Kinton Ramen

When all of the social media posts hit the internet awhile back about Kinton Ramen, it got me intrigued.  However, there was a major stumbling block for me to try it - it is located at UBC.  You see, I live near SFU, which is pretty far away.  I've never shied away from traveling for food, but driving for almost an hour to grab a bowl of ramen isn't the best use of my time. Once again, having time off allows for such time-wasting adventures.  So we headed off to UBC to eat ramen, oh and to visit the Beaty Museum while we were at it...

We actually took a break from the museum to grab some lunch, so we made the short walk over and grabbed a seat outside.  We ended up getting the Meal for 4 ($67.00) that included 3 appies included Chicken Karaage, Takoyaki and Fried Gyoza.  The food came out lightening fast and wasn't exactly hot.  The best of the 3 was the karaage as it was deboned drumstick.  Lots of tender and juicy meat with well-rendered skin that was crispy.  Takoyaki was a bit dense and mushy, but it tasted fine with plenty of octopus inside.  I wasn't too fond of the gyoza as they were lukewarm and a bit hard.  Filling was good though.

For my choice of ramen, I went for the Chicken Miso with soybean paste, chicken breast, nori and white onion.  I chose thin noodles and they were al dente and not clumpy.  There was actually more than the amount of broth in the bowl.  I found it quite indicative of the name as it did taste like chicken with the fermented saltiness of miso.  Not the best I've ever had, but solid especially for the price.  The 2 slices of chicken breast were not exactly juicy, but still tender nonetheless.

Viv had the Pork Spicy Garlic with chili pepper, pork, grated garlic and scallions.  Despite the addition of spice and garlic, I could still taste the base pork broth.  There was plenty of pork flavour.  I thought it could've been silkier, but it was still decent.  There was a balanced amount of spice and sharpness from the raw garlic.  The combination of fatty and lean pork allowed for contrast of textures.

My son decided on the Pork Shoyu with soy sauce, pork, garlic oil and nori.  Without the spice of the previous bowl, the pork flavour was more apparent.  With the addition of garlic oil, there was aromatics and umaminess at play.  He added an egg and it was perfectly custardy inside and well-seasoned.  Once again, there was enough al dente noodles.  A solid bowl of ramen.

For my daughter, she went for the Pork Miso with soybean paste, pork, corn, garlic oil and scallions.  This was my favourite out of the 4 where the pork broth was nicely accented by the fermented flavour of the miso.  Plenty of depth  and body in this one.  The sweet pop of the corn added sweetness.  Overall we were quite satisfied with ramen at Kinton.  Is it the best?  No, of course not.  But for the price they charge ($12.95) per bowl, it is a good bowl of ramen for a great price.  Definitely caters to their core customers - students who are studying at UBC.

The Good:
- Solid bowl of ramen
- Fair pricing
- Decent portion size

The Bad:
- Appies were not hot

The Carvery Sandwich Shop

This post has been a long time coming.  In fact, I've had so many people let me know that I HAD to come here to try not only their chicken sammies, but any one of their amazing sandwiches.  Problem being is that their chicken sandwich is only available on Wednesdays and the place is only open during the day.  This wouldn't be much of an issue if I didn't have to be at work...  Hence, while on holidays, I took the chance to head out to White Rock.  Upon arriving at the location, I was surprised to see that it resided in the old location of Sheila's Deli.  I guess they continued with a similar type of restaurant.

Anyways, the main reason I was here had to be their Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich with a fried chicken breast dipped in housemade hot chili oil, Russian dressing, pickled red onion, sweet pickles and slaw on a brioche bun. Yes, it did eat as good as it looked with a low rumbling spice accented by the sweet tang of the pickles and sharpness of the onion.  Bun was on the denser side but it held all of the wet ingredients together.  Chicken breast was moist and the coating was crispy.  A very good sandwich!

Of course, I also had to go for their other chicken sandwich in the Classic Fried Chicken Sandwich with Swiss, pickles, creamy slaw and honey mustard on brioche.  I also added a side of hot honey buffalo sauce.  This ate quite a bit differently than the previous sandwich.  Of course the heat was different as the hot honey was sweet with the classic vinegary tang of buffalo sauce. The Swiss added a layer of texture while the chicken was even more crispy due to the lack of dunking into anything.  Meat was moist and yes, this was also very solid.

We also tried the Cubano with rojo-roasted pork shoulder, smoked country ham, pickles, paprika aioli, Swiss and mustard on a pressed Cuban loaf.  I loved this sandwich due to the fact it was loaded with ingredients and also they stayed very true to the original.  Many times in Vancouver, we have some bastadized version that just doesn't cut it.  I've had the real deal in Miami and this one was delicious.  The pork shoulder was tender and flavourful while the bread choice was critical.  It was crunchy on the outside and soft with a bit of chew on the inside.  Would eat this again.

Something a bit more basic was the West Coast Club sporting roasted turkey breast, smoked bacon, white cheddar, paprika aioli, avocado and tomatoes on lightly toasted sourdough.  What was important here was the real roasted turkey.  It was tender and not wet like that store-bought deli-style type. Furthermore, the bacon was meaty and the avocados were ripe.  Good ingredients = good sandwich, no matter how simple it may be.

Our last sandwich was the Roast Beef French Dip with fresh roasted AAA beef, garlic aioli and sweet caramelized onions on grilled filone bread.  Once again, the key component was the real roast beef.  The tender texture of the super thinly-sliced meat made the sandwich.  Wait, let me rephrase that...  The legit meat combined with the crusty filone bread (think Italian version of French bread) made for a delicious sandwich.  Add in the au jus, which softened the bread, and we have a good beef dip.

I decided to add a cup of soup to 4 of the sandwiches that yielded all of the available daily options including Artichoke Bacon, Chili Con Carne, Tomato Basil and Manhattan Clam Chowder.  For an extra $4.00, these were huge cups of soup.  Wonder how big the bowl is???  So my favourite was the clam chowder as it sported big chunks of clam and the broth was deliciously briny.  Loved the tomato soup as it was tangy and thick.  Enjoyed the croutons soaking in the soup.  The bacon artichoke was smoky and we could really taste the bacon.  Chili was solid with nice spice and loaded with beef and beans.  So I guess you could tell that I was impressed with The Carvery.  Yes, the people were not wrong.  I just wished I could've made it out earlier.

The Good:
- Well-crafted sandwiches with quality and legit ingredients
- Equally good soups
- Reasonably-priced given the quality

The Bad:
- Well, the parking situation in the lot is not the best

iDen & Quan Ju De Beijing Duck House

When iDen & Quan Ju De (was just QJD back then) was initially on the restaurant radar (even before it opened), I took one look and wrote it off.  There I go with my biases again.  I have to stop that...  It's not like I don't have an open mind, but the place just looked...  pretentious.   I mean, is it really catered to the general population of Vancouver?  Well of course not.  However, is it still worth to check it out?  That was the question.  Well, after over a year of doing very little, we decided that what the hay, just go for it and judge it fairly and without prejudice.

The main thing here is their Beijing Duck.  There is technically only one course, but that is because they serve it the traditional way they do it in Beijing - carve the whole duck including the meat for the crepes.  Therefore, there is no remaining meat for any other dish (they do give you the duck bones to take home though).  They charge $98.00 for the duck and I believe this is a completely fair price, considering that other spots such as Chef's Choice charges $88.00 albeit with 2 courses.

We actually were served a few pieces of crispy skin first with a side of raw sugar.  This is the way it is eaten and I've done this before at several spots.  The skin was really light and airy with a pointed crispiness.  Nicely aromatic and the skin was fairly well-rendered for local duck.  In the previous picture, you can see that the duck is carved with all of the from the breast.  Underneath was the dark meat.  We had 2 full plates of skin and meat for the table.

Of course the crepes are nearly just as important because it can ruin the entire experience if they are too doughy, too thick, too dry or rip apart.  These were excellent being paper thin and moist with complimentary elasticity.   In fact, the crepes were kept warm and moist in the heated bamboo steamer.  Therefore, when combined with the tender and moist duck with the crispy skin, this was so easy to eat.  One could literally eat the whole thing by themselves (actually someone sitting beside us did).

Of course, that wasn't the only thing we had.  Following the theme of crispy skin, we had the Crispy Wen Chang Chicken.  This was coated with sesame seeds and fried until the skin was light and crispy.  The skin was fairly well-rendered as well.  As for the chicken, it was quite moist and tender, even the white meat.  It was well-brined and seasoned to the point where it was bordering on being a bit salty. 

Moving on from poultry, we had the Garlic Wagyu with Zucchini.  This featured buttery nuggets of caramelized wagyu which was cooked enough for the fats to be activated.  As a result the meat ate like butter.  It was well seasoned and a bit smokey from the high wok heat.  The chunks of zucchini were firm yet cooked all the way through.  Completing the dish was fried garlic flakes.

If you can believe this, the Beijing Duck was not the most expensive thing we ate.  Rather, it was the Steamed Whole Grouper with crispy bean flake for $128.00.  I guess the big question is, "was it worth it?".  Well, that is up to what perspective you were coming from.  If it was just pure value, of course not.  Now if you want to look at the freshness of the fish and overall execution, it was really good.  The flesh was cooked barely through being delicate and sweet.  Providing a bit of texture and nuttiness was the crispy bean flake.  The soy/oil mix was a nice balance of sweet, salty and a touch of spice.

One of my favourite dishes other than the duck was the Stir Fried Crispy Rice with foie gras & dried scallop in truffle and soy.  So the actual fried rice was very good being chewy, slightly dry and nutty.  However, the addition of crispy puffed rice really added a beautiful texture.  It was addictive and now I want crispy rice in all my fried rice dishes...  There was only a smattering of foie, which was fine since it can be too rich.  The dried scallop added more umaminess while a bit of duck was added as the protein.

With rice, we also had noodles in the form of the Old Fashion Beijing-Style Black Bean Noodles.  It was quite pretty to look at and was tossed tableside.  This was a good bowl of noodles with crisp veggies and edamame.  The black bean paste with pork belly was balanced with plenty of umaminess and saltiness.  It did flavour each strand of noodle successfully.  Nothing exciting and well, it was some noodles, I guess this is what you get for one of the cheaper items on the menu at $20.00.

Another dish that was even lower in price, for $18.00, happened to be the Hand-Made Organic Pork Dumplings.  These were solid dumplings featuring a semi-thin skin that was tender with a bit of chewiness.  Inside, the pork filling was juicy and mildly-seasoned and accented by green onion.  Served on the side was a soy vinegar that added the necessary zip for the dumplings.  Nothing really that interesting, but once again, a cheaper item on the menu.

For our veggies, we selected the Pea Tips Fried with Wine Spirit.  This was a fine plate of pea tips that were fresh and young.  Hence, with the expert wok fry, each piece still maintained a crunch while cooked through.  They were delicately seasoned with a background wine essence.  So overall, the meal was pretty tasty with excellent execution.  In particular, the Beijing Duck was fantastic and in my mind worth the $98.00.  This meal set us back $500.00ish including tip and tax.  Believe it or not, this is on the lower end of how much you would spend here.  If you dabbled in the sea cucumber and abalone, it would easily go North of $1000.00.  So it comes down to, "was it worth it?.  If you appreciate attentive high-quality service in a luxurious dining space with well-prepared food, then this can be justified.  However, if value is you main goal, then of course not.  For this price, you can easily eat like a king at one of many of the Chinese restaurants in town.  But for me, it was a good experience and worth at least trying once, especially for the duck.

The Good:
- Excellent Beijing Duck
- Fantastic service & lovely dining space
- Free underground parking (I guess it should be for this price)

The Bad:
- Of course it is pricey
- Possibly can be seen as pretentious

 

Do Chay (Kingsway)

If you have read this blog enough, you will realize that I'm pretty much a meatatarian.  However, that doesn't mean that I avoid vegetarian and vegan cuisine completely.  I am very selective of where I go and eat because bad vegetarian/vegan food is on the top of my do not eat list.  So when people kept raving about Do Chay, including Mijune, I just had to relent and try it myself.  Well not completely by myself as Angela joined me since she is one of those people who also rave about the place.

To kicks things off, we had Uncle Hing's Wings that consisted of fried mushroom, sweet & spicy fish sauce glaze, sesame and cilantro.  Of course these weren't really "wings" but I enjoyed them regardless.  The mushroom was cooked through yet still firm while the batter was crispy throughout.  Beyond the obvious sweetness accented by spice, the umaminess of both the mushroom and glaze created impact.

Whenever I see salted egg yolk anything, I must try it.  So here we have the Salty Egg Yolk Eggplant with salted egg butter, chili, garlic, cilantro and lime.  Texturally, the fried eggplant was on point being firmly crispy despite being tender and moist.  It remained that way until we had to pack it up.  Although the bits of salted egg yolk were plenty on the bottom of the plate, it didn't adhere properly to the eggplant.  This meant it didn't really eat like it was supposed to.  We had to take a bite of eggplant and then scoop some egg yolk so there would be impact and flavour.  When we did, it was quite tasty.  A squeeze of lime really helped bring things to life and cut through the heaviness.

One of my favourite dishes had to be their version of the Banh Xeo with plant-based prawns, sprouts, jicama, mushrooms, fresh herbs, greens and nước chấm.  The crepe itself was super thin, crispy and light.  Inside, the "prawns" were actually quite good resembling the texture of fish/shrimp meatballs that are normally found in Chinese hot pot.  Combined with the basil, nước chấm, lettuce, tomato and cucumber, it was a nice bite that had layers of texture and flavour.

My absolute favourite dish of the meal was the Black Garlic Eggplant.  This consisted of braised eggplant, fried tofu, black garlic, red chili, yau choy and rice.  To prepare this, they fried the eggplant first (so it wouldn't fall apart and also cooks quickly/uniformly).  Hence, there was still a robust texture on the outside giving way to tender eggplant.  That black garlic sauce was an umami bomb that was addictive with aroma, saltiness and sweetness.  There was a touch of spice and the intense flavour really went well with the plain rice underneath.  Delicious!

Now as for the Desert Island Noodles, I thought this was a bit muddled.  It sported thick noodles, coconut milk, vegan meatball, tomato, shredded tofu mix, peanut, fish sauce, greens and herbs.  For me at least, there was a few too many flavours that just became lost. Furthermore, it ate heavy with not enough acidity to balance it out.  With that being said, I still enjoyed  the aromatics of the coconut and the punch of the nước chấm, it just isn't a dish I'd order again.

Something new on the menu, according to Angela, is the Saigon Spaghetti with thick rice noodle, Impossible meat, black garlic and tomato sauce, greens and handmade egg tofu.  We really enjoyed this where the "meatiness" of the sauce was surprising.  It was rich with a tangy nuttiness that had depth (despite no real meat).  It paired well with the thick chewy noodles.  Also, that buttery soft egg tofu on top was really good.

Another dish with depth was the Tomato Tofu on Rice with fried tomato, Impossible meat, pickled Chinese long beans and fried tofu.  With the Impossible meat, it truly resembled a tomato meat sauce.  It had the richness as well as the robust qualities of the real thing.  Mild tang, sweetness with depth and once again, umaminess made this addictive.  In general, the whole meal was delicious and I really didn't miss the meat.  I am realizing that modern vegetarian and vegan cuisine has come a long way.  The more I am exposing myself to it, the more I want to eat it because it is delicious.  Do Chay is delicious and I will be back.

The Good:
- Lots of depth
- Don't miss the meat
- Bold flavours

The Bad:
- On the pricier end

Pop-Up Dinner in Squamish by Chef Kristian

For some of you, I'm sure you remember the brunch spot on 22nd at Rupert called Ham & Eggman's. It dished up an array of interesting items in a very non-traditional spot for brunch.  Sadly, it closed but Chef Kristian Leidig did not stop cooking.  I attended one of his popup dinners in Squamish and came away satisfied.  So when I heard about the next one, situated outdoors in a gazebo at Legacy Park while he cooked over an open flame, I ponied up the $79.00pp and brought Mijune along too.

Things started off the West Coast Seafood Groil sporting prawns, clams, chorizo, corn and baby potatoes cooked over an open flame Old Bay drawn butter and fresh torn herbs.  This was really good where the seafood was cooked perfectly.  Clams were just right while the prawns had a nice sweet snap.  Chorizo was meaty while the corn was so plump and sweet.  Those potatoes were a crowd-pleaser being creamy and inherently flavourful.

Next, we moved onto "You Might Make Friends With This Salad" featuring fresh green mix, shaved brassicas, sun gold tomatoes, toasted almonds, parmesan and grilled shallot vinaigrette.  Ingredients were fresh with crunch from everything but the tomatoes.  Shallot vinaigrette had good acidity, but I could've used more.  The ample parm on top added plenty of punch from the nutty saltiness.  Ironically, I did end up meeting a new friend at this dinner (because of this salad???  LOL).

Onto the meat of the meal, we were served the "Let's Go To Argentina With Bife Ancho".  The ribeye grilled over charcoal and served with chimichurri, brenejenas en eschsbeche and baguette.  As you can see, the steak was medium-rare but lacked some char.  This is the challenge cooking over an unpredictable flame.  Chimichurri was tasty and the pickled eggplant on the side brightened things up.  There was so much steak, we didn't finish it.

Of course, we have to get some veggies into the meal and we did with the "Eat Your Vegetables!".  As you can see, we had a selection of grilled asparagus, red onion and peppers.  These were cooked just enough to wilt but still retained crunch and texture.  They were lightly salted with maldon and dressed with balsamic and olive oil.  Yes, I did eat some of this.  LOL...

For dessert, we ended off with a S'mores Chocolate Tart with dark chocolate ganache, graham crust, toasted marshmallow and dulce de leche sauce.  This was a fine end to the meal with semi-sweet chocolate ganache that was smooth and not overly dense.  Loved the addition of dulce de leche as it added the sweetness to balance off the bitterness.  Overall, this was a good meal with huge portion sizes.  Yes, cooking over an open flame is challenging and Chef Kristian did well considering.  I've had his more composed multi-course popup dinner before and the food was refined and composed when he is cooking in a real kitchen.  The next one is slated for August 21st, so check his Instagram for more details.

The Good:
- Lots of food, enough to make you full
- Unique setting and opportunities to make friends
- Chef Kristian is a gracious host

The Bad:
- Unpredictable cooking apparatus means there will be some compromises  

Zubu (Metrotown)

With the lifting of restrictions and personally feeling comfortable in going out and doing things, we decided to watch Black Widow in the theatre rather than streaming it on Disney+.  After that, we needed nourishment and decided to hit up Zubu at Metrotown located in the old Jinya location.  We were able to score a table on the patio and hence had outdoor ramen.  I've done this before and TBH, even without Covid, it is a great way to eat ramen!

Before we got to the soup noodles, we started with an order of the Pan-Fried Gyoza served in a cast iron pan.  These were quite good featuring a thin dumpling skin that had good elasticity.  The bottom was nicely seared being uniform, crispy and caramelized.  Inside, the pork filling was tender and juicy with plenty of seasoning to stand on its own.  Of course, I still dunked it into the side of vinegar soy as it always gives it a nice tang.

Viv decided on the Crispy Chicken Ramen featuring chicken broth, thin noodle, crispy chicken, green onion, kikurage, bean sprouts, spicy soy sauce and itotogarashi.  This was decent with a somewhat silky broth that had enough inherent flavour.  It wasn't incredibly full of depth but it wasn't weak either.  There was a decent amount of al dente noodles as well.  The crispy chicken was crispy when not sitting in the broth.

The horrors of horrors, both kids got the Tonkotsu Kuro (lack of variety!!!) with pork broth, thin noodle, pork chashu, kikurage, green onion, crispy garlic, black garlic oil, crispy onion and nori seaweed.  Again, not bad as the broth had good pork flavour and it wasn't "watery" but it also wasn't full bodied either.  Completely serviceable, yet not memorable.  Noodles were good and the black garlic oil added umaminess.  

For myself, I had the Bone Marrow Ramen sporting beef broth, beef bone marrow, thick noodle, roast beef, green onion, kikurage and dill.  Frankly, this was a complete fail, especially for $22.50.  Look closely at the picture, there was NO bone marrow left.  Why even serve that???  Hence, the broth could not benefit from the fatty marrow and was completely flat with only a bit of dill essence.  Noodles were good but the roast beef was sliced too thick and was tough to chew.  I felt cheated with this and it didn't give me much inspiration to try the place again.

The Good:
- Serviceable food
- Fairly large menu with plenty of options
- Good service

The Bad:
- There is better ramen out there
- What was with that bone marrow ramen???

Cream Pony

Restaurants located in interesting locations and/or hidden spots can often draw interest on just that alone.  Think of it, a spot off an alleyway is just the type of place that make people feel like they found a hidden gem.  So the lane storefront of the newly opened Cream Pony fits that description completely.  Yes, they face the lane behind 1st Street just off of Lonsdale in North Vancouver.  I dropped by recently in their first few weeks of operation for their brioche donuts, fried chicken and yes...  fried chicken sandwiches!

So they open at 10:00am and you'd better come early because the donuts go quick.  They do not start their fried chicken service until 12:00pm.  So I did go early to get the donuts that included OG Glazed ($3.25), Salted Caramel ($3.50), D'oh Nut ($3.50 & Simpson's reference...), Blueberry Bourbon Basil ($3.75), Lemon Poppyseed ($3.50) and Key Lime Cheesecake ($4.50).  There was one more that is in the next picture...

...being the Honey & Sea Salt Cruller ($3.75).  I thought the brioche donut (OG, Blueberry, Key Lime and D'oh Nut) was light, airy and low on sweetness that let the impactful glaze do all the heavy-lifting.  I would've liked the brioche to be a little less dry, but I'm sure things will change as time goes on (like how Mello did after their initial opening).  The cake donuts were moist and with some crispiness on the outside.  Loved the lemon poppyseed with a nice tang and sweetness.  Cruller was also good with crunch and then a soft eggy interior.  Just sweet enough.  My favourite was the blueberry bourbon basil.  Tasted exactly like I thought it would be and it was balanced.  Overall, I enjoyed the donuts.

So I returned at noon and went for their Buttermilk Fried Chicken with half OG and half Cajun.  I thought the batter was nicely seasoned and crunchy.  The skin was mostly rendered and as for the Cajun, it had a nice spice to it.  The dark meat was juicy but the white meat was a touch dry.  The OG was also seasoned enough, but I much preferred the Cajun due to the complexity of the flavours.  I also got the Hushpuppies and the Tater Tots as my sides.  Crunchy on the outside and somewhat moist on the inside, the savoury hushpuppies were further enhanced with the whipped honey butter.  Tater tots were crunchy and hey who doesn't like tater tots? 

So the REAL reason I was here is pretty obvious, if you follow my new IG account: @shermaneatschickensandwiches !  Yes I ordered both of their sammies including the OG Fried Chicken Sandwich. I added cheese as well as a side of hot honey.  This was pretty good with a soft bun, thick cut tangy & sweet bread & butter pickles and a crunchy batter.  The chicken breast was a touch dry, but not terribly.  With the addition of the honey, it really added the necessary punch of sweetness and spiciness.  

My favourite of the 2 had to be the Cajun Fried Chicken Sandwich that had all of the same components as the OG, but with the addition of spice and spiciness.  The chicken breast was about the same but a little less dry due to its thickness.  The batter was nicely seasoned with a background heat and the spicy mayo added another shot of spice.  Good flavour overall that was balanced off by the sweet and tangy pickles.  The bun was soft, but I would've personally liked one that was a bit less moist.  In the end, I though the donuts were quite good as was the fried chicken and sandwiches.  I look forward to the tweaks that will be made as time passes.  They just opened, I'll return to try them again in the future (now I know where to find them).

The Good:
- Good spice and spices in the Cajun fried chicken
- Impactful donut flavours that have balanced sweetness
- Yes, it has that hidden location appeal to it

The Bad:
- White meat could be a touch more moist
- Brioche donuts could be slightly softer too