Fol Epi

Having visited Victoria during Spring Break, we were able to sample some pretty good eats while we were there.  We actually visited Agrius twice, once for brunch and once for dinner.  Something that I normally do not do on vacation - do a revisit.  Well, is 3rd time the charm?  It wasn't really a trifecta as we didn't dine at Agrius, but we did pay the adjacent Fol Epi (same company) for some pastries and treats.  We had already sampled their wonderful in-house bread when we were at Agrius, so our expectations were pretty high.

One of the most basic, if not important items on any bakery's menu is the classic Butter Croissant.  As evidenced in the picture, the croissant was on the smaller side being rather narrow.  Beyond the initial crispiness, the rest of it didn't shatter as much as I would've liked.  It was definitely buttery and soft inside, but I just would've preferred more spun layers (laminating).  That would've made it crunchier and nutty.  We also got the Ham & Cheese Croissant as well and it was similar to the classic croissant except it was crispier in some spots while softer in others.  This was totally acceptable due to the wet ingredients.  Again, I would've liked to see more layers and shattering, but it was good in terms of the smokiness of the ham and of course the gooey cheese.

One of my favourite items was the Apple Strudel where the filling was really tasty.  It was full of tender chunks of apple that were appealingly tangy.  It was enveloped with just enough sweetness for balance.  ON the outside, the pastry was light and crispy.  Despite the wet filling, the rest of the strudel did not get soggy.  Off to another savoury item, the Caramelized Onion, Bacon and Cheese Scone was robust and filling.  Naturally, scones are usually rather dense, and this one was that for sure.  At the same time, it wasn't in a bad way.  Beyond the firm, almost crunchy exterior, the inside was moist and fluffy in the aforementioned dense manner.  It was aromatic and full of flavour due to the ingredients involved.

Onto some other pastries, Costanza got the Lemon Tart, Almond Slice and Hazelnut Cake.  I didn't get to try any of these, but he thought they were all quite good, but not great.  I would concur with that as the items I did try were exactly that.  Probably the best of Victoria according to many and until I try others places, I will go on that.  Compared to pastries I've had in Vancouver, I would say Thomas Haas and Chez Christophe are better, but that is in Vancouver.  So not really fair to compare.  All-in-all, still totally enjoyable, including the wonderful bread and charcuterie.

The Good:
- Good variety including pastries, breads and charcuterie
- Generally good products
- Nice space 

The Bad:
- Not a very big space though

Rooftop at the Sticky Wicket

A long time ago, when we were "sans enfants", we made a trip to Victoria with Costanza and Elaine.  We stayed at the Chateau Victoria and dined on oysters at Ferris' Oyster Bar.  Interestingly, we had walked past the Sticky Wicket Pub where one of their windows had been smashed (police were on the scene). I believe we were to eat there that night, but due to the window issue, we went somewhere else.  Fast forward to the present, we are much older and have 2 kids each.  We returned to the Sticky Wicket and headed up to the Rooftop since we couldn't get a big enough table in the family friendly section of the pub downstairs.

Complete with a beach volleyball court, the rooftop is a great place to hang out on a sunny day.  That we did and yes, of course we ordered food.  My son went big with the Classic Steak Sandwich with sauteed button mushrooms, garlic bread and chips.  Prepared a perfect medium-rare, the steak was charred and evenly cooked.  Not only was it tasty, it was super tender and well-rested.  It was topped with a tonne of buttery tender mushrooms.  For my daughter, she had the Cajun Chicken Quesadilla with cheddar & Monterey jack cheese, scallions and tomatoes.  She added the guacamole (for $2.00 more) to go with the sour cream.  Again, this was nothing complex, but done relatively well.  Inside the grilled flour tortillas, there was lightly spiced chicken with a good amount of melted cheddar.

For myself, I had the BBQ Sampler with fire grilled Certified Angus beef top sirloin steak, beer braised chicken drumsticks, baby back pork ribs, grilled chorizo link, BBQ sauce, cheddar jalapeño cornbread, baked beans and spicy Italian pickled vegetables.  This was a decent amount of meat where the steak was medium rare and tender despite its small size.  The ribs were fall-off-the bone but a little bland.  I thought the drumsticks were cooked just right where the meat wasn't dry.  Rounding out the meats, the chorizo was nicely grilled and slightly spicy.  For Viv, she went for something light in the Pesto Chicken Baguette with basil infused pesto aioli, grilled chicken, crisp double smoked bacon, fresh apple, smoked gouda cheese and baby spinach leaves.  Featuring as soft buttered baguette, the sandwich didn't eat heavy.  I found the chicken to be tender and moist while the rest of the ingredients created even more moisture.  Loved the smokiness of the cheese and bacon.

One thing that wasn't all that interesting was the Rooftop Burger made with Certified Angus Beef.  To be fair, this was for Costanza's youngest son and he didn't want the tomato or lettuce which probably made the burger a bit dry to eat.  However, the burger patty itself was not all that juicy either.  It was seasoned with salt and pepper, so it wasn't bland and the addition of cheese helped as well.  For Elaine, she decided on the Sirloin Steak and Watermelon Salad with balsamic, fresh basil & mint infused watermelon, red onion, feta cheese and iceberg lettuce dressed in lemon olive oil. As you can see, the steak was medium (as requested) being tender.  The salad itself was refreshing and light while sporting plenty of acidity.  So as you can see, the food wasn't complex, but it did the job for a reasonable price.  Loved the rooftop setting where there was beach volleyball and also the kid friendly space.

The Good:
- More than acceptable eats
- Decent portions
- Nice rooftop setting

The Bad:
- Not inventive food by any means (but that is not what they are trying to do either)
- Rooftop can get windy (but that is to be expected)

Joyful Seafood Restaurant

So here we go again playing musical chairs with Chinese restaurants at 5665 Kingsway in Burnaby.  It was famous for the dragon lady owner when it was known as Po King where customers and staff alike were at her mercy.  It closed and became New Starlet, which was a decent spot, but pricing was a little too high for its location.  That lasted for many years until recently.  Now, in its latest iteration, we find Joyful Seafood Restaurant.  Not much was done with the interior decor and really, the only change I noticed was the new purple signage on the outside.

For some odd reason, we ordered 2 Rice Noodle Rolls which were somewhat similar in the Donut Rice Noodle Roll and the Crispy Fish Mousse Rice Noodle Roll.  Beyond the medium-thick noodle, the donut was a bit dense and not really all that crispy.  On the other hand, it wasn't bad and not overly greasy.  As for the fish mousse, I thought that it was fluffy enough that there was a light bounce texture while the exterior was a bit crisp.  I wasn't so sure why there was so much green onion in the rice noodle while there was plenty in the fish mousse already.  We really enjoyed the Stir-Fried XO Daikon Pudding Cake as the cubes were fried up crispy with very little oiliness.  Texturally, they were soft and almost airy with tender slivers of daikon and cured sausage.  I would've liked to see more brininess and spice from the XO sauce, but it was still evident.

As if there wasn't enough rice noodle rolls already, we also ordered the Brisket & Tendon Rice Noodle Roll Hot Pot.  This was a fairly large portion of rolled noodles underneath stewed brisket and tendon.  I thought the sauce was a tad goopy due to the addition of starch, but at the same time, I guess it would be better than watery.  The medium-sized chunks of brisket were tender with only a bit of fat.  I found the tendon pieces were rather small and melted though.  Staying on the same theme, we ordered the Sparerib and Chicken Feet Hot Pot Rice as well.  I thought this was pretty expensive considering the portion size ($13.95).  The spareribs were good though being mainly meaty pieces which were tender with a bit of chew remaining.  They were well-seasoned with plenty of garlickiness.  Chicken feet were solid too with tender deep fried skin with soft cartilage and fat underneath.  Only issue was the rice as it was a bit too wet.

Onto the staples of Dim Sum, the Ha Gau (Shrimp Dumplings) and Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumplings) were both well-executed.  I found the wrapper on the ha gau to be medium thick while not being too doughy.  It had a nice elasticity which in turn lead to a good mouth feel.  Inside, the shrimp filling was on point with big pieces of whole shrimp that were moist with a meaty snap.  They could've eased up on the seasoning though.  The siu mai were equally good except for the many large chunks of pork fat.  I know that is one of the keys to keep the meat moist and bouncy, but it could've been in smaller pieces so that it would not be as apparent (like in the ha gau).  Despite this, the overall texture of the pork and shrimp had a good rebound and the seasoning was nicely balanced.

From steamed, we moved over to fried in the form of Shrimp Spring Rolls and Deep Fried Taro Dumplings.  Strangely, the whole shrimp filling (that was in the ha gau) didn't work as well in the spring roll.  Due to the lack of shrimp mousse as a binding agent (and for moisture), the filling was loose and trending towards dry.  Besides that, the spring roll was crunchy and mild on the grease.  As for the taro dumplings, they were really good.  The medium-thick layer of mashed taro was super airy and light.  Unlike many other versions, these were properly drained and the even the bottoms were not overly oily.  The ground pork filling was mixed with a Portuguese sauce that was aromatic and lightly seasoned.  I would've liked to see less fatty bits though.

Back to the steamed, we had my favourite dish (in general, not specifically this one) in the Honeycomb Beef Tripe.  This was on point with large pieces of tender beef tripe.  It was soft enough that chewing was the easy part while not completely melted either.  I found the sauce to be pretty potent bordering on salty, but not.  There was some spice and sweetness to round the flavours out.  With very little gaminess, the tripe was obviously cleaned properly.  Large and overflowing off the plate, the Beef Meatballs were textbook.  Texturally, they were meaty and firm enough that there was some robustness.  At the same time, the meat was processed enough to be tender and light.  They were very easy on the seasoning where we could taste the green onion and cilantro.  This definitely needed the Worcestershire sauce on the side.

Normally, it isn't advised to order Xiao Long Bao in a Cantonese restaurant, but we did it for the kiddies.  Surprisingly, these were actually quite good featuring thin tender dumpling skin (lacking elasticity though) and a decent amount of sweet soup inside.  It was really too bad they were squished together since they essentially burst open when we picked them up.  Even the meat was tender and nicely textured.  They just need to use a bigger steamer.  We got the requisite BBQ Pork Buns for my son and they were good as well.  Featuring a fluffy and airy steamed bun, these ate well without any dense gumminess.  Inside, the lean pork filling was sauced with a sweet glaze.  A textbook version of this dish.

We ended off with the Baked Egg Tarts which were pretty decent too.  The tart puff pastry tart shell was flaky and buttery (more like lard, but yum!) while the filling was silky albeit on the firmer side.  It was just sweet enough.  Other than a few issues here and there, the Dim Sum service at Joyful was generally good.  Compared to my recent visit to another new spot (New Mandarin), I would say Joyful was more consistent across the board for a little less money.  Definitely worth a try if you are in Burnaby Metrotown area.

The Good:
- Solid Dim Sum
- Decent service
- Lots of parking

The Bad:
- XLBs were stuck together
- Not sure why the hot pot rice was so expensive

OEB Breakfast Co.

If you have been paying attention, I've been lamenting the mediocre brunch scene in Vancity for the past decade on this blog.  However, we've seen some improvement on that front with the additions of the Red Wagon, Yolks, Jam Cafe, BLVD, Wooden Spoon, Grey Olive and many others that have stepped up their brunch game.  So the Lower Mainland isn't the brunch wasteland it once was and hopefully will never be again (it can't go backwards right???).  Now we can add popular OEB Breakfast Co out of Calgary to the mix.  They took over the former Hurricane Grill location in Yaletown and are offering farm-to-table brunch that cannot be classified as typical.  

Their menu is diverse and large appealing to many different tastes.  I was originally invited to their opening where I was able to try the Threesome and their crowd favourite, Soul in a Bowl.  We made it a foursome by adding a side of Canadian bacon in addition to the chicken blueberry banger, sunny side free-range eggs and brioche French toast.  Also included was a variety of fresh fruit and a side of duck fat potatoes.  As much as this wasn't complex, the items were executed well.  In particular, the French toast was crispy on the outside with just enough egg while the brioche was soft.  Loved the crispy aromatic potatoes on the side.  Consisting of poached eggs, herb potatoes, Saint Cyrille curds, slow-cooked bacon lardons and brown butter Hollandaise, the Soul in a Bowl could only be described as rich and filling.  The same crispy potatoes held up to the creamy Hollandaise as well as the perfectly poached eggs.  Caramelized and meaty, the bacon added saltiness and yes, the curds were legit and not all melted.

Now 2 dishes doesn't even come close to putting dent into the menu, so we came back with the family for a wider range of items.  One of their more iconic offerings is the Hog & Scallops.  By visuals alone, it wasn't hard to see why either.  Just look at the 2 gigantic Digby scallops!  Beautifully seared and served medium-rare, they were buttery and sweet where the proper respect was given to the delicate ingredient.  Other than the scallops, the rest of the dish was a mirror image of the Soul in a Bowl.  Yep, it wasn't light eating.  On the other hand, Viv had something that appeared to be less heavy in the Tuna Crudo with avocado, sesame, pommes gaufrette, cilantro crema and poached hen eggs.  In reality, once she got past the fresh chunks of soft tuna and fresh buttery avocado, the potatoes were just as filling.  At least there was no Hollandaise where it was replaced by a herbaceous creama.

For myself, I had the Confit Duck and Egg sporting hand pinched pierogies, hardwood smoked bacon, duck confit, green onions, raspberry vinaigrette and a free-run organic duck egg.  This didn't look very big compared to some of the other dishes we've had so far, but it was still plenty filling due to the pierogies.  However, it wasn't due to being dense.  In fact, the outer wrapper was fairly thin and delicate where it reveal a soft and creamy potato filling.  Toss in tender duck confit and meaty bacon as well as a runny duck egg, then things got plenty rich.  One dish we were indifferent about was the GMO Free Canadian Lobster & Shrimp Crepe.  Nothing wrong with the crepe itself as it was thin and delicate, but the filling was rather indistinguishable.  I couldn't tell what was what even though the filling was supposed to be butter poached lobster & shrimp scramble, green onions and French caviar with brown butter Hollandaise on top, I never got the sense any of that was in there.  The whole thing tasted fine though.

For the kids, my daughter had the Upstream Benny while my son had the Canadian Eh!  The upstream featured organic spinach, dill & vermouth cured lox, brown butter Hollandaise and herb potatoes. Pretty straightforward here except for the vermouth, but it wasn't that noticeable. SO far, I haven't commented on the brown butter Hollandaise (which is used in many of the dishes).  Other than being texturally on point, the flavour was a bit nutty, yet not overly strong.  As for the more basic benny, the Canadian Eh! was better in my opinion since it sported a heartier piece of pea meal bacon.  I felt the salmon in the Upstream was rather meager in comparison.  Overall, we enjoyed the brunch at OEB and the large menu appeals to many tastes.  Prices are definitely on the higher side, but if you choose the right dishes, it isn't as outrageous as you might think (considering the waterfront location too).  It is definitely worth checking out, just make sure you get enough intel so you can order the right things.

*First 2 dishes were complimentary, the rest were on my coin*

The Good:
- Interesting and unique offerings
- Awesome location
- Things were generally prepared properly with quality ingredients

The Bad:
- Some dishes are on the smaller side and could use something to occupy the empty space
- Limited reservations, you'll have to lineup

HiFive Chicken (Burnaby)

For such a big city, Vancouver's fried chicken game is relatively weak.  When you have to put an American fast food chain near the top of the list locally, it is a real indictment.  Now I don't hold anything against Church's Chicken because it is indeed juicy and well-brined, yet in other cities, it wouldn't even make their top 3.  I personally love Church's and do think it is a close second to my favourite - LA Chicken.  With the addition of Popeye's it makes things more interesting, especially with Juke, Win Win and Down Low in the mix as well.  One spot I haven't mentioned is the local chain of HiFive Chicken (2 locations as of this blog post).  I've had their chicken many times and consider it a worthy competitor to the aforementioned places.  Recently, I was invited to sample their menu along with Diana, Emily and Melody.

As much as they offer chicken, HiFive has a wide range of sides including their popular Potato Wedges and Fried Mac n' Cheese.  Unlike all of the other spots, HiFive does not offer a traditional French fry.  However, this is not a problem since their spiced potato wedges are really good.  When eaten fresh, they are crunchy and well-seasoned while sporting plenty of soft potatoey goodness inside.  I find them rather filling as well and are a meal in itself.  It is best to share them.  With a cheesy and well-salted filling, the bites don't really need the accompanying dipping sauce (although it goes well with a side of ketchup!).  As greasy as it can be, it really isn't while being crispy on the outside.  I also like how the batter is not thick either.

One new item I got to try is their Pepper Poppers and they are fairly large in size.  They feature a crunchy exterior giving way to a cooked pepper that still exhibits a light crunch.  Stuffed inside is seasoned cream cheese that isn't melted.  There is a medium level of spice to go with a nice tang and creaminess of the cheese.  Once again, the grease level is moderate.  I also never had their Onion Rings and these are somewhat similar to the breaded version found at A&W except with a less aggressive thickness to the batter.  Hence, there is definitely a firm crunch, but not heavy.  Easy on the grease again, the batter reveals tender onion that is completely cooked through.

Onto the chicken, they are one of the few places that offers up both Fried and Baked Chicken.  For their fried chicken, the original is very similar to Church's except being a bit darker and at times, crunchier.  The chicken is juicy and brined, but not as salty as Church's.  I prefer the spicy due to the extra pop of flavour.  I find that the spice level equal to the one at Church's but just uniquely different.  It doesn't have an initial bite, but the spice builds as you eat it.  As for the baked, the skin is well-rendered to the point where there is not much fat left.  At the same time, the meat maintains a certain amount of succulence.  Once again, the spicy is my choice and similar to the fried version, the heat shows up at the end.


For all the times I've visited HiFive, this is the first time I got to sample the burgers.  We had them all including the HiFive Chicken, Fried Chicken Mega, Homestyle Spicy Chicken and the Super Spicy Baked.  As much as the baked versions were "healthier" (depends on your definition of healthier...), the fried ones were our preference.  With the solid crunch and juicy white meat, the HiFive Chicken (spicy) was our favourite.  The large size of the chicken breast made it hearty and filling.  I also enjoyed the super spicy baked as well due to the heat.  The chicken was still moist despite the crunch on the outside.  Well, there you have it, a successful return visit to HiFive Chicken.  For the items we tried, they were good and definitely worthy of being in the conversation as one of the better fried chicken choices in town.

*All food and drink was complimentary*

The Good:
- Solid fried chicken
- Option of baked chicken
- Good sides

The Bad:
- Didn't get to try the chicken strips, but they weren't my favourite the last time, heard they are changing the recipe

M8

Funny how certain locations within the city are deathtraps for restaurants.  Case in point, the seemingly awesome waterfront spot along 1010 Beach Avenue sees a turnstile of restaurants coming and going.  The latest iteration, M8, features elevated Chinese/Asian food that "isn't fusion" according to the menu and website.  Featuring the same chef from the former Moma in Richmond, I was intrigued as to what we had in store at this location as well as the somewhat eclectic menu.  Joining me for this food adventure were Maggi, Joyce, Areta and David.

We set out on this meal with some of the smaller plates including the Crispy Chicken Skin sporting chili oil, salty egg yolk, mustard seeds and balsamic glaze.  I have to say right now that this dish has to be one of the "must try" items in the city.  Perfectly and uniformly crispy, the airy chicken skin was kissed with the salty umaminess of the egg yolk powder.  It was further amped by the balanced amount of chili oil, tangy mustard seeds and sweet glaze.  I could have easily eaten all of this myself and 2 more orders.  Next, the Beef Cheeks was also quite good being deep fried and then tossed in aged black vinegar, Sichuan peanuts and lotus root.  Beyond the lightly crispy coating, the beef cheeks were melt-in-our-mouths tender.  Although the sweet tanginess of the black vinegar wasn't everyone's cup of tea, I enjoyed it and thought some white rice on the side would've been great.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Crispy Pork Belly mainly because it was dry and not sinfully fatty.  Since we had 5 of us, I tried to cut the 2 generous slices of belly with a knife.  Unfortunately, all I accomplished by that was shredding the meat due to the dry texture.  This was really too bad as the pork belly was nicely seared and tasted great on its own (as well as with the accompanying pork jus).  We weren't too sure of the taro root puree on the bottom though as it didn't add much.  In fact, the pasty texture didn't really go in our opinion.  Actual chunks of stewed taro would've worked better (like the classic strewed pork belly and taro).  We got a bonus dish since the chef recognized me from my visit to Moma.  It turned out to be one of my favourites in the Shimeji Mushroom Tempura with burnt lemon aioli, warm kale salad and wakame.  This was a textural delight where the crunchy batter revealed tender, yet still firm mushrooms.

Our last small dish was the Smoked Lamb Belly with mint salsa verde and fennel carrots.  Texturally, this was better than the pork belly as it was tender and gelatinous.  The smoke flavour was definitely there, but we found a strong aftertaste which wasn't necessarily appealing.  Naturally, the mint salsa verde was a good compliment to the lamb.  We felt this was a pretty solid dish except for the aftertaste.

Onto our larger items, this is where it became fairly hit and miss.  I would say the Beef and Broccoli was a polarizing dish as many didn't like it.  We actually had 2 versions where the first one featured an overdone 8 oz ribeye steak (our server thought we wanted the steak well-done, huh???).  Anyways, the second steak was perfectly medium-rare and quite good.  Unfortunately, the broccoli in the second dish was far too salty unlike the first dish.  It was properly prepared in terms of texture though being crunchy while cooked through.  Hit and miss on the same plate was the Crispy Aged Duck Breast and Duck Leg Confit.  I really enjoyed the tender duck breast with crispy skin, but the duck leg was over fried being dry and not really all that appealing.  The dish was completed with soybean and preserved mustard greens.

Trying out 2 of their pastas, we had the Tagliatelle Bolognese and also the Tiger Prawn Bucatini.  Reminiscent of a "Ja Jeun Mein", the beef and pork ragu sported shiitake mushrooms and trio soy sauce.  Hence this tasted truly Asian, but mixed with a very non-Asian pasta.  Unlike some others, I didn't mind this dish even though it was missing something.  It could've used some form of acidity or spice to liven up the flat flavours.  However, I thought the pasta was perfect and the meaty ragu exhibited plenty of body and robustness.  Universally, we enjoyed the bucatini more as it was brighter and less heavy.  The pasta featured a shrimp and garlic chive pesto which was aromatic and herbaceous.  Once again, the pasta was perfect and the prawns were meaty with a sweet snap.  Overall, I didn't mind the food at M8, but the appies were definitely the highlight as opposed to the entrees.  Considering its location, M8 is a great place to grab a drink and some small bites while people watching from the patio.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced considering its location (especially the appies)
- Good location for the Summer
- Some highlights

The Bad:
- Entrees weren't bad per se, but could use some tweaks
- A little confusing with some of the combos