Moxie's Grill & Bar (Richmond)

Believe it or not, I've not been to a location of Moxie's since 2011.  Back then, it was for late-night eats and we came away satisfied.  Since then, there have been changes to the menu and more recently, I was invited to try their happy hour and dinner menu at the Richmond location attached to the Sandman Hotel.  We were seated in the outdoor "solarium" section of the restaurant that could be converted to an outdoor patio.

Looking over the menu, there was a little of everything that would satisfy most appetites but there were a few items that stood out.  As simple as the Roasted Tomatoes and Whipped Feta sounded on the menu, it turned out to be one of our favourite dishes.  Creamy, tangy and full-flavoured, the airy feta was perfectly balanced by the blistered tangy tomatoes.  The combination of olive oil and garlic added even more aromatics.  The flax seed sourdough drizzled with olive oil was fluffy, yet still firm enough to be the complimentary vessel.

Another eye-pleasing appetizer was the Fresh-Smashed Guacamole served with fresh white corn chips & pico de gallo. Prior to Covid-19, this would actually be prepared table side.  However, there was no mistaking that this was made-to-order.  The ingredients were fresh from the ripe avocado to the tangy tomatoes and sharp onions.  I would've liked to see a lime wedge on the side, so we could adjust the acidity for ourselves.  We loved the corn chips as they were light and crunchy while not over-salted.

As much as Calamari is pretty much a staple at most restaurants these days, this version at Moxie's stood out.  Rather than preparing the squid in rings, they were cut up "Asian"-style, that allowed for more texture.  It was a nice balance between being tender while still offering up some bite.  Light on the grease, the crispy batter was well-seasoned and fried just right.  Loved the charred half-lemon, where we could really brighten things up with the entire dish.

Our last happy hour item was a complete flavour bomb.  We weren't expecting the Shrimp Tacos to blow our minds, but it did with a combination of spiced shrimp, spicy black bean crumble, pickled red onions, corn salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole and spicy mayo.  Warm and soft, the tortilla encased a combination of textures, heat, sweetness, acidity and aromatics.  Shrimp was on point with a snap.  I would gladly eat this again!

Served on a pretzel bun with sauteed mushrooms, horseradish, roasted garlic aioli and cheese, the Beef Dip was satisfyingly filling.  It was loaded with tender roast beef that was actually rather lean.  Nice flavours already from the cheese, mushrooms and aioli, but the au just was super flavourful.  It was salty on its own, but combined with the robust pretzel bun, it was balanced.  On the side, the fries were crispy with plenty of potato goodness left inside.

For myself, I didn't get too creative because I'm currently on this fried chicken sandwich kick.  Hence, I had to order BT's Crispy Chicken Sandwich in the spicy version with Louisiana hot sauce.  Ultimately, this became a buffalo chicken burger and it was pretty good.  It featured a large whole chicken breast with a thin layer of panko on the outside.  The chicken was moist while the panko was crispy (even with the sauce).  With 2 large dill pickle slices underneath, it added a nice tart crunch.  I would've personally liked to see a brioche bun, but the bun was still soft and toasted.

Neatly plated atop ancient grains and green beans, the Chipotle Mango Chicken was finished with pico de gallo and avocado.  Coated with a sweet & smoky rub, the chicken was not lacking in impact.  Except for the very thin tip, the chicken breasts were tender and moist while sporting an even char.  Mango puree on the side added a kick of tropical sweetness.  Loved the chewy grains underneath as they were full of texture.  Green beans were cooked perfectly too.

For our pasta dish, we tried the Chicken Madeira Rigatoni with pan roasted chicken, creamy mushroom and madeira wine sauce, fresh rosemary and lemon. This was a large portion of al dente rigatoni where the sauce was full of depth from the umaminess of the mushrooms combined with the meatiness of the chicken.  Furthermore, the madeira came through without being too strong.  It was also a good thing that there wasn't too much moisture on the plate either.

At first, we were a bit skeptical of our dessert - the White Chocolate Brownie.  Normally, white chocolate anything is overly sweet.  However, we found this brownie to be purposefully sweet without going overboard.  It was rich and gooey with chunks of dark chocolate inside, chocolate sauce underneath and French vanilla ice cream on top.  We shared this and still thought it was rather large!  This was a nice finish to a solid meal at Moxie's. 

Nice to see they are adapting their menu with the times.  Plenty of tasty choices to be had within an environment that is following Covid-19 safety protocols.   

Now if you want a chance to dine at Moxie's to see and taste for yourself, I have teamed up with Moxie's for you to win one of two $50.00 gift certificates to be used at the Richmond location.  To enter, go to my Instagram page.  Follow @moxies and @shermansfoodadventures, tag a friend asking what food or drink they would like to try on their next visit *¹ The draw will be held in one week and will be announced via Instagram story. 

*All food and beverages were complimentary* 

The Good:

- Plenty of choices on the happy hour menu

- Well-portioned dishes

- Some bold flavours

The Bad:

- Could replace the peppers in the pico de gallo with spicier chilis for more impact 

*¹Giveaway is only open to residents within the BC Lower Mainland. Winners will be required to pick up their gift certificate at Moxie’s Grill & Bar Richmond location and are entitled to use it on food and non-alcoholic beverages. Contest closes on October 27, 2020 at 11:59 pm PST.

Shameless Buns

For the time being, it appears that restaurants have it tough considering that they are paying for rent and are limited to the amount of people who can dine-in.  Furthermore, the fixed costs in running a restaurant aren't exactly something they can stop paying for.  Fortunately, some are able to pivot and do more takeout and offer other options.  One type of food purveyor that seems to be able to weather this storm are food trucks.  All of the costs involved with a food truck are not going to waste and they do not need to worry about offering a dine-in space.   With that in mind, Jacqueline and I made our way out to the Clayton Community Farmer's Market in the parking lot of Clayton Heights Secondary to make the long overdue visit to Shameless Buns.

Known for their sammies (hence, the name Shameless Buns), we tried the Tapa Dat Bun consisting of marinated beef, chipotle cheese sauce, sarsi caramelized onions, sriracha mayo, chicharron and green onions on toasted pandesal.  This was messy, yet ultimately delicious.  Tender and practically fall-apart tender, the beef by itself was on the saltier side, but combined with the soft sweet bun and the spice from the mayo, it was balanced and complete.

Since we are in October and we both love Spam, it was only fitting to try the Pumpkin Spice Sir Spam-A-Lot topped with a fried farm egg, onions, green onions, fried garlic and smoky maple mayo on toasted pandesal.  We really enjoyed this as the pumpkin spice was not overwhelming so that the Spam was able to do its salty and fatty thing.  Again, this meshed well with the sweet bun and the sharpness of the onions.

The most surprising item we tried was the Filipino Spaghetti Lumpia with chipotle cheese sauce.  Okay, I've had lumpia and Filipino spaghetti before, but not combined into one item!  I was skeptical because of the carb on carb premise, but holy moly this was outrageously good.  The outer wrapper was firmly crunchy and held the whole thing together successfully.  Inside, the al dente spaghetti was its usual sweet self with sausage.  Cheese sauce added the necessary moisture and spice.

Another majestic-looking offering was the Adobo Fries sporting crispy AF (yes they were!) sinigang fries, braised chicken adobo, garlic calamansi aioli, tomato, green onion and fried garlic.  Literally, this ate like a meal since there was so much tender chicken on top!  Loved the hints of acidity from the adobo and aioli where it helped brighten the dish.  The fries remained crispy despite the plethora of toppings and even after our incessant picture-taking!

Along the same lines, we also had the Sausage Party with the same crispy AF sinigang fries, longaniza, garlic calamansi aioli, sexy farm egg, sriracha mayo, green onion and fried garlic.  There was some similarities with the adobo fries except the sausage added sweetness while the egg yolk was at its silky best.  So if it wasn't obvious to you, the food at Shameless Buns isn't your typical Filipino fare.  There is plenty of creativity and risks being taken.  From what we tried, the result is Food Network worthy eats that tastes as outrageously good as they appear.  Definitely recommended.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- Creative take on Filipino food (modernized)

- No shortage of flavour

- Truck moves to multiple locations

The Bad:

- Not diet food.  LOL...

Chicken World

What comes to mind when one craves fast food fried chicken in the GVRD?  KFC, Church's, Hi-Five, LA Chicken and Win Win are some of the usual spots.  However, there is a place that has been around longer than Hi-Five and Win Win.  I first visited the original location of Chicken World in 2009 and came away with a "meh" feeling.  I never went back.  However, an ownership change a few years ago has completely changed the operation including an expanded menu.  Jacqueline and I recently visited that same location to sample the new and hopefully improved eats.

We dove right into the Fried Chicken featuring both regular and spicy.  If I had to make a direct comparison, the fried chicken was a cross between Church's and Hi-Five.  The chicken was juicy and tender while completely seasoned.  Well-rendered and crunchy, the skin was more like Hi-Five.  I found the spicy to be flavourful, yet not tongue-scorching.  Another option was their spicy Peri-Peri Chicken which was excellent.  Nearly as moist as the fried chicken, the peri peri was full-flavoured and had a good spice level.

In addition to the chicken, there was an array of burgers available including the Nashville Billo Burger, Gabbar Chicken Burger and BeWafa Beef Burger.  These were no small sandwiches, especially with the Gabbar and BeWara as they sported 2 patties each. Coated with a spicy glaze, the Billo burger had a good crunch and featured tender white meat.  With 2 fried chicken thighs, the Gabbar was enormous and filling.  I would say this is one of the best chicken sammies in town.  There was a nice char on the beef patties that offered up an appealing smokiness.  The meat was rather lean, so it was on the drier side.

To get a taste of the entire menu, we got 2 different flavours for the Wings including honey garlic and buffalo.  I'm not sure where they get their chicken, but the wings were massive.  Furthermore, the skin was rendered while the meat was moist.  I personally like spicy so the buffalo wings did it for me.  The most surprisingly awesome item was the Rice n' Spice featuring fried chicken atop basmati rice drizzle with house-spiced mayo.  So much flavour and texture.  This ate like a meal and was probably my favourite thing I tried.  

The more typical sides we tried included Onion Rings, Fries and Jalapeno Poppers.  I enjoyed the starch-coated fries as they were aggressively crunchy while retaining some potatoness inside.  Onion rings were equally crunchy.  The breaded poppers were tangy with some spice cooled down by the cream cheese filling.  Overall, I was quite impressed with the food at Chicken World.  For the price, it is also a good value, considering the size of the chicken and the sammies.  I would have to put Chicken World in the top 3 in the Lower Mainland at this moment (with Church's and Hi-Five, and no, not LA Chicken, I've had it recently and it wasn't as good as I had remembered).

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- Big pieces of chicken

- Moist and tender

- Expanded menu

The Bad:

- Paper plates could've been sturdier

Food Affare

With the end of the Covid-19 pandemic no where in sight, it seems like take-out, delivery and food prep services are becoming more popular than ever.  Personally, I don't think I've ever done so much take out and food delivery in my life!  So just like how I mentioned that food trucks have the right business model at the moment (since they aren't paying for dining space), I also believe prepared food ready for pick-up is also quite attractive.  Restaurant-quality food for a fraction of the price.  Why not?  Recently, I have sampled 2 pick-up orders from Food Affare in Richmond that was rather impressive.

For my first pick-up, there were a variety of items including the Baked California Roll (aka Sushi Bake) featuring sushi rice with citrus essence, imitation crab, tobiko, fried jalapenos, nori and bonito flakes.  This included 2 boxes of nori sheets as well.  The trick with this one was to bake it until warm and then add the toppings.  Scoop into the nori sheets and it becomes a tidy little bite.  Loved the crunch and spice from the jalapenos.

One of the more finely-tuned dishes was the Mushroom Ravioli on Buerre Noisette with blistered tomatoes, parmesan petals, reduced red wine couile, fried capers and truffle oil.  I kid you not, this would be right at home at any fine-dining Italian restaurant.  The pasta was thin yet firmly al dente.  The woodsiness was strong and the truffle oil was restrained.  Tang and saltiness was provided by the tomatoes and capers.  So good.

Last dish of this pick-up order was the Mentaiko Kimchi Udon with with crispy pork belly and onsen egg topped with katsuobushi and scallions.  Yah, this was also excellent with the brininess of the cod roe and the creaminess of the egg.  Loved the fusion where the kimchi added a light spice and tanginess.  Adding more body to the dish, the pork belly was tender and meaty.

On my next pick-up, there was a similar variety featuring a traditional Italian offering in the Rigatoni Bolognese.  The slow cooked meat sauce was full of depth and of course melt-in-my-mouth tender.  Flavours were apparent, yet subtle at the same time.  Saltiness was provided by the melted parm on top.  Rigatoni was on point being chewy, yet still tender.

Back to the Korean fusion, we found the Beef Bulgogi Spaghetti with sous-vide egg.  This was good with all of the sweet and meaty flavours of bulgogi accented by jalapenos and the silkiness of the egg.  Once again, the pasta was perfect and I loved how it didn't clump together despite being prepared in advance.  It really did feel like I was eating an Italian dish, but with Korean flavours.

Lastly, I had a traditional Korean dish in the Pork & Tofu Kimchi Jjigae with rice (and a small portion of XO sauce).  This was chock full of ingredients and the broth was impactful with moderate spice and plenty of acidity.  Of course it went well with the rice!  Consisting of mainly scallops, the XO sauce as a flavour bomb of spice and briny sweetness.  To be honest, I wasn't expecting the food to be so good, but it surely is.  Totally restaurant quality dishes at a reasonable price ready for take-out.  I highly recommend.

*All food was complimentary*

The Good:

- Restaurant-quality eats

- Reasonably-priced

- Fusion that actually works

The Bad:

- For now, only pickup is in Richmond (but there is available delivery with a surcharge) 

Raisu Mama's Kitchen

Fresh off a delicious meal from Takenaka food truck, Mijune and I made our way to Raisu on West 4th for a dine-in tasting.  As some of you may already know, Raisu and Takenaka are related and you might notice some of the same dishes on both menus.  I've been to Raisu before and they boast some of the most beautifully plated Japanese dishes in the city.  This time around, since Mijune was around, we could tackle a larger bite out of the menu than the previous visit.

Before we got to the regular menu, we dove into the Omakase Uni Zukushi for 2 at a very reasonable $120.00.  The first course was the Uni Sashimi served with Yuzu Sake.  This was a generous portion of Peruvian uni which was sweet and fresh.  I found the yuzu sake a really nice compliment to the uni.

Next course, we were served 2 x Uni Temaki with snow crab meat, scallop, tobiko and ikura.  With all these luxurious ingredients, the rolled sushi ate very hearty.  Lots of complimentary sweetness and brininess, but the uni still made itself heard.  As you can see, the amount of rice was kept to a minimum so that the ingredients could shine.

We were each served an Uni Shooter consisting of ikura, mountain potato and quail egg with dashi ponzu truffle jelly.  This wasn't a shooter in the truest sense as you would probably choke if you took this all in one gulp.  However, it ate very well as a seafood parfait of sorts.  Fresh ingredients reigned supreme here again where the jelly was the glue that brought everything together.  Actually, the mountain potato (or yam) was sticky enough to literally bind the whole thing.

The next item was a variation of something we've had before in the Uni & Wagyu Aburi Nigiri Sushi.  Replacing the foie gras, he uni served roughly the same purpose with a sweet silkiness spiked by the taste of the sea.  Of course the wagyu practically melted in our mouths with a buttery tenderness.  The light sear on top activated the fats without cooking the meat all-the-way-through.  It was finished off with a arimasannsho-wasabi sauce that added the lightest of spice.

Normally, you would be given a choice between 2 items for the next course, but we ended up trying both for research purposes.  The Spicy Lobster Uni Cream Udon was off-the-hook!  So creamy with a definite kick, the uni afforded an appealing seafoody essence. Of course, adding a large lobster tail to the dish didn't hurt.  Standing up to the flavourful broth was chewy sanuki-style udon.

The other option in the Omakase Uni Zukushi menu other than the udon was the Uni & Snow Crab Donabe Rice with mixed mushrooms, cooked rice and raisu original dashi soup stock.  Boy, it would be a hard decision choosing between the two because this was plenty good too.  The fluffy, yet chewy rice was graced with the subtle essence of crab, the umaminess of the mushrooms (and dashi) and of course the sea-sweetness of uni.  Add in some ikura and this was a subtle flavour bomb (if that makes sense).

I will get to the dessert for this meal later as we went onto the regular menu at this point starting with the Yuzu Wings.  Nothing really complex about this dish, but these wings were prepared properly with well-rendered skin that was lightly crispy.  Add in the yuzukoshu marinade and there was a salty tanginess.

I particularly liked a seemingly non-assuming item in the 100% Wagyu Croquette coated with homemade panko, Japanese tartar and tonkatsu sauce.  Yah, this was indeed 100% wagyu as the meat was juicy, buttery and of course tender.  Lots of umaminess due to the fat content.  Plenty crispy on the outside while not greasy.  Loved dipping it into the tartar sauce as it reminded me of chicken nanban except with beef.

Staying with the same theme, we had Tonkatsu Teishoku with shredded cabbage, dressing, miso soup, rice, pickles and 2 types of sesame seeds (that you crush yourself).  Compared to Saku, the tonkatsu was more firm and meaty.  It was juicy though and ate quite tender.  The panko coating was similar to the croquettes being crispy without being greasy.

Raisu is well-known for their tonkatsu, but their signature offering is the Sho Ka Do Bento consisting of 9 featured appetizers (Chicken Karaage, Wagyu Nigiri, Soba Shooter, Yuzu Tuna Tataki, Grilled Lobster, Eggplant Agebitashi, Scallop Sashimi, Corn Karaage and Snow Crab on the Egg).  Yes, lots of little treasures that may or may not be familiar.  All very tasty especially the corn karaage and wagyu nigiri.  Only limited to 15 per day.

If you thought we were done, then you don't know Mijune very well...  So we soldiered on with the Bluefin Tuna Aburi Sushi.  These came in 4 different toppings and sauces.  I didn't note down what they were, but I believe there was diced pickle, ikura, fried shiso and 2 types of tobiko.  All were delicious and full of flavour without obscuring the delicate bluefin tuna.

Covered all over IG for the past few years, the Deluxe Seafood Bowl and the Blue Fin Tuna Deluxe Seafood Bowl are as good as they look.  I mean it was very obvious that the fish was very good quality and fresh.  Yes, these bowls aren't cheap, but the quantity of quality ingredients makes them worth every penny.  The rice underneath was prepared properly too being chewy and mild-tasting.

So we finished with all of the desserts including the Yuzu Gelato (included in the Omakase Uni Zukushi), Almond Tofu, Souffle Cheesecake and the Yuzu Parfait.  Other than the tofu, most things were a mash of the same ingredients.  However, the parfait featured raw cheesecake rather than the fluffy souffle cheesecake.  Everything was light and fruity.  Perfect ending to an absolute feast.  The quality of the ingredients and of course, the presentation are the calling card of Raisu.  Definitely a few notches above your typical Japanese spot in Vancity.

 *All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- High quality ingredients

- Carefully prepared

- Beautiful presentation

The Bad:

- On the pricier side, but you pay for what you get

- Desserts were good, could've had a bit more variety