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Long ago, I had visited Parallel 49 Brewing for, what else, a beer-tasting. That was fine and dandy, but there wasn't any food! Don't get me wrong, I like a good brew as long as I can eat something with it! So I never planned a return visit. Recently, I heard that they had put in a permanent food truck in the restaurant (yes, it is parked right in the dining area!). After Sunday hockey, it was suggested we go there since we were at nearby Britannia Arena. Sounded good to me!
To get a sense of the menu, I enlisted the help of JuJu and Milhouse in sharing some of their more popular items. We started with their BBQ Wings served with ranch dressing. Now if you are wondering why the wings were dry, the "BBQ" was the rub on the outside of the wings rather than a sauce. Hence, they ate crispy with a sweet and slightly spicy coating. The skin was somewhat rendered while the meat was moist and juicy. Since sides are extra for the burgers, we got both the Kennebec Fries and Waffle Fries to share. Much like the wings, these were also solid. Extra crispy and light, the fries were more like Belgian frites (which is a good thing). On that theme, the side of dijon mayo was the perfect dip for the fries. The waffle fries were crunchy and not overly greasy while the cilantro mayo had just enough flavour without being overwhelming.
Trying to share the Bacon Cheeseburger was an exercise in mathematical angles, but we figured it out. It consisted of a beef patty, cheddar, bacon, lettuce, onion, pickled cucumber and mac sauce on a brioche bun. This was reminiscent of the one found at The EI Furniture Warehouse but better IMO. From the soft moist patty to the crispy bacon, this was an enjoyable burger. I found the brioche to be soft enough that it didn't interfere with the rest of the ingredients while robust enough to not fall apart either. Sharing the Two Piece Fried Chicken & Slaw was a bit easier and oh was it ever good. Not only was the meat juicy, the skin was fantastically crunchy and spiced. Add in the cayenne honey and we had sweet heat. Not to be outdone, the side of slaw could've also been the star as it was crunchy, tangy and full-flavoured.
Finally, we shared something that didn't need to be cut into irregular sizes - 3 x Crispy Beer Battered Cod Tacos with cabbage, spicy mayo, pico and micro cilantro. Nothing complex here but just well-prepared fish that was flaky and moist while encased in a crispy thin batter. Cabbage and pico de gallo were fresh while the spicy mayo added a kick. So in the end, I thought the food was really solid considering the venue. Nothing that will set the culinary world on fire, but a good side for your beverage.
The Good:
- Well-prepared pub-like food to go with your drink
- Fair-pricing
- Since it is in Parallel 49, you have many drink options
The Bad:
- Wish the sides were included
Sometimes we either think too much or try to hard when it comes to choosing a restaurant to eat at. Sure, we work hard for our money and we certainly do not want to waste it on mediocre overpriced food. But when we have a hungry group of people, a plain ol' any restaurant can do. This was the case after Sunday morning hockey when we stepped out onto Commercial Drive in search for eats. We didn't wander too far as we made our way to the very unsexy Skylight Restaurant. Yes, this place has been around forever and no, the food isn't particularly exciting, but we were about to find out why it continues
While others went for breakfast, I decided to stick with a lunch basic being the Special Burger consisting of 2 patties, double cheese and 2 slices of bacon. This wasn't very expensive and considering the portion size, it was pretty much fair for the price. As you can clearly see, this wasn't something gourmet nor exciting. The bun was a typical burger bun and the patties were of the generic frozen variety. Bacon was crispy and fatty though. It did the job, but to be blunt, I've had better at other diners in the city. I ended up sharing this with Milhouse who ordered the Combo of sweet & sour pork, broccoli beef and fried rice. Once again, this was pretty typical of North Americanized Chinese food. The portion size was rather small considering the price. I thought the pork was good, but the sauce could've been more impactful.
Onto the breakfast items, The Pancakes with scrambled egg and sausages was good and bad. Although a bit thin, the pancakes were fluffy and light. Sausages were fried and hence crispy on the outside and fatty on the inside. Eggs were overdone and flat. Edible but not the way I would like them done. We had 2 orders of the German Breakfast at the table consisting of sausage, hashbrowns and eggs. This was prepared nicely with perfectly sunny side eggs, soft hashbrowns (maybe too soft) and pan fried sausages. Not bad, but not overly interesting either. However, Skylight isn't a place to find inventive food or anything particularly sexy. It serves a purpose as a greasy spoon dishing out Canadian-Chinese food and diner fare.
The Good:
- Fairly well-priced
- Does the job
- Nice people
The Bad:
- Food was okay but meh at the same time
- Chinese food was surprisingly overpriced
Whenever I see a new Chinese restaurant open up shop (in particular, one with Cantonese Dim Sum service), I quickly visit it for lunch and then subsequently go back for dinner not too long after. Usually, there are 2 separate chefs for Dim Sum and dinner. Hence, the food can be very different in style and execution. So after a relatively decent Dim Sum experience at New Mandarin, we made reservations to go for dinner on Father's Day. Unlike the seating in the VIP rooms for Dim Sum, we were situated in the main dining room for dinner. However, much like the last time, the seating was far too tight where there was nowhere for the staff to go once everyone was seated.
We ended up going for a set menu with a few extra dishes. It started off with the 3 Item Combination Platter consisting of sliced beef shank, marinated jellyfish and sliced pork hock. This was a dinner for 6, so the portion sizes were a bit smaller. With that being said, it wasn't very big even with that consideration. Execution-wise, the items were quite good. I found the jellyfish to be appealingly chewy while still soft. It was impactfully marinated where the sesame oil and white pepper really came through. The beef was tender where the braising liquid completely penetrated. Gelatinized, the pork hock had a good rebound texture. Next, we had the Swallow's Nest & Seafood Pumpkin Soup. Despite its colour, the soup did not taste like pumpkin (which is a good thing because it can be too pungent). There was a general lack of bird's nest but the seafood was plentiful and prepared well.
Usually, set meals tend to include the smaller lobsters and crabs for their shellfish dish. Not here as the Lobster with Supreme Broth was absolutely massive. Just picking up the claw was difficult. In addition to that, it was prepared properly with bouncy moist meat that was sweet and briny. There was just enough sauce to coat each piece and flavour the included bed of wonton noodles underneath. I liked how they didn't charge extra for the noodles since it is not a surprise to pay anywhere from $5.00 to $10.00 for it elsewhere. From there, we moved onto the Marinated Half Free-Range Chicken served with ginger and green onion condiment. About that condiment, it was legit where it was mostly ginger with only a bit of green onion. As for the chicken, the skin was beautifully gelantized including an appealing layer of gelatin underneath. The meat was tender with the classic free-range chicken chewiness.
There used to be a time when the fish course would be rock cod, but that is far too expensive and over-fished, so we had the usual Steamed Tilapia with onion, cilantro and sweetened soy. I'm personally not a huge fan of tilapia because it can generally be rather mushy and bland. Well, this was acceptable where the fish was cooked just enough. It was somewhat flaky and moist while the soy did offer up the necessary flavour. For our veggie dish, we had the Braised Pea Tips with lily bulbs and wolf berries. Other than the lobster, this was one of the bigger dishes offering up tender pea tips that were still crunchy. Being cooked in a broth, they were very mild tasting (but that is the point). The addition of lily bulbs added a firm texture as well as another layer of sweetness to the dish.
We ended up adding a couple of dishes for the kiddies including the Sweet & Sour Pork and Scrambled Eggs & Prawns. Made with pork belly and served with a bevy of fresh fruit (dragon fruit, cantaloupe and honey dew), the sweet & sour pork was quite good. Due to the use of pork belly, the meat was tender with a wonderful rebound. We found the sauce balanced with a good tang and sweetness. The dish could've been a bit larger in portion size, but it wasn't too small either. Surprisingly, the scrambled eggs and prawns was decent in size and sported a good amount of large prawns. They were meaty with a moist snap. Unfortunately, the eggs were a over done with parts that were seared too much. Hence, the silkiness of the egg was intermittent and inconsistent. Seasoning was on point though.
Lastly, we had the Seafood Fried Rice topped with fried garlic. If I had to compare it to a recent version, this was much better than the one at Golden Restaurant. There was much more wok hei which meant the rice was caramelized, nutty and chewy. Also, there was plenty of seafood strewn throughout the rice. Lastly, the seasoning was sufficient enough and the fried garlic on top helped with the aromatics. It was agreed by everyone at the table that the food was above average. Prices are on the higher end, but the class of restaurant reflects that with nice decor and generally good service. However, a big issue was the lack of servers where we couldn't get most of our requests filled. It was a challenge to even get the bill. This is a real issue that they need to address.
The Good:
- Above average food
- Nice decor
- Service was good when we got it
The Bad:
- Expensive
- Seating is far to tight
- Not enough servers, was really hard to get anything
Despite our meal at Wild Mountain, most of our eats in Sooke consisted of burgers, fries, pizza and other fried food. So prior to our ferry back to Vancouver, we stopped off in Victoria for some Dim Sum. I do understand that Dim Sum may not be any lighter or healthier than the aforementioned eats, but there is something comforting about it. That also partially explains why I put up with average-to-substandard Chinese food while on vacation. This time around, we steered clear of the hit-and-miss Don Mee and went up the street to Golden City on Fisgard.
Walking into the place, it was like a time warp back to the late 70's and early 80's complete with paper lanterns. However, we did order from a modern checklist much like the ones we find in Vancouver. To get away from fried food, we started with the Deep Fried Dumplings and Spring Rolls (LOL). Despite the complete lack of filling in the deep fried dumplings (and when there was any, it was mostly pork fat), the outer shell was on point. Just thick enough with glutinous rice flour, it was sticky and soft with a crispy exterior. It wasn't too greasy either. Although the spring rolls were advertised as shrimp and chive, the filling was all pork and some veggies. That didn't mean it wasn't good though as the pork was moist, well-seasoned and bouncy. The spring roll wrapper was light, crunchy and easy on the grease.
As per usual, we ordered some Rice Noodle Rolls in both Shrimp and Donut. Just a touch on the thicker side, the rice noodle was marginally doughy, but overall, quite good. There was a decent amount of elasticity and the noodle was relatively soft. I enjoyed the large whole shrimp which were meaty with a sweet snap. As for the salty donut, it was large and extremely crunchy. Not sure if they refried it or not, but it was on they greasier side. Whatever the case, it was a whole lot better than being doughy and soft. Normally, when we order XO Daikon Radish Cake, it arrives in small deep-fried cubes. Not this one, as they took big irregular pieces and stir-fried them with XO sauce, green onion, sprouts and egg. I've seen this done before, but with smaller pieces. Ultimately, this was not bad with soft daikon cake that was mildly spicy and briny from the XO.
Onto some steamed items, we got the classic Ha Gau (Shrimp Dumplings) and Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumplings). Impressively large, the ha gau were more than acceptable. The medium thick dumpling skin was on the doughier side, but still had some elasticity. Inside, the shrimp filling was on the denser side, but still texturally appealing with a moist snap. In terms of seasoning, it was on the milder side, but the sweetness of the shrimp did come through and we did end up dunking them into hot sauce anyways. The siu mai were appreciably better than the ones we had at Don Mee (gross...) where the pork filling was in chunks rather than ground up. It was more meaty than bouncy in texture, but the flavours were all there including the shrimp.
For Costanza, he loves tripe and normally doesn't get to eat any with his family (they don't particularly love it). So with both options available, we got the Bible Tripe and the Honeycomb Tripe. Starting with the bible tripe, the pieces were bite-sized with very few smaller bits at the bottom. They were tender with an appealing chewiness and snap. The classic ginger and green onion flavour came through without being salty. As for the honeycomb tripe, they strips were fairly large. Texturally, it couldn't have been anymore perfect being soft and buttery while retaining the classic bite. The dish was well-seasoned with hits of garlic, slight spice, sweetness and saltiness. Both types of tripe were also not gamy which meant they had been cleaned and prepared properly.
Another solid dish was the Bean Curd Skin Roll or phonetically pronounced "Seen Jook Guen". Although a bit pale, the bean curd skin had been fried enough so there was a chewy texture while being delicate enough. Inside, the pork and veggie filling was moist and tender. It was well-seasoned as well with a good balance between sweet and savoury with a mild pork flavour. Again, that didn't really matter as we dunked it into copious amounts of Worcestershire sauce. Without trying to make a joke, the Beef Meatballs were very large in size... However, they were also a bit too dense for our liking. There needed to be a bit more baking soda and starch to make these fluffier and more airy. However, it wasn't as if they were bad either. The meat was still tender and mildly seasoned with just the right amount of green onion.
For some larger dishes, we got the Wok-Fried Flat Rice Noodles with Beef. Portion size was on the smaller side, but considering this was dim sum service and it was priced at $12.95, we were fine with it. If we talk about execution, this was pretty legit. As evidenced in the picture, there was more than enough wok heat (or wok hei) to create caramelization and smokiness. The dish wasn't overly greasy and the noodles were not clumped together. The ample amount of sliced beef was also fried up nicely as well as being super tender. Also priced at $12.95, the Sparerib and Chicken Feet Hot Pot Rice was expensive. At the very least, it was a big portion where the ribs were tender and well-seasoned. I didn't particularly like the chicken feet as the cartilage underneath the tender skin was hard. I found the rice to a bit too wet, but not a bad dish overall. In fact, Golden City wouldn't be out-of-place in the Lower Mainland, let alone Victoria. Sure, the decor could use a refresh, but it kicks Don Mee's rear end if we had to compare locally.
The Good:
- Legit Dim Sum
- Nice people
- Decent selection
The Bad:
- The 70's called and want their Chinese restaurant decor back
- Some items were pricier than usual
As much as I would love to blog exclusively the best restaurants in Vancouver and around the world, it is not completely practical. First and most importantly, I need to save for my kid's college fund, so eating it all away is not exactly responsible (but oh so delicious!). Second, eating like that gets a little much, unless you are some eating assassin like Mijune. So when we were in Sooke, it was agreed that we would do one inexpensive meal that didn't involve visiting a restaurant. We ended up picking up a couple of pizzas and 2 lasagnas from the nearby Pizzability.
I think this had to be one of the first times I've picked up pizza from the second floor, hence it was rather warm when we entered the place. Gotta give it to them, they were organized and efficient as everything was ready including little containers of Parm and red pepper flakes. We got one each of the Cheese and Meatlovers Pizza. So the pizza crust was not greasy, which was a good thing. However, it was also rather dry and cardboard-like. We did like how it was crispy, but the denseness and dry texture was not that appealing. There could've been a bit more tomato sauce in our opinion. The cheese pizza was pretty basic, but the meatlovers was impactfully spicy due to the plethora of sausage. Again, liked how it wasn't too greasy, but the crust was a downer.
Usually, takeout pizza joint Lasagna can be a feeble attempt consisting of noodles, sauce and some cheese. Surprisingly, we found cottage cheese and meat within the lasagna. This made it much more hearty and varied in texture. Like the pizzas, one of the lasagnas had added Italian sausage and that made it really robust and spicy. Furthermore, they did not skimp on the mozzarella cheese either. I actually liked the Italian sausage lasagna as it was good for what it was. Probably one of the best pizza joint versions I've had ever. That pretty much made up for the average pizza. Yet, who am I kidding? For the price, the food was more than acceptable and did the job especially for the kids. Not great pizza, but good enough for a quick simple meal.
The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Surprisingly decent lasagna
The Bad:
- Crust a bit too dry
Sometimes simple food is all it takes to keep everyone happy. Of course, that excludes fast food, not because of it being unhealthy, but rather, it isn't something new (especially on vacation). So we didn't get too fancy nor too far away from our hotel for lunch as we made our way to nearby Mom's Cafe. This place gets high ratings and is also recommended by the locals. Furthermore, it really satisfied the "family-friendly" criteria (even though our kids are completely at home eating practically anywhere).
Despite not really wanting to eat a burger, my son took one for the team (not that much of a stretch) and got the Bacon 'n Cheddar Burger with fries. Keeping in line with the theme of the place, the burger wasn't complex. It was straight up with crispy bacon and melted cheese on top of a thick meaty patty. It wasn't exactly juicy, but not dry either. It was well charred though. He was happy with it, but it wasn't as good as the one we had at Westcoast Grill. For my daughter, she went simple and had the bowl of Salmon Corn Chowder with corn, tomato, carrot, celery, onion, cream, black pepper and paprika. This was on the thicker floury side rather than being creamy. It was definitely sweet with some fishiness. This was acceptable, but could've been less thick and it could've used maybe a bit more tang/acidity to lighten the richness.
I had the Baron of Beef Dip partially because Costanza had a really good one at Route 14 the night before. Again, keeping with the theme, the version here was much more simple and straightforward with shaved roast beef on a French roll. The beef was tender, albeit more lean and meatier than the sous-vide version from Route 14. The side of garlic herb au jus was rather generic, but did the job softening up and flavouring the bread. Costanza ended up with the 2 Piece Cod 'n Chips. For a non-fish 'n chip joint, this was a solid effort. The crunchy batter was light and not dense at all nor was it greasy either. The fish itself was moist and flaky. As for the fries, they were rather typical albeit fried properly. I would've liked to see fresh cut double-fried Kennebec fries, but these were fine. The accompanying tartar sauce was creamy with a bit of tang. It could've used more white onion though.
Viv decided on the Turkey Cranberry Sandwich with house-roasted turkey breast, lettuce, tomato, mayo and cranberry sauce. Although they state that it is house-roasted, the turkey seemed almost like deli-meat (to be fair, it could've been brined, then roasted). Nothing particularly wrong with that other than we were expecting something less processed tasting and texture-wise. The side of onion rings were crunchy for the flour-battered version. We much prefer breaded, but these were fine. Overall, Mom's did the job without much fanfare. Was it better than anything we had so far in Sooke? Well no. But that isn't the point of the place.
The Good:
- Solid simple food for the family
- Okay pricing
- Nice people
The Bad:
- Chowder was far too thick
- Turkey didn't appear to be house-roasted or at the very least, it was brined too much so all natural meat texture was lost
Not trying to stray too far from our hotel and also that it was something different than our hotel restaurant, we made our way to Route 14 for dinner. Named after the street that it resides on, Route 14 didn't look like much from the outside. In fact, we would've passed right by it and dismissed it as another bar. However, looks can be deceiving as the online reviews seemed to make it sound like a solid place for the entire family. We made a reservation and thank goodness we did as it was pretty busy.
In addition to the burger (yes, another burger) that I had ordered, we had the Salt & Pepper Wings too as an appie. Glistening with oil, these wings were indeed a bit on the greasier side, yet at the same time, they were super crispy. As for the meat itself, beyond the crispiness of the exterior it was juicy and tender (not dry at all). They were well-seasoned being salty enough and of course peppery. I got the side of blue cheese dip and it provided an extra layer of creamy sharpness to the crispy wings. My Route 14 Classic Burger wasn't as a good as the one from West Coast Grill, but was still solid in its own right. It sported a 6oz fresh brisket and chuck patty, cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and special sauce on a toasted potato bun. I found the well-charred patty to be meaty and full flavoured with bits of onion strewn throughout. With all of the ingredients, the burger ate moist despite the lean patty. Being very crispy with little potatoness left, the fries were more like double-cooked frites.
Viv had the Chicken Club consisting of marinated & grilled chicken breast, maple smoked bacon, Camembert cheese, lettuce, tomato and garlic mayo on toasted sourdough. When it arrived, we were rather impressed at the size of the sandwich. However, we found quite a few issues with it. First of all, the bread was toasted rather aggressively and it ate dry and hard. Second, the bacon was overly firm where it was difficult to chew through (yet it tasted good). Lastly, the chicken was too thin where it was barely there and ate very dry. The best part was the melted and creamy camembert. My son opted for the 1/2 Rack of Baby Back Ribs with fries and slaw. These were pretty typical of non-BBQ ribs (they were oven-roasted), but done well being tender with a good amount of meatiness still remaining. As for the Dark Matter BBQ sauce, it was more sweet than tangy or smoky. There could've been a lot more of it too.
Seeing how she always orders the most expensive dish when we go out to eat, my daughter didn't disappoint with the crispy pan-seared Lois Lake Steelhead Trout with prawn & crab spring rolls, leek soubise, sesame sauce, asparagus and mushroom & bean saute (for $27.00). I kid you not, the trout was prepared better than most fine-dining restaurants I've visited. The skin was crispy and well-seasoned while the fish was medium-rare. Buttery, delicate and moist, the fish was perfect. We were surprised to find 2 large spring rolls on the plate (would've been worth $10.00 as per the appetizer) which meant the rest of the dish was only $17.00. Good value. They were really crispy and packed with fluffy crab, veggies and sriracha cream cheese. Yummy. For the rest of the plate, we found it a bit muddled and too busy. A simple side of veggies would've sufficed.
Costanza and Elaine shared the sous-vide AAA Roast Beef Dip with crispy onions, dijonaise on French bun with beef jus. Now usually a beef dip is a beef dip, but this one was really good. Since they sous-vide the beef first, it was super tender requiring very little chewing. The toasted bun was soft and really complimented the beef (some places have firmer buns that overwhelm the beef). Loved the crispy onions where they added both texture and an extra hit of sweetness. Lastly, the jus was not the run-of-the-mill powdered stuff as it was meaty and natural tasting (not salty). They also got the Island Mussels with chorizo sausage, roast garlic, shallots, lager & cream and garlic toast. Portion-wise, this was very generous with plump buttery mussels in an aromatic cream sauce that had only the mildest hint of spice. Not sure why they served us rye bread as garlic toast though. This weird garlic toast and the sandwich were the only real blemishes to relatively good meal. Lots of choices (including fancier dishes) for the whole family at reasonable prices.
The Good:
- Don't judge a book by its cover, there is good food to be found here
- Friendly service
- Family friendly
The Bad:
- Sandwich wasn't good and rye bread as garlic bread???
- Wings were greasy
Posts
Long ago, I had visited Parallel 49 Brewing for, what else, a beer-tasting. That was fine and dandy, but there wasn't any food! Don't get me wrong, I like a good brew as long as I can eat something with it! So I never planned a return visit. Recently, I heard that they had put in a permanent food truck in the restaurant (yes, it is parked right in the dining area!). After Sunday hockey, it was suggested we go there since we were at nearby Britannia Arena. Sounded good to me!
To get a sense of the menu, I enlisted the help of JuJu and Milhouse in sharing some of their more popular items. We started with their BBQ Wings served with ranch dressing. Now if you are wondering why the wings were dry, the "BBQ" was the rub on the outside of the wings rather than a sauce. Hence, they ate crispy with a sweet and slightly spicy coating. The skin was somewhat rendered while the meat was moist and juicy. Since sides are extra for the burgers, we got both the Kennebec Fries and Waffle Fries to share. Much like the wings, these were also solid. Extra crispy and light, the fries were more like Belgian frites (which is a good thing). On that theme, the side of dijon mayo was the perfect dip for the fries. The waffle fries were crunchy and not overly greasy while the cilantro mayo had just enough flavour without being overwhelming.
Trying to share the Bacon Cheeseburger was an exercise in mathematical angles, but we figured it out. It consisted of a beef patty, cheddar, bacon, lettuce, onion, pickled cucumber and mac sauce on a brioche bun. This was reminiscent of the one found at The EI Furniture Warehouse but better IMO. From the soft moist patty to the crispy bacon, this was an enjoyable burger. I found the brioche to be soft enough that it didn't interfere with the rest of the ingredients while robust enough to not fall apart either. Sharing the Two Piece Fried Chicken & Slaw was a bit easier and oh was it ever good. Not only was the meat juicy, the skin was fantastically crunchy and spiced. Add in the cayenne honey and we had sweet heat. Not to be outdone, the side of slaw could've also been the star as it was crunchy, tangy and full-flavoured.
Finally, we shared something that didn't need to be cut into irregular sizes - 3 x Crispy Beer Battered Cod Tacos with cabbage, spicy mayo, pico and micro cilantro. Nothing complex here but just well-prepared fish that was flaky and moist while encased in a crispy thin batter. Cabbage and pico de gallo were fresh while the spicy mayo added a kick. So in the end, I thought the food was really solid considering the venue. Nothing that will set the culinary world on fire, but a good side for your beverage.
