour including the sweetness and brininess of the shrimp and plenty of garlic.  Despite plated nicely, the XO Daikon Radish Cake was a miss for us.  The cubes were far too soft and pasty.  In fact, they had soaked up so much oil, that every bite was not appealing.  Consequently, the outside was not crispy at all.  On a positive note, the flavour was quite nice with a seafoody spiciness.

We also got 2 orders of steamed buns including the Sticky Rice Bun Roll.  We found the rolls lacking in flavour, even with the wok-fried sticky rice in the middle.  Texturally, the rice was on the drier side, but still nicely chewy.  With a thin layer of steamed bun, it was fairly fluffy.  The same could not be said about the BBQ Pork Buns as the exterior was fairly dense.  Also, they layer of bun was substantially more than that of the filling.  About that filling the meat was too fatty and the glaze was too sweet.

We ended off with the Egg Tarts and they were okay.  We thought the tart shell was a bit dry and not flaky enough.  It needed more fat (butter or lard).  The custard filling was silky and semi-sweet although a bit pale in colour, other than the food colouring on top. As you can probably guess, we were not convinced that the food had actually improved significantly from the former Victory Restaurant.  In fact, the siu mai was eerily similar with chunks of inedible fat.  Have they actually changed?  Or is it a change in name only?

The Good:
- Large, spacious dining room
- Okay service
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Hit and miss (and when it missed, it missed hard)
- That parking lot