Sushi Tree

For those who love sushi, I'm sure that the basic Inari Nigiri is something that you see on the menu and rarely order.  Hey, I actually like Inari, but even with that, I bypass it and go with the seafood more often than not.  However, the Inari that we see here is not the only way it can be presented.  We finally see a place in the Lower Mainland that is offering different variations of Inari sushi ready-to-go and reasonably-priced considering its size and plethora of toppings.  I was actually tipped off by several IGers who had posted the photogenic Inari sushi from Sushi Tree in Coquitlam.  So I made my way out there to grab some for the fam on hot day in Vancouver.

Sushi Tree is a small store and it is strictly takeout, so do not go during peak hours or you will be waiting outside.  Currently, they only have small boxes, so no platters for a get-togethers or parties at this time.  Only 5 fit to a box and really, this is plenty for one person.  Underneath all of them is a mix of sushi rice and a touch of quinoa.  I decided to grab the Chopped Salmon and Spicy Salmon as a starting point.  I kid you not, these were an even 50-50 ratio of rice-to-toppings.  Now some of them weren't exactly that proportion, but most were.  The salmon was fresh and buttery.  I found the spicy to live up to its namesake.

They also offer an array of cooked items as well including Prawn Tempura, Unagi and Beef Teriyaki.  Since the tempura was not made-to-order, it was not exactly crunchy anymore.  Furthermore, the unagi and beef were only lukewarm.  Therefore, I recommend that you bring a cooler with you to grab these (if you are traveling some distance) and then reheat when it comes time to serve them.  I found that that these were pretty predictable and good for what they were.  Plenty of flavours from the truffle mayo, unagi sauce and teriyaki in the beef.

Continuing on with cooked items, I also got the Chicken Teriyaki, Spicy Pork and Corn.  The one in the middle was the sole raw one being Masago with pickles.  Similar to the beef teriyaki, the chicken was typical.  The chicken was tender and cooked right while the sauce was gingery.  The spicy pork was a bit greasy and only mildly spicy.  The meat was juicy though.  I found the corn to be quite good with bursts of sweetness.  Although I didn't think I would enjoy the masago as much as I did, the addition of pickles really brought the thing alive.  Nice tang and crunch.

One Inari that I thought should have not been cooked was the Scallop.  Not that they were overdone or anything, but the sweetness and buttery softness of scallops was missing.  The cooked Shrimp featured the classic plump bounce texture.  It had natural shrimp flavour as well.  Despite it being a defaultish item, I really liked the Imitation Crab as there was lots of it and they kept them in strands rather than chopping it up.  I enjoyed the texture of it.

Back to raw, I also got the Spicy Tuna.  It was more of a negitoro-style mix with spice.  Like the spicy salmon, this was noticeably spicy.  Could be due to the Korean influences here.  There was so much tuna on top, it looked to be more ingredients than rice.  Something that seemed rather basic was also quite tasty in the Wakame.  It was nicely seasoned with sesame oil and acidity.  Addition of red pepper not only provided colour, it gave some different sweetness.

When you have something like this, it is only natural that it would be paired up with Egg and Spam.  Well, if they were together, it would be like a musubi.  I guess you could take alternating bites between the two (and have some nori snacks ready?).  Anyways, the eggs were fluffy with a touch of truffle oil.  As for the Spam, there was a good amount on top and was dressed in sweet teriyaki sauce (much like a musubi.

Originally, I wasn't going to order the Cooked Tuna nor the Avocado.  However, the nice people there threw these into my order for no extra charge.  Turns out that the tuna was tasty.  Think tuna fish sandwich meets sushi.  Went well with the chewy and properly-seasoned sushi rice.  As for the avocado, it was creamy and ripe which also went well with the rice.  Now at first I was concerned with the sweetness of the Inari, but I found that the individual ingredients stood up well and the Inari (wasn't too sweet itself) only became a vessel for the contents.  Overall, we enjoyed these and I found them unique and a good value.  They have other options too that rotate in and out including Aburi Salmon and Smoked Salmon.  I've tried these as well and I would say pass on the aburi as it is a bit too cooked for my tastes.  I'm sure they will have more coming out and I will gladly go back to try (I've been there 3 times already!).

The Good:
- Unique
- They are large with plenty of topping, good value
- Lots of options

The Bad:
- Maybe the scallop should be raw
- They need larger trays for party orders

Vennie's Sub Shop

When one thinks of sub sandwiches, it inevitably turns to Subway or if we really reach down, Mr. Sub.  I personally have no problem grabbing the occasional sammie from those places as they are predictable, if not a bit pricey for fast food.  So if I'm going to spend $12.00+ on a footlong, why not go for something a bit different for just a bit more money?  Well that was the case when the temperatures reached 40 C plus earlier this week.  We were in no mood for cooking, even on the BBQ.  Therefore, I got Viv to pick up some subs from the newish Vennie's Sub Shop on her way home.  Also, the proximity to Down Low Chicken isn't a coincidence.  They are indeed part of the same group.

Unfortunately, they were sold out of the Pastrami Sandwich, so I had to go for something else and I decided on The American Deli sporting mortadella, Genoa salami, spicy calabrese, shredduce, slivered onion, spicy red pepper relish, herb seasoning, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  There are 2 sizes available and I chose the 225 gram version for $17.00.  As you can see, this was loaded with meat and no, I didn't go hungry after this.  There was plenty of spice from the calabrese. 

Similarly stacked with corned beef, mayo, beer mustard, Dubliner cheese, Black Vogue kraut and slivered onions, The Lucky ate just like I expected it to.  Lots of corned beef and tang from the kraut and pickles.  There was some sharpness from the onion and there was further zip from the mustard.  I thought the bread was okay, but a bit stiff and dry for my liking.  Maybe if I had nuked it, it would've been softer.

Now I can somewhat understand the choice of bread because it barely held up in The Smoked Chopped Cheese.  The combination of smoked Aftermath Beef, queso, pepper relish, caramelized onions, garlic butter and provolone started to really soak the bread.  Hence it was soft and some parts were mushy.  Granted, this traveled about 20 minutes before we ate it.  So I can see how they had to pick a heartier bread to stand up to wet ingredients.  This was good though with tender smoky beef with plenty of cheese.  The red pepper relish added some sweetness and background tang.

I don't think I would ever say such a thing, but I thought the amount of meat in The Deluxe Pizza was a bit much.  Due to the density of the pepperoni sheets combined with the double mozzarella, this was really heavy and of course pepperoni forward.  But then again, this is a pizza sub and they aren't going to add lettuce and tomatoes to it (I guess you could).  This sub pretty much said it all about Vennie's - plenty of meat and full-flavoured.  Worth a detour from the usual sandwich shops.

The Good:
- Lots of meat
- Full-flavoured
- Pricing just a bit more than the regular spots

The Bad:
- Wasn't a fan of the bread, but I get why they are using it
- Maybe too much meat? Get the smaller versions possibly

Hello Nori (Robson Street)

I must profess that when I first saw all the social media hype about Hello Nori, I completely tuned it out.  Now why would I do that, especially since I absolutely love all things to do with Japanese cuisine?  Simple.  I looked at the hand rolls they were serving and thought "meh".  Well, slowly but surely, people were telling me how good it was and what really got my attention was when Mijune confirmed it.  So I decided to follow her lead and go try out Hello Nori on Robson Street.

Since Mijune joined me (she wanted to eat it again), I had no choice but to order the 6-Hand Roll Set (for each of us) as well as 5 more off the a la carte menu.  We started with the Toro (actually it was essentially negitoro) first and any preconceived notions I had about the place disappeared with each bite.  The high-quality nori was crispy which gave way to perfectly seasoned sushi rice.  There was an even ratio of filling-to-rice.  Loved butteriness of the toro, the brightness of the green onion as well as a hint of freshly ground sesame seeds.

Next up was probably one of the best of the bunch in the Ora King Salmon.  The quality and freshness of the fish really came through with natural sweetness and a soft buttery texture.  Once again, the seasoning was enough that the roll could stand on its own.  There was a balance of sweet, savoury and vinegariness in the chewy sushi rice.  Just like all the hand rolls, the crisp nori helped provide a clean textural contrast.

The hits kept on coming with the Yellowtail.  The sweet butteriness of the fish was evident while a hint of the sea really made this great tasting.  There was a side of soy provided, but I only used this sparingly, if at all.  If you have noticed so far in the pictures, there was also freshly-grated wasabi served as well.  For those who have had this before, they will know that it is much milder than the fake stuff and has a touch of sweetness.  This complimented the fish perfectly without overwhelming it.

Probably the most important reason why the hand rolls were so fresh was that they make-it-to-order as you finish the previous roll.  This way, it is ensured the nori is crispy and the rice is warm.  For the Unagi roll, timing was everything as they started torching the eel as I was on my last bite of the hamachi.  As you can see, the piece of eel was large and nicely charred and sauced.  This ate well with soft eel with caramelized flavours.

Something that was new and off-menu (it was on the Father's Day Menu though) was the Tako (or torched Octopus).  Due to the size of the hand rolls, they used smaller tentacles which were first cooked until tender then torched to finish.  This way, the octopus was tender to the chew while still sporting caramelization and a slight crispiness on the outside.  We did get hint of butane due to the torching, but not enough to break the dish.  I'm sure charcoal would not be practical for this type of restaurant.

 Onto something a bit different, we were served the Spicy Shrimp.  Similar to the last roll, this one was fully cooked featuring tender shrimp that still had some bounce in its texture.  It was mixed in with a spicy mayo which was creamy with a small kick of spice.  I enjoyed this with the warm rice as it impacted the mayo in a good way.  So rather than being warm and cold, there was a slight transition from warm, to luke warm to cold.  Loved that temperature contrast.

Continuing on the same theme somewhat was the Spicy Tuna.  Again, this was hardly hot, but in Japanese cuisine, it isn't typical to have something super spicy.  It is all about balance.  This was no exception with soft tuna with a slight hit of spice while the natural sweetness still came through.  Of course the rice added its usual well-seasoned flavour, but the perfectly chewy texture complimented the soft tuna well.

Back to the set menu items, we were served the Hokkaido Scallop with fish roe.  As delicate scallops can be, these were indeed mild, sweet and tender.  There was only a light dressing of mayo that added another hint of sweetness.  Even though this was probably the most light-tasting roll, this was the perfect time to add some of the freshly-grated wasabi.  It just gave the roll something extra without obscuring the scallop.  Fake wasabi would've been too strong.

Onto another delicate-tasting offering was the Crab roll.  Once again, it was not inundated with dressing.  Rather, it was just straight-up shredded real crab meat with the smallest amount of mayo and seasoning.  Therefore, we could really taste the crab in its purest form where the seasoning only further enhanced the natural flavours.  As for the texture, the crab was fluffy with a light rebound.

Our last one for the meal was the Truffle Lobster which also contained a generous amount of filling.  The piece of lobster was firm with the classic bounce texture.  It was sweet with the unmistakable essence of lobster.  And not trying to repeat myself, but it was only lightly dressed with just the right amount of truffle flavour.  Again, the warm seasoned rice just made this complete.  So if it sounds like I really enjoyed the hand rolls at Hello Nori, it is pretty obvious that I did.  I take back all the assumptions and misconceptions I had about the place.  The pricing is absolutely fair for the quality of the product.  It is like a quasi-Omakase experience without the usual price tag.  I'm going back for sure and can't wait for the Brentwood location to open up.  In fact, they have a few more on the way including West Van and Richmond among others.

The Good:

- Quality ingredients

- Good filling-to-rice ratio

- Beautiful decor, cool experience

The Bad:

- Not a place to necessarily linger, seating is bar style and food comes out as fast as you consume it

Festal Paleo Cafe

Yes, the last post on Manna was about plant-based meals, so the conventional thinking would be that an unhealthy gluttonous food adventure was to follow.  Well you would be wrong as we did some paleo and keto dining at Festal Paleo Cafe in Downtown.  We did get back on the meat train, but went easy on the carbs.  As much as paleo and keto diets have become more mainstream, there is a general lack of dedicated restaurants.  Now the biggest problem for me isn't the availability, rather it is about taste and texture.  I was curious if Festal could win me over.

We ordered a wide range of dishes including the deliciously-looking Butternut Lasagna featuring local grass-fed beef, butternut squash, spinach, cashew cheese, creamy coconut tomato sauce & fresh Italian herbs & spices.  Sure, there was a lack of noodles in this lasagna but I really didn't miss it due to the "layers" of textures and flavours (sorry for the pun).  This included tender meat, creamy cashew cheese and a noticeable spiciness to go with the tanginess of the tomato sauce.  This was so large of a portion, it could easily divide into 2 meals.

My absolute favourite dish  had to be the Bolognese with zucchini noodles, raw cashew cheese and cassava foccacia.  Zucchini can be a finicky vegetable as it can overcook easily.  The "noodles" in this dish were perfect being soft and cooked through without becoming mushy.  It was bathed in a flavouful and meaty bolognese with the sweetness of onion and carrots.  We fought over this dish and finished it easily.

Another well-executed item was the Butter Chicken with marinated chicken breast, spiced tomato, cashew and coconut sauce.  For a version that did not include heavy cream, this was still rich and ate very much like butter chicken.  The sauce had a thick viscosity while being "creamy".  There was a nice balance including a tangy finish with spice.  The large cubes of chicken were tender and moist.

Sticking with the theme of the restaurant, the Sirloin Burger did not come with a bun.  I really could care less as the grass-fed beef patty was topped with thick cut bacon and a giant glob of bacon jam.  The patty itself was rather lean, so it wasn't exactly juicy.  Yet it wasn't dry either.  There was plenty of natural beef flavour and when combined with the tangy jam, it was just plain delicious.  Definitely a fork and knifer.

Working our way through the menu, we decided to get a couple slices of Paleo Pizza including Wild Hawaiian (crispy bacon, Canadian black forest ham, pineapple, cashew cheese and tomato sauce) and Meatlovers (beef, bacon and Canadian black forest ham).  As much as the pizza crust was a bit dense (no grain dough), it wasn't heavy and was relatively thin.  There was no lack of toppings, which made it a hearty meal (I guess it justified the $13.95 for 2 slices).  The creamy cashew cheese was a fine substitute reminiscent of Virtuous Pie.

Completing our savoury dishes, we tried the Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich sporting local free-range chicken breast, bacon, no-grain waffle bread & colelsaw.  Once again, the lack of grains didn't detract from the waffle's texture.  It was soft and fluffy while holding everything together.  The chicken was thin, yet still moist and the abundance of crunchy coleslaw added moisture and messiness.  The side of cassava chips were light and crunchy.  Completing the dish was a generous portion of real maple syrup.

Onto dessert, we had a good selection including Keto Almond Croissant, Raspberry Log Cake, Keto Blueberry Muffin, Keto Chocolate Brownie and Keto Boston Cream Donut.  Since all of them employed alternative flours such as coconut and almond, the textures were predictably more dense.  However, they were still good in their own way.  I thought the raspberry log was fluffy enough and had a good balance of sweetness and tartness.  The donut was mildly sweet and almost pudding like.  I found the muffin to be close to custard quality while sporting enough sweetness from the topping.  The croissant was rather dense while the brownie ate like a typical version being chocolaty and rich.  Now I've had paleo food before at various other restaurants in town, but the one thing that sets Festal apart is that they elevate the food.  In this way, I didn't feel like I was giving up anything necessarily to go paleo and keto.  Flavours were impactful and they did their very best to keep the textures appealing.  I would definitely return with the lasagna and bolognese at the top of my list.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- Impactful flavours with spice

- Nearly all the items had an appealing texture despite the lack of conventional flours

- Wide range of items

The Bad:

- Predictably, some textures were more dense, not much you can do about that

- Pizzas are a bit pricey

Manna Sacred Meals

If you haven't noticed, I don't have much of a relationship with vegan eats.  In fact, vegetarian might even be a stretch for me.  However, when done right, I'm more than happy to go meatless.  Now it gets much more challenging when you take out all animal products hence I've tread very lightly when it comes to plant-based cuisine.  Recently, Manna Sacred Meals reached out to me and asked if I would try some of their meal kits.  They consists of all of the prepared ingredients sealed in bags that you either remove and bake or boil in the bag itself.

I was rather curious how one could make a "Smoked Salmon" Sushi Bake without fish.  Well, the "salmon" was actually smoked carrot slices that were indeed smoky and sweet just like salmon.  In the bake itself, there was tofu, veggies and greens. Now this ate quite well, despite not really resembling a sushi bake.  I would say it was more like a hearty vegetarian dip.  Lots of textures at play.

My favourite item was the Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps with kimchi fried rice and marinated soy curls & veggie stir fry. Loved the use of red romaine as it was more malleable so it didn't split.  The fried rice was nutty, a bit spicy and perfectly textured.  For me, I love soy curls, so the chewy texture was appealing.  There was plenty of seasoning and the unmistakable taste of shiitake.  I would've liked less bamboo shoot essence though.

I was initially worried that Truffle Wild Mushroom Pasta would be woefully overdone due to the reheating process.  To my pleasant surprise, the whole grain pasta was perfectly al dente.  There was a plethora of mixed mushroom, garlic, olive oil, herb and truffle.  In fact, we had some leftover!  Could use that with something else.  To complete the dish, there was a lemon roasted veggies and tempeh.  Compared to a regular mushroom cream pasta, this was heartier and with more body.  Just enough truffle to go with the natural woodsiness of the mushrooms.  Really tasty.

Last dish was the Portobello Mushroom Steaks stuffed with lentils and accompanied by fresh herb spaghetti squash, braised cabbage and MANNA drizzle.  I would like to use the word hearty again to describe this.  Despite the lack of meat, this was fulfilling and "meaty".  The mushroom was well-seasoned and the lentil stuffing had body yet wasn't too dense.  Absolutely loved the spaghetti squash.  Great texture and nicely seasoned while naturally sweet.  Overall, I really did enjoy the plant-based meals from Manna.  This was a convenient way to eat more healthy while being tasty at the same time.

*Food was complimentary*

The Good:

- Not lacking in flavour

- Hearty even without the meat

- Healthier

 The Bad:

 - Bamboo shoots in the lettuce wrap could be less pungent

King's Kitchen

I have to be brutally honest with this post - the experience at King's Kitchen didn't start off well.  I noticed on IG that they were having an AYCE Dim Sum service for only one weekend, hence I decided to try it out.  Somehow, they were so swamped that our table number was mixed up with another.  Ultimately, I received 2 dishes in 1 hour.  Things were eventually corrected and I did end up with 10 of the available 20 dishes on the menu.  Since I really didn't get the AYCE experience nor did I actually get everything I ordered before I left, they didn't charge me.  I also ended up returning to try some of their takeout a week later because of the suspension of dine-in services (hence I couldn't have a do-over for their dine-in Dim Sum).  So for this post, I will talk about the food I did receive and also the take out meal that I was also comped for.  Now despite the negativity of the initial experience, the owner does care about her business and wants to do well. Regardless of the snafu, the main thing takeaway is that the food is good and definitely worth a try.

So we were served the Deep Fried Garlic & Shrimp Spring Rolls to start.  These were good with a golden brown crunchy wrapper that was further reinforced by nori inside.  The filling was properly-seasoned shrimp that had a nice bounce and was moist.  These were steaming hot and was accompanied by a big-ass bowl of Worcestershire sauce.  We noticed that the settings weren't really Dim Sum-style.

Next, we got a plate of Steamed Duck Webs, which was a pretty large portion.  We weren't sure if they ran out of steamers or this was just the way they served this dish.  No matter, it was prepared properly with tender and delicate duck webs that still held their shape.  Cartilage and fat underneath was tender but not melted.  Lots of garlicky sweetness to go with the equal parts of savouriness. 

From this point on, we waited for about an hour and then some of our other dishes showed up including the Rainbow Shrimp Dumplings.  If we overlook the colours (which were different), what we had here was legit Ha Gau.  The dumpling wrappers were thin and tender while still retaining elasticity.  Inside, the shrimp filling was on point with bounce, sweetness and natural shrimp aroma.  

A bigger dish of sorts was the Stir-Fried Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage.  Compared to the steamed version, this exhibited much more aroma and caramelization due to the cooking process in a hot wok.  The sticky rice was chewy and well-seasoned while being appealingly nutty.  The Chinese sausage added meatiness and another layer of saltiness.  Normally this is a pretty oily dish, but it wasn't overly so.

As mentioned, the previous dish is very different than the Lo Mei Gai or Sticky Rice Wrap with Meat in Lotus Leaves.  It is true the rice is still par-cooked, but it is stuffed with ground pork and Chinese sausage, then steamed in lotus leaves until fully cooked.  Hence, the rice is wetter and softer while soaking up the ground pork and accompanying sauce.  This was good with rice that was soft and sticky, but not overly wet.

One dish we do not normally see on Dim Sum menus much anymore is the gigantic Goon Tong Gau or Traditional Assorted Seafood Dumpling.  Featuring a thin delicate wrapper, the dumpling was sitting in broth while stuffed with pork and seafood.  In days past, the dumpling would be in a steamer with all of the soup inside.  It would be a precarious situation to pick it up without bursting.  However, if you do find this dish now, it is served in a bowl so you can enjoy all the delicious soup without losing it to the table.  This one was good with subtle flavours and delicate ingredients.

Moving on, we had the Steamed Pork Spareribs in Black Bean Sauce.  This was another generous portion of food that featured meaty pieces of pork rib.  Not a whole lot of fat nor cartilage to be found.  I thought the texture was more natural meatiness rather than bouncy.  However, it was marinated enough that it wasn't dry nor chewy.  There was plenty of salty and garlicky notes.

Also served on a plate rather than a bamboo steamer, we had the Beef Meatballs with green peas.  Although the meatballs could've used some form of green inside such as cilantro and/or green onions, that didn't detract from the buttery texture.  These were light and loosely packed, so there was no denseness at all.  I enjoyed that the meat was not overprocessed where I got bits of beef texture hidden within the meatball.

Our last savoury item was the Pan-Fried Stuffed Tofu with shrimp paste and black bean sauce.  Despite the name, these were actually deep-fried, but that is how they should be cooked.  It resulted in a uniformly crispy exterior giving way to soft tofu and buttery bouncy shrimp paste.  There was more than enough starch-thickened sauce to provide a bit of moisture and saltiness.

I guess our de facto dessert was the Deep Fried Glutinous Rice Black Sesame Balls.  These were on point with a thin layer of crispy glutinous rice flour that was sticky and tender on the inside.  I've tried making these before and believe me, it is difficult to regulate the exterior thickness.  Loved the light crunch giving way to aromatic black sesame inside.

So at this point I had to leave because I had an appointment.  So after being there for over 2.25 hours, we only got 10 of 20 dishes we had ordered.  As mentioned, we were taken care of and welcomed back to get the right experience.  However, due to the suspension of dine-in services, we ended up going back for take out instead.  Seeing how we never got to try the Siu Mai (or Pork & Shrimp Dumplings), we got some to go.  These were legit with tender chunks of pork that had a nice rebound texture.  Strewn within was bouncy and moist shrimp.  These were seasoned properly and were just what you expect from a good siu mai.  We also had the Black Truffle Siu Mai and unlike many of the regular version with the truffle sauce on top, these were mixed into the meat filling.  Hence, the flavour was more balanced and uniform throughout.

Onto the dinner items, the Sweet & Sour Pork ate as good as it looked.  As mentioned by a few others, this was completely legit.  Even though this was take out and had been sitting for while before we ate it, the pork was still tender with just the right amount of batter.  The sauce was tangy and sweet where it was definitely tart enough for impact.

Although the Sesame Chicken looked very similar to the previous dish in terms of colour and sauce, it tasted remarkably different.  Yes, the sauce was tangy and sweet, but it also had quite the kick.  Too much at once and you might start coughing.  Now it wasn't scorching hot, but enough to be noticed.  The nuggets of chicken thigh were moist with a light exterior batter.

For our veggies, we had the Gai Lan with Beef.  As expected, the gai lan was a little soft by the time we got to it since it was take out.  But there is no way we will hold that against them.  As for the beef, there was lots of it and it resembled the pork spareribs.  They were tender but since it wasn't aggressively marinated, the slices of beef retained more of a natural texture.

We also got the House Special Chow Mein featuring fried noodles topped with a sauce consisting of BBQ pork, shrimp, squid, carrots and broccoli.  Since they packed the sauce separately from the noodles, we could still get the contrast of crispiness with the soften noodles from the sauce.  Pretty textbook version and great with a little bit of red vinegar.  Overall, King's Kitchen offers up authentic Chinese eats such as Dim Sum and Peking Duck in a part of Downtown Vancouver not known for such.  Obviously, it isn't possible to do dine-in for Dim Sum right now, but give their take out a try.  Well-priced and legit.

*Note: food was ultimately complimentary due to errors that were made, but this post was not an invite nor comped food was expected*

The Good:

- Authentic Dim Sum

- Legit Cantonese cuisine

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- Overall service needs improvements

- Renovations would help