Raisu

Okay, we've all seen the pictures from Raisu plastered all over IG, Facebook and the sort.  Beautifully constructed dishes including the pressed sushi box, their precious bento box and of course the overloaded charaishi don.  Brought to you by the same people behind Kingyo and Suika, Raisu offers up a somewhat similar experience, but with a generally different menu.  Whereas Kingyo and Suika are Izakayas at heart, Raisu serves larger main dishes that aren't conducive for sharing, yet we did that anyways.

I was able to reserve the Sho Ka Do Bento consisting of 9 little dishes that included steak, scallop, tuna tataki and wasabi ika, fried shiitake mushroom, grilled salmon, minced shrimp & scallop Japanese omelette, stewed shrimp & vegetables in an orange bowl, vinegar soy marinated seafood and Japanese tai snapper sashimi salad with apple vinegar jelly.  Without going into detail about each one, I found the fish quality to be decent but some of the items were quite similar.  The fried shiitake was excellent with a burst of umaminess.  Of course, we also got their other "pretty" dish in the Ocean's Offerings consisting of pressed sushi topped with hamachi, saba, salmon, snapper, sayori, snow crab, tuna tataki, unagi, amaebi, hotate and botan ebi.  Again, to keep this from becoming an essay, I would say the quality and preparation of the ingredients were above-avereage.  The sushi rice was on point with a moist chewiness and balanced seasoning.

Okay, our last limited dish was the Seafood "Donabe Takikomi" Rice.  It didn't look like much before being mixed with pickles.  However, it was pretty tasty albeit dry.  The saltiness of the crab butter miso was minimal.  Rather, it gave way to a sweet brininess and taste of the sea urchin.  The shiso herb salmon caviar added brighness while the snow crab flavour was somewhat lost.  Another IG-worthy dish was the Deluxe Seafood Bowl which has been doing the rounds on social media.  This was spectacular to look at, yet ultimately only somewhat above-average.  Most of the ingredients were quite good, but the uni wasn't up to par as it was more fishy than sweet.  The rice was just right being chewy, well-seasoned where it complimented the sweet buttery fish on top.  Loved the ahi tuna the best followed by the hotate.

We got a double order of the Ebi Mayo and these gigantic monsters were more like mini-lobster tails.  Sporting a gluten-free batter, they were crispy and not greasy at all.  The large prawn was meaty with a solid snap.  It was naturally sweet and aromatic.  Loved that they served the mayo on the side as we could put as little or as much as we wanted.  I liberally doused mine into the dip.  The Chicken Karaage was also coated with a gluten-free batter which was also crispy and light.  The chicken was succulent and had a nice rebound texture.  It wasn't inherently seasoned too much, but the side of wok salt and wedge of lemon did the trick.

Lastly, the Grilled Duck was fabulous with rendered skin and appealingly tender meat.  It still retained a meatiness though.  It was super flavourful with a gamy sweetness (from the sweet miso marinade) which had depth.  The yuzu mayo sauce on the side was creamy with a touch of tartness.  This duck dish as well as most of the other cooked items were actually quite tasty and well-prepared.  The raw items were beautiful and totally IG-worthy, but for the price, I wasn't as convinced.  It wasn't like they were bad.  In fact, it was far from it.  I guess with the many options for Japanese food in the Lower Mainland, there will be plenty of competition.

The Good:
- Some visually-appealing dishes
- Generally tasty eats
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Not that it didn't taste good, but some dishes looked better than they ate 

Cafe One (Sheraton Wall Centre)

Sometimes online reviews can be very useful and at other times, they can be very misleading.  I'm not talking about blogs here (ironically...), rather, I'm referring to Google reviews, Yelp, Zomato and Tripadvisor.  I feel that the bulk of the reviews are pretty fair, but then again, you have the outliers that are overly (and unfairly) negative and those that are excessively glowing (are they related to the owners?).  Referring to the former, I almost didn't bother trying Cafe One at the Sheraton Wall Centre because most of the reviews have painted a picture of a plain-Jane hotel restaurant.  But a Travelzoo coupon encouraged me to try the place once-and-for-all.

The place is situated in the main Lobby in the North tower right behind Bar One.  Not particularly fancy, but still classy nonetheless.  We started with 3 appies including the Seared Lamb Loin served with coriander yogurt, vadouvan curry crumble and mini-naan.  This was prepared medium-rare and turned out to be sufficiently tender.  I thought the tart and herbal-tasting yogurt was a good match for the robust lamb.  The second appie was the Local Dungeness Crab Cakes with avocado salsa, spicy mayo and baby frisee.  These were a bit mealy, yet still consisted of a good amount of fluffy crab.  The crumb coating was appealingly crispy and had a nice toasted taste.  I thought the spicy mayo was a bit mild for my tastes though.

Our last appie was more for the kiddies than ourselves, because I was the only one to get a significant bite.  Since they love cheese (we always have a varied supply in our fridge), it was a given we'd order the Burrata with roasted garlic crostini, tomato jam, balsamic reduction, EVOO and fresh basil.  At times, I'm somewhat nervous ordering burrata as it has a 48-hour shelf-life.  This one was actually quite good being creamy and nicely elastic.  Suffice to say, the kids agreed and gobbled it up.

Onto our entrees, the kiddies both went for pastas with my son opting for the Papparedelle Pork Ragu consisting of slow-roasted pork shoulder, soffrito, fresh oregano, calabrian chili and tomato cream sauce.  Despite not looking the prettiest, this was actually quite tasty.  The sauce was a more creamy than tomato, but the light spiciness from the chili brought the flavours to life.  By far, the star of the plate was the generous amount of almost melt-in-your-mouth pork shoulder.  The pasta itself was a bit past al dente though.  My daughter went for the Seafood Linguine with tiger prawns, scallops and bistro shrimp in a San Marzano tomato sauce.  Unlike the previous dish, the pasta here was al dente and bathed in a lightly tart sauce.  There was a decent amount of seafood that was cooked more or less properly.

For myself, I went for the Haida Gwaii Sablefish atop togarashi infused sushi rice, baby bak choy, snap peas and baby beets with a soy ponzu broth.  Okay, let's get to the positive first which was the beautifully prepared fish.  It was nicely crisped up while maintaining a buttery and flaky texture.  As much as sablefish is forgiving, this was still masterfully done.  Other than that, the rest of the dish was a fail.  The rice was horribly dry and crusty.  I do realize the broth was supposed to address that, but the rice still remained mostly hard.  About that broth, it was terrible being too concentrated with soy saltiness.  The same could be said about the tomato fennel broth in the Seafood Cioppino with black tiger prawns, pacific cod, scallops, snow crab claw, fingerling potato and roasted garlic filone.  The salt content totally overwhelmed the brininess and fennel essence.  Too bad really as the seafood was all on point.

My mom went for the meat in the Certified Angus Beef Tenderloin with roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus in a medeira wine jus.   This was very well-executed dish featuring a well-seared tenderloin that was slightly smoky and well-seasoned.  It was prepared medium-rare (closer to rare, which was perfect in our opinion) as requested.  The steak ate well being tender with some meatiness.  We found the jus to be silky and provided depth-of-flavour.  Viv had the Rossdown Farm Chicken Breast with leek potato puree, baby veggies in a natural chicken jus.  We were very surprised that this was rather tasty.  The chicken jus was flavourful with a light saltiness.  Crispy and well-seasoned, the chicken skin was the best part while the chicken itself was bordering on dry, but ultimately was fine.  Bright and fluffy, the leek mash was also quite good, but a little more cream and/or butter would've put it over the top.

For dessert, we shared the Dark Chocolate Lava Cake and Cheesecake Brulee.  Although the chocolate cake exhibited an appealing bitterness with only a purposeful amount of sweetness, there was too much lava and not enough cake.  It was like eating lukewarm chocolate pudding.  On the other hand, the cheesecake was pretty good despite not being smooth enough.  It was lightly sweet with a background tang and plenty of cheesiness.  The brulee on top was on point being thin, crunchy and smoky.  In the end, I could see both sides of the argument in reference to the online reviews.  Cafe One does just fine for a hotel restaurant with serviceable eats presented in a good portion size.  With that being said, it cannot be put into the same category as some of the best in town.

The Good:
- Fairly predictable food
- Decent portions
- Properly executed proteinds

The Bad:
- Further refinement is needed
- Dining space is rather plain

Dosa Hut

Ever since my initial visit to Dosa Hut as part of the Taco Challenge (was a stretch that they made a dosa into a taco), I planned to go back.  Since they were part of the Curry Challenge (yes, that makes much more sense), I was able to return along with Joyce to try out their entry.  In addition, it afforded us the opportunity to order extra dishes to see if that first taste was as good as I had remembered.  Well, at least we would attempt to eat the extra dishes as we had already visited Kaya Malay to try their entry beforehand.

No matter, Joyce and I have done this eating thing for awhile and heck, we were gonna do our very best.  Before the food arrived, we were treated to a Mango Lassi and a Mango Milkshake.  I thought the lassi was pretty good being just the right viscosity where it was neither too thick nor thin.  It was sweet and had the true essence of mango.  As for the shake, it was thick and tasted like mango ice cream.  Right off the bat, we were served their Curry Challenge creation in the Attu Chops Iral Curry featuring a lamb Chop with dosa, nilgiri prawn with wild brown rice.  Being a Chetinad-style curry, the flavour was a little different than the common Punjabi curries we find in the GVRD.  It was thick and rich with a balanced spiciness that complimented the sweetness and background tang.  The lamb chop itself was pull-apart tender.  The meaty prawns were coated with a coriander and mint chutney that made things bright.

For our added dishes, we had another dosa in the form of the Palak Paneer Dosa plated quite fancily.  With that being said, it ate even better than it appeared.  The dosa itself was crispy and light while still retaining a slight chewiness inside.  The even smear of palak was slightly creamy while the globs of paneer were nicely cheesy.  Interestingly, I thought the best accompaniment was not the chutneys that came with it, rather the raita from the other dish as it provided a creamy coolness.  That other dish was the Chicken Biryani that was aromatic and impactful.  The basmati rice was fluffy and chewy at the same time while blessed with the essence of saffron and a slight spice.  The pieces of chicken were tender and almost juicy.

Lastly, we had the Chicken Korma which was fantastic in our opinion.  Creamy, nutty and full-flavoured, this was mild in terms of spice (like it should be), but impactful nonetheless.  The richness of the dish was not as heavy as it appeard and I really liked smoothness of the sauce.  Overall, we were impressed with the quality of food served at the Dosa Hut.  Flavours were apparent and textures were on point.  Impressive for a small little joint out on Fraser Street.

*Attu Chops Iral Curry and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Impactful flavours
- Well-prepared dishes
- Friendly people

The Bad:
- I personally would've liked to see more spice, but I also could've requested it too

Shanghai Morning

It is without question that my kids love to eat Asian food.  Naturally, being Chinese, it isn't much of a stretch.  We do expose them to a variety of cuisines, but they keep going back to the well by requesting Japanese, Dim Sum and of course Chinese, but specifically Shanghainese food.  Why?  That's easy, the Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings).  Since we were in Richmond, it was not very hard to find a Shanghainese joint.  Hence, we ended up at Shanghai Morning.

Okay, the adults weren't super hungry, but the kids were famished.  So we were happy that the Beef Noodle in clear soup arrived first.  This was a fairly large portion as it seemed like there was an endless supply of slippery and chewy noodles.  As expected, the soup wasn't exactly super impactful, but it was mildly sweet with an even amount of saltiness.  The slices of shank were really soft and tender where the tendon portions were gelatinous.  The adults shared the Spicy Beef Noodle which only exhibited a muted heat level.  With that being said, the broth was fairly flavourful while the meat was tender and fatty.

Also mildly spicy, the Hot and Sour Soup was serviceable.  I found that the amount of ingredients were modest especially in the meat department as there were no shrimp either.  The viscosity was on the thinner side, but hardly watery, but the lack of meatiness meant the soup wasn't robust.  There was certainly enough tanginess to go along with the chili oil though.  Sporting crispy skin, the Smoked Tea Duck was on point.  I found the meat succulent and appealingly salty.  As much as the skin was a bit fatty in parts, most of it was crispy and not overly greasy.

We then moved onto their Xiao Long Bao, which I've tried many times in the past.  As much as they aren't my personal favourite, they are still solid in my books.  They featured a thin dumpling skin while only a touch thick at the top twirl.  As mentioned in the past, the skin ends up to be a bit more wet due to the metal steamer, so there was less chew.  There was ample amount of soup that was well-balanced while the meat was on the grittier side.  Sporting an appealingly browned bottom, the Potstickers were on point.  The chewy semi-thick skin was not doughy at all while the filling was juicy and well-seasoned.

To complete the dumpling trifecta, we got the Pan-Fried Buns as well.  These were fluffy with more bun than filling.  The bottom was nicely seared and slightly crispy which meant there was a certain smokiness.  The meat filling was similar to the XLB being a touch gritty but still tender and juicy.  Despite this, I would've liked to see more filling though.  For myself and Costanza, we got the Spicy Tripe with celery.  This wasn't really all that spicy, but it was well-seasoned though.  We found the tripe to be buttery and tender with only the slightest of chew.  Love the crunchy celery that was mixed in.

For the kiddies specifically, we got the Stir-Fried Shredded Pork with crepes.  This was as close to their beloved Peking Duck as we got for this meal.  It sported tender and almost bouncy julienned pieces of pork that were coated with just enough sweet glaze.  The real star of the dish were the thin and softly chewy crepes which held everything in without being dried out.  Lastly, our obligatory veggie dish was a fail as the Ong Choy with fermented tofu was as greasy as a pubescent teen's forehead.  It was practically inedible as the sauce was more oil than tofu.  At the very least, the choy was crunchy still.  

For dessert, we got the classic Deep Fried Mantou with sweet condensed milk on the side (well on top in the picture).  I liked how these were the smaller bite-sized version as there was a uniformly crispy exterior.  The larger version (which is sliced after frying) falls apart too much for my liking.  Ultimately, this return visit to Shanghai Morning was decent and well-priced.  I would say that Shanghai River and possibly Suhang are better, but they cost more too.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Free XLB at lunch with a min $20 purchase
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Not the best in Richmond, but less expensive than most
- That parking lot (same could be said about most restaurants in Richmond) 

Blues & Bites Gala Fundraiser for the Autism Support Network

Sometimes, we forget how lucky we are.  Consider all the consumer goods we take for granted, the delicious food we eat and our health.  Therefore, I try to keep grounded by volunteering at the food bank and soup kitchens.  Hey, I'm no saint nor am I trying to be one.  I'm just a regular guy wanting to make a difference every now and then.  So when I got an invite to the Blues & Bites Gala for the Autism Support Network, they didn't have to ask twice.  I personally feel that there isn't enough funding offered by the Government for families affected by autism.  The earlier the intervention, the greater benefit for the individual.

Now, this is where the fundraiser (among other things) helps families throughout BC.  Viv and I attended the event which was held at Semiahmoo Secondary.  In addition to a silent auction, there was beer and wine prizes as well as a 50/50 draw.  Of course, there was also the food served at tasting stations (which I was there to eat!) and a bar where 2 drinks were included for each person.  Everything was overseen by Chef Peter Bucher and his culinary team where they served individual items at tasting stations.  Entertainment for the night was provided by Harpdog Brown and the Travelin’ Blues Show. Catherine Urquhart served as the emcee.

Now onto the food! We decided to start with the Charcuterie which included a selection of cheeses and meats (salami, capicollo, prosciutto, sopressata and coppa).  It wasn't all meat though as there was a selection of Veggie Crudite with artichoke and asiago sour cream dip. Next door, we were treated to both a Cold Smoked Salmon with capers and a Swedish Lox with dill and a honey mustard glaze.  Although salty, the lox was nicely balanced by the sweet sauce.  On the side, there was also an array of grilled marinated vegetables and olives. 

Interestingly, a surprise hit was the BBQ Pork Phyllo Pastries.  It was tasty, but not in a sweet way, but a meaty manner.  Although the Dungeness Crab Cakes looked a bit loose, it turned out to be spot on in terms of texture.  The ample crab was fluffy and sweet while the crumb coating was lightly crispy (yet crumbly).  Both the Pan Seared Black Tiger Prawns and the Pan Seared Atlantic Sea Scallops were really delicious and texturally appealing.  The sweetness of the seafood came through as well as the caramelization in butter.  Although sliced a bit oddly, the Fraser Valley Duck was tender while glazed in a complimentary sauce consisting of soy, sesame, star anise and hoisin.

Continuing on with the hot eats, we headed over to the carving station that featured Canadian AAA Striploin of Beef with pan juices, horseradish sauce or Bearnaise served on a split bun.  This was fantastic where the meat was medium-rare and practically melted in my mouth.  The sauce was meaty and the buttery Bearnaise added some body.  Next door, we found the Rack of Lamb with Dijon mustard, garlic and herb glaze.  Although the meat was fairly rare, it was still tender.  There was no absence of flavour either.  We found the freshly made Pork Gyoza to be rather dense, but ultimately meaty featuring a thin dumpling skin.  It could've used more sear though.  The lone pasta dish was the Cheese Tortellini with cream, basil pesto and parm.  It was a vegetarian dish and it was more or less pretty standard with al dente pasta.


Finally we got to the desserts where we got a little of everything including fresh Fruit Skewers, Tiramisu, Mocca and Kahlua Eclairs and a Kirsch-infused Russian Charlotte.  Not much to comment on the fruit other than it being sweet and ripe.  The tiramisu was light and airy with mild flavours.  As for the eclair, the choux pastry was on point being airy and light. while the filling was sweet and creamy.  Lastly, I got a slice from the heart-shaped Charlotte and it was nicely balanced where the kirsch was not overwhelming.  Overall, the food was surprisingly well-prepared and tasty despite the absence of restaurants participating.  This is a direct reflection in Chef Bucher's leadership and guidance.  Food aside, the whole event raises the needed funds and brings awareness to the Autism Support Network.  I was honoured to be a part of it.

Maru Korean Bistro

Often, fusion or the modernization of a classic cuisine (particularly an Asian one) can elicit strong opinions.  Some see it as a way to excuse authenticity or even worse, the "bastardization" of the cuisine.  However, my belief is more progressive.  For instance, we wouldn't be blessed with delicious Vietnamese cuisine (as we now know it) if there wasn't influences from the colonizing French.  We've seen plenty of that going on with Chinese and Japanese food, but not until recently have we've seen Korean food get the same treatment. We stopped by one of these modern Korean restaurants at Maru in North Vancouver located in the former Cheers Restaurant.

Served on "updated" plates, the Banchan consisted of daikon kimchi, spinach, burdock root and potato salad. Nothing amiss with them and we got plenty for the table. Modest in size, but nicely plated, the Korean Fried Chicken was fabulous.  Each piece was firmly crunchy but not heavy.  Inside, the meat was succulent and juicy.  We chose the soy garlic flavour and it was apparent, but not overly strong.  They only lightly tossed the chicken in it.  We found the fried rice cake a bit too chewy and hard for our tastes.  Underneath, the coleslaw was tangy and creamy with a nice crunch.  

Sizzling hot, the Bulgogi Dolsot was chock full of ingredients including soy beef, kimchi, pickles and a poached runny egg.  When mixed together, there was a smoky sweet umaminess which was not overpowering.  Rather, it merely flavoured the rice accordingly and was a pleasure to eat.  The dolset was hot enough to create a crust where there was some crunch and nuttiness.  We also got the Miso Glazed Grilled Pork Cheek Lettuce Wrap which came with crispy shallots, rice, romaine and bean paste.  Although the pork cheek was smoky, it had a propane-torch finish in taste.  No matter, it was bouncy and tender while mildly sweet.  Combined with the rest of the ingredients, this was another decent dish.

We decided to go off the board and try their Ddok Kalbi Burger with fries.  Although it wasn't the sexiest-looking thing, it ate very well.  The charred burger patty was intensely flavoured with caramelized sweetness and plenty of savoury meatiness.  The greens on top were crunchy and had a nice tangy dressing.  The fries were the typical starch-covered variety which meant they were lightly crispy. Lastly, we had the Seafood Tofu Soup which was also quite flavourful.  It had the umaminess of briny and sweet seafood as well as mushroom and seaweed.  There was more ingredients than spicy broth.  In the end, we were pleasantly surprised and satisfied with our lunch at Maru.  It was also very reasonably-priced.  I suggest you go check it out for yourself.

The Good:
- Well-prepared eats
- Reasonable prices
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Average portion size (but prices are not high)
- Service is not bad, but could be more attentive