Sugar Lab

If you haven't noticed or have an aversion to sweets, there have been a bunch of Asian dessert shops popping up all over the place.  Some have opened multiple locations such as Snowy Village and Sulmida.  Another hot trend is the Mille Crepe Cake made famous by Lady M.  Now we don't have a Lady M in the GVRD *yet*, but there are plenty of copycats.  Of course we have the first being L'otus in Richmond and also Candy Tree in Burnaby.  Heck, even T&T has them now (but I can't vouch how good or bad they are...).  Enter the newest Asian dessert shop, Sugar Lab in Burnaby, to arrive on the scene with a large variety of mille crepe cake.

We hit up the place right after Whiskey Six, despite filling up on meats and sides.  We didn't waste time and went straight for the Mille Crepe Cake in both Tiramisu and Matcha Red Bean flavours.  In terms of texture, I found the tiramisu to be lighter and fluffier while the matcha was more dense and doughy.  Was it to do with the actual flavour or was it the crepe or was it both?  Flavourwise, I preferred the tiramisu more as it was impactful in a light manner.  It wasn't very sweet (could've been sweeter) but it definitely appeals to the Asian palette.  The matcha was super mild and there was only a hint of bitterness at the end.  When eaten with the sweet and appealing red beans, we couldn't even taste the matcha.

The star of the show was actually the Mango Pancake.  Naturally, it didn't look that impressive before we cut it (and really it isn't that photogenic).  However, one bite and the generously large chunk of ripe mango was delicious with the ideal texture and balance of sweetness and slight tang.  The whipped cream was light (yet a bit greasy) and not overly sweet while the pancake was thin and fluffy with an appealingly ending elasticity.  Lastly, we tried the Serradura Pudding Plant neatly served in a jar.  It was more or less what we expected with a nutty and powdery dust with whipped cream and jello-like pudding.  There was a nice aromaticness as well as a malt-like finish.

A few days later, I returned with the fam to try a few more items including another mille crepe cake in the same Serradurra flavour as the pudding plant. The cake was lightly dusted with serradura which was just right as it didn't greatly affect the texture of the cake.  Again, there was a nutty and malt-like flavour that was aromatic while not overly sweet.  The texture of the crepe mirrored the one in the tiramisu being light.  We also gave their Mango & Strawberry Shaved Ice a go.  In terms of fruit, the mango and strawberries were ripe and generous in portion.  However, the ice itself was not good.  It was grainy and too icy being nowhere close to being fluffy.  

When mom spotted the mille crepe on my IG (yah really), she wanted to try it too.  So off we went for our 3rd visit in a week...  For me, I decided to try the Black Sticky Rice with coconut milk.  This was fairly sweet, but aromatic from the coconut milk.  There was probably a bit too much red bean, but it was still fine.  We also went for the Mango Sago and we lamented that there wasn't any grapefruit.  No matter, it was refreshing and only semi-sweet.  There was quite a bit of sweet and tangy mango.  The soup was a bit thin though. But really, Sugar Lab is all about the mille crepe cake as it takes up most of the menu.  2 of the 3 were not bad while the pancake was surprisingly good.  The shaved ice was not so good though.

The Good:
- Decent mille crepe cake
- Excellent pancake
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Grainy shaved ice
- Flavours are generally mild (unless you like that)

Sulmida (Richmond)

Cornering Mijune and actually meeting up with her is super difficult these days.  If it weren't impossible before, it takes a Herculean effort now since she is now a resident judge on Top Chef Canada (renewed for another season too!).  Now add in a wild card in Nora, who is also super busy, the impossible happened - we all met up for dessert!  Lucky me right?  Well, we ended up visiting the Richmond location of Sulmida for some shaved ice and dessert toast.

We decided to try the standard in a large order of Mango Shaved Ice (or Bingsoo).  This was a decent portion of fluffy and almost creamy shaved ice that was nearly on par with Snowy Village.  As evidenced in the picture, the mango was barely ripe which meant it was sweet with a noticeable tang.  The conservative amount of mango sauce meant things weren't too sweet. For our second item, we chose the Injeolmi Toast topped with ice cream.  I found this version rather flat and lacking in toast.  There was a decent amount of rice cake in between that was soft and chewy.  The dessert was a lot less sweeter than it appeared, but it wasn't bland.  There was a certain powdery nuttiness from the bean powder.

On another visit with Nora, we ended up with another mango bingsoo and also a Strawberry Lava Bread (think toast box) with custard and fruit.  I wasn't a huge fan of this as the bread was dense didn't have a good mouth-feel.  Inside, the whole thing was sweet where it didn't seem to be enough fruit to provide balance.  I gave up on this and decided to finish off the bingsoo instead.  That really summed it up though as the bingsoo is the thing to get here.  I really wasn't super impressed with the other items.  With that being said, I still prefer Snowy Village, but Sulmida does make a decent bingoo still.

The Good:
- Decent bingsoo, fluffy and light
- More options than Snowy Village

The Bad:
- The other items were meh

L'otus Cake Boutique

Honestly, my visit to Lady M Confections in New York City was more of an afterthought than an eagerly planned destination.  Blame it partly on our intense itinerary, but more importantly, dessert is not really in my wheelhouse.  However, that is the complete opposite for Costanza.  So when he spotted a location in Rockerfeller Center, he motioned for me to join him in line.  Oh all right, since we were there anyways, I ended up getting some crepe layer cakes and to my surprise I liked it!  Now there is no Lady M here (yet), but L'otus Cake Boutique in Richmond tries to emulate the same experience.

I picked up all 3 of their flavours to see how they stack up (sorry for the pun) to Lady M.  I started off trying the Earl Grey first and it appeared to be neatly prepared and pretty stable when I took it out of the plastic wrapping.  Initially, I didn't get much essence with my first bite, but in the end, the tea flavour came though.  It wasn't bitter nor was it weak, hence it was just right in my books.  Surprisingly, I found the cake needed a bit more sweetness for my tastes.  The tender layers of crepe were texturally on point until I got to the edges where they became rubbery and dry.  In between, the creme was light and airy.  Next up was the more impactful Matcha where the green tea came through on the initial bite and got more intense at the end.  It wasn't too bitter though, where the sweetness still came through.

The Creme Brulee was my favourite as it encompassed all the same good features as the previous 2 cakes in terms of texture.  With the addition of a torched sugar top, there was a smoky and sweet caramel essence that was quite nice.  This is where I appreciated the mildly sweet cream since it did not interfere with the sweeter and more intense torched sugar.  Again, the edges were pretty disappointing though.  Just stopping short of the end made for a better experience. I hate to compare with Lady M since it is not even available here, but the ones at L'otus are still good and worth trying.

The Good:
- Impactful flavours
- Light
- Not too sweet

The Bad:
- Edges could be better

Whiskey Six BBQ

A pet peeve of mine is the misunderstanding of BBQ in general.  For instance, people tend to judge American BBQ all in one category like they should all be the same.  That is an unfair way to compare and really, there are many different types of BBQ with their own nuances.  Hence, when descriptions like "dry", "too saucy" or "not saucy enough" are used universally, it makes me cringe.  Some forms of BBQ are meant to be without sauce and others are basted with sauce.  To top it off, the sauces, depending on the region, are also very different.  We recently checked out Whiskey Six BBQ and their Westcoast BBQ.  From what I can gather, they seem to employ similar techniques found in Texas BBQ but not completely.

Instead of the platter, we decided to order each individual meat a la carte.  This way, we could control the portion size of each and also have more sides.  We agreed on getting the medium size of the Johnston's Prohibition Pulled Pork with the sides being Southern Biscuits and Coleslaw.  Meaty and fairly moist, the pulled pork was actually quite wet.  That was fine as it beats being dry.  The flavour was mild, so I used some of the supplied BBQ sauce.  It was rich in colour, but mild-tasting as well.  There was some smokiness and background tang, but it could've been saltier.  The biscuits were firm on the outside and somewhat soft on the inside.  It was fine but did have a baking powder finish.  I found the coleslaw to be overdressed as it was sloppy and wet.  However, the flavours were quite good with an impactful tang and creaminess to go with the fresh crunch. 

My favourite meat of the bunch was the Blue Goose Cattle Co. Organic Beef Brisket which was also in medium size.  It was smoky with a nice flavourful bark.  Although it wasn't exactly succulent, it was a tender and fatty.   This didn't need any sauce in my opinion as the caramelized flavours and smokiness really did come through.  For the sides, this one came with Braised Greens and Chicken Wings.  The braised kale was still chewy and not overdone, yet underseasoned.  As for the wings, they came as one piece with the drummette and wing tip attached.  They were pretty crispy on the outside with well-rendered skin. It definitely needed the accompanying hot sauce or BBQ sauce since they were mildly salted.  The meat was neither juicy nor dry.

The full rack of Johnston's Pork Ribs were pretty decent where most of the meat was tender and not completely dried out.  They weren't juicy per se, but for a smoked rack of ribs, these were fine.  The smokiness was minor while the inherent flavours were mostly natural pork flavour.  Again, the side of sauce was necessary for both moisture and added punch.  Underneath, the mound of fresh cut Kennebec Fries were quite good.  They were crispy and stood up to the ribs sitting on top of them.  There was some potatoness left even though they they had been fried twice.  The other side of Smoky Beans were much less sweet and smoky than we were used to.  It didn't matter though as we prefer these mild-tasting beans over the sickingly sweet version.

We ended up getting the 2 Free Range Framcrest Chicken Legs with coleslaw and Potato Salad.  Similar to the chicken wings, the legs featured fully-rendered skin which were crispy and completely edible without any fatty portions.  The meat underneath was not dry, yet not juicy either.  However, we fully expected this for a free range smoked chicken leg.  On the other hand, the smokiness was again very much in the background.  Also like the chicken wings, the meat was not very flavourful and needed the sauce in that regard.  Mind you, with this type of BBQ, unlike the Texas version, there isn't a tonne of sauce slopped onto it.  The chunky Potato Salad was good with cooked-through potatoes that still retained a firm texture.  It wasn't over-dressed where the flavours were slightly sweet with a mild tang.

Our last dish was the Windsor Meat Sausage Links (which we got 2) with more chicken wings and braised greens.  This was another favourite featuring tasty and impactfully seasoned sausage.  They were meaty with only enough fat for texture and full-bodied flavour.  There was a noticeable spice that wasn't overwhelming.  With all of the meals, they included Fife Bakery bread, Barrelhouse brine pickle and grainy mustard.  Overall, I found the food at Whiskey Six BBQ serviceable with some highlights.  Things could've been more impactful in terms of seasoning though.  Loved the personable and friendly people there as it made our meal relaxed and enjoyable.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced for what you get
- Brisket is on point
- Friendly staff

The Bad:
- Due to its style of smoked BBQ, some might find the meats drier (but I didn't mind)
- We found most items underseasoned

Happy Hour @ Glowbal at Telus Garden

As mentioned in my Urban Thai post, it appears that Vancouver's happy hour game has stepped up in the past few years.  There seems to be more and more choices, but more importantly, the pricing is more competitive.  I've always been jealous of the cheap and tasty happy hours found in the States and am now thankful we have great options.  Recently, I decided to stop by the new Glowbal at Telus Garden to try their revamped happy hour menu with the fam. 

After perusing the new menu, it appears they are going with smaller options rather than merely discounting regular menu items.  Before we tried those, we started with a dozen of their Buck-a-Shuck Oysters.  These were fresh and sweet with a noticeable brininess.  They were accompanied by the usual horseradish, cocktail sauce and classic mignonette.  We found a few of them were haphazardly shucked though with shell fragments.  Next up was the Ahi Tuna Tartar with ponzu, avocado and cucumber.  The bits of tuna were meaty yet buttery.  There were bright flavours and a nice crunch from the cucumbers and chives.  Loved the amount of sesame oil in the mix but there was too much ponzu.  The side of crunchy taro chips were great, we just wish there was a few more of them.

Now onto the "smaller items" where we could order by the piece.  These included the Braised Beef Short Rib with truffle aioli.  We got 3 of them ($2.25 each) and they were served on spoons.  We found them to be tender and gelatinous while completely sauced with a sticky and silky red wine reduction.  Although flavourful, the sauce was rather salty and that was a bit overwhelming.  We did like the Earthy aioil on top as it added a different layer of taste.  We also got 3 pieces of the Beef Tartaki ($2.00 each) that consisted of puffed mustard chip topped with beef, black garlic, spring onion and smoked egg yolk.  I liked the airy and aromatic crisps, but they did have a hard time standing up to the beef.  About that beef, it was super tender where it was tangy and sweet.

Continuing on with the per piece items, we had the Buttermilk Parmesan Fried Chicken ($2.00 each) with peppercorn lime aioli and jalapeno.   These were more substantial than the previous 2 items where the chicken was succulent and well-seasoned.  The batter was crunchy and also nicely seasoned.  It was a touch on the thicker side, but didn't feel heavy.  It was also easy on the grease.  The aioli was slightly spicy with a background acidity.  Moving away from the meat, we had the Mushroom Tempura ($1.50 each) with kabayaki sauce and dusted with togarashi.  This was one of my favourites as the mushroom was still firm despite being cooked through.  The batter was light and crispy while the kabayaki sauce was sticky and sweet.

My son really enjoyed the Confit Duck Poutine mostly because he loves poutine in general.  In many aspects, it was a good dish since there was a plethora of tender duck (it was very good where all of the pieces were not dry at all).  The fries were fairly crispy while the amount of cheese curds was also generous.  Although the sauce was flavourful, silky and exhibited a nice hit of 5 spice, the salt content was a little much.  If there was less salt, the dish would've been nearly perfect.  One dish I could've done without was the Spinach & Cream Cheese Arancini with red pepper emulsion.  They were undercooked where the filling was mealy and dry.  Texturally, the dish was a complete miss and flavourwise, I found it be bland as well.

On the other hand, the Cauliflower Nuggets were really good.  Unlike many other restaurants, they prepared each piece as a large florette.  Hence, the cauliflower remained meaty and with a nice bite.  Outside, the batter was thin and crispy.  What really made the dish was the roja hot sauce as it was spicy enough without being overwhelming.  There was a equal amount of sweetness for balance.  Our last dish was the Mussels Provencal with tomato, summer squash, garlic and toasted focaccia.  This was more or less a straight-forward dish where the mussels were fairly plump and sweet.  There was an appealing brininess to go wit the impactful tartness of the tomato.   Okay, at this point we were only missing the shrimp cocktail and calamari, but we couldn't eat anymore.  We thought there were some highlights, but things were rather salty.  However, given its location and the see and be-seen vibe, the happy hour at Glowbal is reasonably-priced with plenty of options.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced happy hour consider location and high-end feel
- Attentive service
- Lots of options

The Bad:
- Some items were rather salty
- Arancini was almost inedible

Dim Sum @ Grand River

Fresh off a relatively decent dinner at Grand River in Coquitlam, we decided to make a rez for Dim Sum right on the spot.  So we returned a few days later to see if there was decent "Yum Cha" in a location not known for such.  Ah yes, this was the old Asia Restaurant and before that, the New China Kitchen.  Ew...  But now we have a legit Chinese restaurant serving up the usual dishes.  We were hoping it would be better than Asia Restaurant, which started off as a buffet, then transitioned into a regular a la carte restaurant.

To begin, it was the standards in the Ha Gau (Shrimp Dumplings) and Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumplings).  I found the skin on the ha gau to be rather thick and doughy with a noted chewiness.  Inside, the filling was loose with bits of shrimp that were flavourful and sweet.  There was a light buttery snap to go with a considerable amount of salt.  This dominated the flavour profile unfortunately.  I thought the siu mai were also pretty salty, but not as much.  The dumpling was buttery and meaty with tender chunks of pork, shrimp and shiitake.  There was a mild rebound texture to the pork along with intermittent pieces of fat.  Overall, this was a pretty good siu mai except, the person preparing it was rather lazy sprinkling tobiko on a sideways dumpling...

Going into it, we already knew that ordering the Xiao Long Bao would be a mistake since this was Cantonese Dim Sum, not Shanghainese.  But the kiddies wanted it...  Immediately, they somewhat regretted it because there was no soup to be found whatsoever.  Furthermore, the skin was hard, thick and chewy.  Although the meat filling was rather fatty, it ensured that everything was moist and tender.  Therefore, the best part was the filling as it was juicy and flavourful (just no soup).  Okay, the XLBs were sub par, but the Beef Meatballs were horrendous.  They were dense as hell with no meat texture.  It felt like we were eating cooked hard paste.  Moreover, they were bland and in short supply of green onions and/or cilantro.

When we took a bite into the Bean Curd Skin Rolls, it seemed like there was a sale on salt because like some of the previous items, that is all we could taste.  Beyond that, the filling was loose with a meaty bounce.  Outside, the bean curd skin was nicely textured being chewy yet tender.  Mercifully, the Pork Spareribs were significantly better than the beef meatballs and not as salty as the other dishes.  We ended up getting them with rice where the rice was soft and fluffy.  I would've preferred chewy and nutty, but it wasn't prepared in a clay pot.  The spareribs themselves were chewy with a meaty bounce.   They were purposefully seasoned where there was enough residual flavour to seep into the rice.  There was a background spice as well.  

Of course we had to order the obligatory Shrimp Spring Rolls (Japanese-style here with wasabi) for my son.   These were hot, crunchy and not greasy on the outside.  However, it was a different story on the inside as one bite revealed a burst of oil.  The filling was full-flavoured being on the sweeter side.  Unfortunately, the shrimp were overdone being rubbery.  On the other hand, the filling in the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll was much better being buttery with a sweet snap.  Unlike many other versions, they were aggressive with the white pepper which added a background spice.  The noodle itself was tender and buttery with some elasticity.  We also got the Donut Rice Noodle Roll and it was crunchy, but a bit oily.

Another mediocre dish was the Phoenix Talons (Chicken Feet).  These didn't look that appealing and in reality were chewy and hard.  The skin was tight up against the bone, so it was hard to eat and really, not much to eat either.  There was no plumpness nor fluffiness to the skin.  Overall, the dish was rather bland except for some garlic and pepperiness.  Funny how this lacked salt unlike the other items.  Although a bit dense, the BBQ Pork Buns were not bad.  The filling featured lean slices of pork that were mixed with a sweet and savoury glaze.  I thought the colour of the glaze was quite appealing as it was in a dark rich hue.

Somehow, the Bean Curd Skin Roll Wrap were pretty unappealing.  This is generally a simple dish consisting usually of fish maw, ham, a vegetable and chicken.  This one had taro which was dry and weird-tasting.  We felt this was not fresh-tasting and hence was not something we enjoyed.  As a filler (not that we needed anymore food), we got the House Special Chow Mein as well.  This was a good dish featuring crispy noodles that was doused in enough mild starch-thickened sauce to soften them up.  The fairly generous amount of ingredients were prepared properly with meaty shrimp and tender squid.

For dessert, we had both the Pineapple Buns and Egg Tarts.  Served warm, the pineapple bun featured a crispy top and bottom.  The sugar topping was not overly sweet, but the filling was rather salty (not sure why since the filling in the BBQ pork bun was not).  The texture of the bun was a little dense though.  As for the egg tarts, the filling was silky and sweet sporting a nice hue.  The tart shell was buttery and flaky emitting an aromaticness and nuttiness.  This was a nice finish to a hit and miss Dim Sum service.  We felt it was serviceable enough for the area, but things were just too salty for our tastes.  At the very least, there is real Dim Sum to be found here.

The Good:
- Okay for the area
- Reasonable pricing
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Hit and miss
- Salty

Grand River Seafood Restaurant

At one point in time, the New China Kitchen buffet thrived at its location near Silvercity in Coquitlam.  In fact, it was there long before Silvercity even existed.  The food there was hardly "Chinese", but it served a purpose and in reality did fine for Coquitlam.  However, as time passed, the place transitioned into Asia Restaurant where it was part-buffet and part-Vietnamese/Chinese.  Then it became more authentic where they got rid of the buffet and just focused on Cantonese cuisine including Dim Sum service.  Now we have Grand River Seafood Restaurant where the metamorphosis from crappy Asian buffet to legit Chinese restaurant is complete.

Upon the urging of my parents, we headed out there to check out their dinner service.  We ended up going for their dinner special which included soup, rice, dessert, choice of 3 dishes and Dungeness Crab.  We added the noodle option which helped soak up the copious amount of starchy cream sauce.  The crab itself was large and meaty, yet was a touch overdone.  It didn't make or break the dish as it was decent where they didn't skimp on the noodles.  For our choice of soup, we had the Fish Maw and Crab Meat which was silky and just thick enough.  I found it rather mild-tasting with only a modest amount of fish maw and crab.  The fish maw itself was fairly soft with a minor chewiness.  I found the limited amount of crab to be decent where it wasn't dry.

We actually added an extra dish in the Tofu and Fish Hot Pot as we were hungry.  Well, it was actually me that was hangry...  This came out sizzling and in an appealingly dark hue.  Both the fish and tofu were buttery and soft while retaining their shape and integrity when picked up with chopsticks.  There could've been a bit more fish though as most of the dish was propped up with napa cabbage.  I found the dish on the saltier side, but it did go well with rice.  The same could be said about the Broccoli and Beef where the salt content was high.  Again, it went well with rice, especially the generous amount of tender bouncy beef.  There was enough wok heat where the broccoli was still crunchy with very little residual moisture.

Normally, I tend to stay away from anything made with mayo in Chinese cuisine, but my mom wanted to try the Salad Dressing Pork Chops.  It turned out a lot better than my expectations where the pork was tender while still completely meaty.   Although there was a considerable amount of salad dressing (more like Miracle Whip), the dish didn't eat too googy nor slimy.  There was a mild sweetness accented by some tang.  Lastly, we had the Scrambled Eggs and Shrimp which at first looked a bit small in portion size.  In reality, it was just piled high on a big plate.  The eggs were silky and runny while being well-seasoned.  The shrimp were fairly large and had a nice snap texture.  Overall, we thought this was a decent meal except it was rather salty.  Of course there is better, but not around here.

The Good:
- Decent for the area
- Okay pricing
- Spacious dining room

The Bad:
- Salty
- Modest portion size