Guu with Garlic

Sometimes going back to the classics is not such a bad thing.  Of course we generally are interested in the newest places, but we are always taking a chance with our hard-earned money because we really don't know if it will be good or meh.  So with Izakaya on my mind and meeting up with Sexy Mexi (she was in town and this was a little bit ago), we decided on something that was walking distance from where she was staying - Guu with Garlic (excuse the old stock photo, didn't want to take a new one...).  Yes, this is still one of my favs because it is reasonably-priced and consistent.  We were lucky to score a table pretty quickly.

We kicked off the festivities with the Garlic Soy Marinated Eggplant.  I thought the texture of the eggplant was just right as it was tender yet not mushy.  There was a good sponginess to it and it soaked up the garlic soy so it was full-flavoured.  However, it wasn't too salty nor too sweet.  The addition of garlic chips on top added an aromatic crunch while the green onions provided some brightness.

Continuing on with the cold dishes, we went for the Tuna Tataki as well with ponzu sauce.   Looking at the picture, you can tell that the albacore tuna was uniformly and lightly seared on the outside.  Hence the entirety of the tuna was still soft and raw.  It was fresh with a mild natural sweetness.  Dipping it into the ponzu on the plate added just enough salty tanginess.  This was also topped with garlic chips and green onions.

Now one of the underrated dishes in my opinion is the Chicken Nanban.  For those who aren't familiar, it is merely chicken karaage tossed in sour soy sauce and served with a side of tartar sauce.  Yes, I know tartar is usually a condiment for seafood, but it works here as the chicken merely replaces fish, but is still fried.  You get a salty sour thing going on, then the tartar adds a creamy sweet tanginess.

So probably one of the most predictable items we ordered was the Ebi Mayo.  It isn't a visit to an izakaya without ordering this right?  The shrimp was nicely textured being meaty with a snap while the tempura batter was crunchy and not too thick.  Loved how they didn't overdo it with the spicy mayo.  It was certainly there with its creamy spice, but it wasn't drowning the crunchy shrimp.  Oh and the shrimp chips were a nice bonus.

The largest item we got was the Miso Pork Cutlet with onsen egg, green onion and spicy miso sauce in a hot stone bowl.  I thought the pork cutlet itself was a little stiff, yet at the same time, it was tender.  The panko coating was crunchy and was a nice contrast to the soft egg and chewy rice.  Sizzling hot, the bowl helped from a socarrat on the bottom.  As for the miso sauce, it had a mild kick while exhibiting the usual fermented saltiness.

Not far behind in size (with the rice, the Tokujyo! Harami or grilled premium hanger steak was a beautiful medium rare (the most you should cook this anyways).  There was good flavour as hanger steaks usually have a good meatiness.  It was quite tender and moist.  This was pretty substantial for the $16.80 price tag.  It was finished off with a BBQ sauce which was sweet and salty with a touch of tang.  One of my favourite dishes of the meal.

Another favourite was the Tontoro just because it is one of my preferred cuts of pork.  The appealingly chewy and bouncy texture of the meat has such a beautiful mouth-feel.  Now it also has to be prepared correctly and the tontoro was nicely grilled with a noticeable char.  It was smoky on the outside and slightly crispy.  The texture was exactly how I described it and a simple ponzu was all it needed for seasoning.

Lastly, we went for the Saikyo Miso Marinated Grilled Black Cod.  Yes, it was $26.00 (like most places), but was completely worth it.  The buttery flakiness of the fish was exactly the desired texture.  It was beautifully grilled so that there was caramelization and the miso really came through.  Another favourite of this visit.  Really, all of the food was solid and that is what we expected.  Guu still does it right and it is no wonder they are always busy.

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Generally reasonable pricing

- Decent selection

The Bad:

- Cramped seating but not many izakayas are spacious anyways

- Hard to get a table sometimes

Daisy Garden

Oh isn't this a blast from the past!  The original Daisy Garden burned to the ground 7 years ago and honestly, I didn't expect it to be resurrected.   This place is part of my childhood as I remembered my parents taking me regularly for wonton noodles, congee and BBQ meats.   So it is definitely with nostalgia that I suggested that we check the completely new space out with, you guessed it, my parents!  To complete the circle of life, it was my turn to bring my kids out to Daisy Garden.  Wonder if my kids will bring their kids?  Oh I am thinking too far into the future...

So dealing with the present, we were pleasantly surprised with the modern and inviting decor of the new Daisy Garden.  Their menu still had all the favourites including the Sui Kau Noodles and Wonton Noodles. We got them both and the broth was a bit disappointing.  It definitely had all of the aroma but had little depth and needed much more salt and shrimp shell flavour.  Noodles were good though being cooked properly with an appealing chewiness.  Although the wontons were on the smaller side, they were good consisting of mostly shrimp.  The texture was on point with a buttery snap.  As for the siu gau, the addition of wood ear mushroom provided more crunch and there was a bit more pork which made it meatier.

Of course, I had to get a bowl of Congee and decided on the pork liver and meat ball (although this also contained pork stomach and pork kidney as well).  I found the congee itself to be properly thick with a nice viscosity.  It was enough to coat a spoon but not too thick where it was pasty either.  There was a decent amount of meat where the liver was tender.  In terms of seasoning, I thought the congee was much more home-style where it was rather mild.  I really didn't mind that as we can always add more salt and white pepper.  We got a side of Salty Donut to go with the congee and it as money.  Light, airy and crunchy, it was none too greasy either.

To complete the trifecta of required eats at a restaurant like Daisy Garden, we got the Three BBQ Meat Combo Plate.  Our choices included BBQ Duck, BBQ Pork and Roast Pork (we asked for no wing for the BBQ duck where they honoured the request without extra charge).  I would say the BBQ duck was the best of the bunch with rendered crispy skin.  The meat was tender and well-seasoned as well.  The BBQ pork was a rather fatty piece, but that also meant the meat was tender and gelatinous.  It was also well-charred and nicely sauced with the classic sweet glaze.  We weren't that impressed with the roast pork as it was dry and rather bland.  On the other hand, the crackling was crunchy though.

Another fan favourite we ordered was the Pan Fried Rice Noodle with Sliced Beef.  Some people consider this dish as much of a measuring stick as any other in a Chinese restaurant.  So this version lacked a bit of colour, but that was mostly due to the conservative use of dark soy.  Otherwise, there was a enough wok heat to create caramelization and keeping the noodles in one piece without using an obscene amount of oil.  I would've liked to see more seasoning though as the dish ate a bit bland.  There was a good amount of tender sliced beef though and that helped add a bit more flavour.

Our one rice dish was the Curry Brisket and Tendon with white rice.  We rather enjoyed this one as the curry had a balanced amount of coconut milk that made it creamy without being overly heavy.  The actual curry flavour was a bit watered down, but not unusual for a Cantonese version.  Each piece of brisket was fairly tender and some where a bit fattier.  I found the tendon to be a bit too soft and some were almost melting into the curry.  So in the end, this was definitely a walk down memory lane and it was worth a visit just for the nostalgia.  I thought that the food was fine, if not a bit on the pricier end given the portion size.  Not my first choice for this type of food in town, yet also not a bad choice either if you were in the area.

The Good:
- It has got that nostalgic factor for many people
- Nice welcoming decor
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Just a smidge on the more pricier side compare to competitors
- Food is decent, but there is better

Neptune Palace

If it seems like there is always a Neptune Chinese restaurant around the corner; you are not imagining things.  It all started off as one combo restaurant in Richmond featuring a formal Chinese restaurant on one side and on the other, a wonton noodle spot.  Now we see both versions in places nearly everywhere.  One of their latest ventures is Neptune Palace, which is their most high-end offering to this date.  It took the spot formerly occupied by Pennisula, right within the Marine Gateway complex.

We ordered lots of food since we had everyone here including the in-laws (yes, had to listen to my Mother-in-Law yak throughout the meal...).  The first dish to hit the table was the Beef Tripe & Tendon in chiu hou sauce.  Being served in a bowl rather than a plate meant it was a fairly large portion.  I found the tripe to be maybe a touch too soft, but ultimately tender.  The tendon was generally soft except for a few pieces.  The dish ate a bit sweet, but it was not overseasoned.

Also served in a ceramic pot/bowl, the Bean Curd Wraps with enoki mushroom were a bit flat-looking and on the smaller side.  However, they were pretty good with a chewy (in a good way) bean curd skin wrapper.  It was drier (which was texturally appealing) and gave way to a pork and shrimp filling that was tightly packed and firm.  As such, the whole roll was not particularly light to eat.  It did taste good though with a starch-thicken sauce that was balanced and stayed thick even after steaming.

The same pork mixture seemed to have found its way into the Truffle Siu Mai Dumpling as the whole thing was heavy and dense.  Instead of a buttery and moist snap texture, I found the filling to be a touch dry and a bit chewy.  With that being said, it wasn't as if the dumpling was terrible.  The meat was still tender enough where there was some pork fat to keep things less dense.  As for the seasoning, I found it to be rather mild with the ample truffle sauce on top really coming through.

Of course, we also got the Ha Gau (Shrimp Dumplings) which were medium-sized with a slightly translucent wrapper.  I thought these were some of the best-looking ha gau I've recently seen as the pleats and the overall shape of the dumpling were uniform.  In terms of execution, the dumplings were good where the wrapper had a tender elasticity.  Inside, the whole shrimp filling was on point with a sweet buttery snap.  Seasoning was subtle with natural shrimp sweetness.

We ended up ordering the Fish Filet Congee since the kids really wanted it (again, they are most important...).   Now I understand that Neptune Palace is a higher-end Chinese restaurant, but this congee was a bit overpriced at $15.00.  There was only a modest amount of flaky fish within the congee (and being Basa, it isn't an expensive fish).  I found the congee itself to be a bit too thick, but I guess better than being watery.  It was mildly seasoned and had more of a home-style taste than the usual MSG restaurant version.

Although it never seems like a lot of food for the money, I always get the Phoenix Talons (Chicken Feet in special sauce).  Trust me, the cost is mostly in the preparation because I've made this dish before and there are a few steps involved.  Now this version was decent albeit the ends of the feet were falling off (a sign of overcooking it or being too rough in handling them in the cooking process).  Whatever the case, the skin was tender and there was still soft cartilage and fat underneath.  This was garlicky and sweet with a bit of the dice peppers coming through.

Another dish the kids wanted was the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice with minced pork wrapped in lotus leaf).  There was three of them, which is pretty standard, yet they were quite large in size.  Inside, the rice was a touch on the drier side which made some parts more firm and crumbly.  There was a good amount of pork hidden within the rice, but it was also a bit dry as well due to the lack of starch-thicken sauce.  Completing the filling was some salted egg yolk and Chinese sausage.

Well, guess why we ordered the Char Siu Bao (Steamed BBQ Pork Buns)?  Yes, my son wanted them (the kids get everything they want...).   Not a bad choice really since the bun itself was fluffy and fairly light.  It remained that way even after it had cooled down and sat for a bit.  Inside, the BBQ pork filling was fairly lean with only a few fattier parts.  The glaze was thick and definitely on the sweeter side.  There was a bit more bun than filling.

Presented nicely in a basket (on a plate), the Stir Fried Daikon Cake with spicy XO sauce was in a decent portion size.  The stir fry included the usual bean spouts but they also added crunchy fried potato sticks.  Texturally, the cubes of daikon cake were on the softer side and didn't have much of a crispy exterior.  Rather, it was rather oil-logged and greasy to eat.  I really didn't mind the softness of the cake as it was appealing, but there needed to be a crunch on the outside for balance.  The XO was quite good though offering up a noted spiciness.

We ended up with 2 types of rice flour rolls including the Jumbo Prawn & Yellow Chives as well as the Crispy Bean Sheets & Fish Paste.  I thought the rice noodle itself was a bit on the softer side while lacking a bit of elasticity.  It wasn't bad by any means and could be considered above average.  The shrimp were quite good being large and exhibiting the appealing buttery snap texture.  They were also properly seasoned and were well-complimented by the chives.  As for the bean curd sheets, they were fried aggressively crispy that they stayed as such even being wrapped in hot noodle sheets.  The shrimp paste was too dense though which made each piece rather heavy.

Similar to some other dishes so far, the Beef Meatballs with pea shoots in broth were served in a ceramic mini-pot.  Since they were sitting in broth, the meatballs were not dry and had a decent bounce texture.  They were a bit firmer than I would've liked, but they were not too dense either.  I found the flavour profile to be rather mild since the seasoning was light and the amount of green onion was minimal.  I did like the broth though as it was clean and took on the flavours of the pea shoots.

One dish we haven't ordered in awhile is the Eggplant with Shrimp Paste in black bean sauce.  It was a good thing we ordered this one because it was executed very well.  More often than not, the fried eggplant gets a bit mushy in the middle, but this one still had some texture left.  Also, the outside was slightly crispy while the shrimp paste had the desired bouncy texture.  It was also seasoned enough albeit on the sweeter side.  The black bean sauce was thick and was mildly salty with some garlickiness.

Another kid favourite is the Deep Fried Shrimp Spring Rolls, which were served in a basket rather than a plate.  I guess this is what you get as fancier presentation.  Well, these were indeed good, so the elevated price could be justified ($8.00).  Also, we got 4 rolls rather than the typical 3, so really it wasn't anymore expensive.  Beyond the hot and crunchy wrapper, the ample amount of buttery shrimp were well-seasoned.  The texture was similar to the ha gau where it had a cold-water snap.  

Our other fried item was the Fried Taro Dumplings with BBQ duck meat.  Normally, these football-shaped mashed taro dumplings are filled with ground pork.  However, with the use of BBQ duck meat with the skin, there was a meatier texture as well as a different aroma.  We quite liked these as the mash taro was airy and light while the outside was crispy.  As much as these can be very greasy (since they are deep fried and there is also lard in the mashed taro), they weren't overly so.  

For one of our larger dishes, we ended up ordering the Chicken & Mushroom Hot Pot Rice.  This took awhile to arrive and that was a good thing as they cooked the rice in the claypot.  Hence, the rice was drier and nuttier with a lightest hint of a rice crust.  The ample chicken thigh meat on top was juicy and tender.  Seasoning was on the milder side, but with a side of sweetened soy, that wasn't really an issue.

Onto dessert, we decided on the Hong Kong Style Egg Custard Tarts and the Steamed Creamy Egg Yolk Custard Buns.  The egg tarts were money with a deliciously buttery (or lardy) and flaky tart shell.  We found the custard to be silky and only semi-sweet.  As for the custard buns, the filling was ample, yet a touch watery (even for this type of bun).  It was just sweet enough with the unmistakable hit of salted egg yolk.  Overall, the Dim Sum at Neptune Palace was decent, yet maybe pricey for the execution.  There is so much competition out there these days and even the slightest missteps can make the difference.  Service was pretty good if not quite sparse, but I will give that a pass because hiring staff these days is difficult.

The Good:
- Spacious and well-appointed dining space
- Generally decent food
- Validated parking

The Bad:
- Decent food, but should be better given the price
- Validated parking, but not enough spaces for such a big restaurant (most people will end up paying for parking)

Mr. Chicken

So what is the latest thing to hit the Lower Mainland?  If you said rain, you are completely right, but let's focus on eats.  Just like how the poke trend descended on the city about 5 years ago, we are witnessing a new trend - KFC.  No, not Kentucky Fried Chicken...  Rather Korean Fried Chicken!  There seems to be one in every neighbourhood now and it really is a great takeaway treat.  Think of it, fried chicken in either bone-in or bite sized pieces sauced with delicious flavours that can be shared with a group of people (or eaten by yourself too...).  We were recently invited to try out Mr. Chicken in Langley which boasts flavours from around the world.  One thing that struck me right away was the pricing - it ranged from around $17.00 to $20.00 for a full order.  That is considerably less expensive than most other KFC joints in town.  

To get a taste of the menu, we had the whole thing including the Korean flavour that was sweet & spicy with a thick glaze.  All of our orders were 9 pieces of bone-in chicken.   They ranged from drumsticks to cut-up thighs as well as wing portions.  I found the deep hue of the glaze to be appetizing and indeed it was delicious.  There was a rich sweetness that was accented by enough saltiness to keep it from tasting too sugary.  At the very end, I found a bit of heat.

One of the most interesting flavours was the Mexican where it looked to be oversauced while emitting a very strong smell.  One bite into the chicken and it turned out to be one of the best of the bunch where we really got some of the Mexican spices as well as a good amount of heat.  So while I thought there might've been too much sauce to begin with, it was actually a good thing as it was necessary to get the desired impact.  Furthermore, the sauce didn't seem to impact the crunchiness of the batter very much as it wasn't soggy.

Staying with something more familiar, we tried the Japanese with the classic sweet soy marinade.  With a little less sauce or glaze on this one, the batter was noticeably more crunchy.  The flavours here were a bit more subtle than the previous 2, but still had enough for impact.  I found this one to be less sweet than other versions I've had and that is a good thing since some can get pretty syrupy.  The chicken itself was juicy and since it was on the bone, there was more natural chicken flavour as well.

One of the most surprising flavours was the English with house-made cheddar cheese powder.  I guess this was classified as English due to our love of mac n' cheese in North America?  Whatever the case, this has to be the best cheese-flavoured KFC I've had in town.  The difference is that instead of using store-bought cheese powder (that has all kinds of non-cheese ingredients), this one looked and tasted like cheddar.  No strange aftertaste and not overly sweet powder.  I recommend that you try this one for sure.

I would say the French flavour was definitely the most subtle tasting of them all.  Well, it certainly was not very discernible from the regular fried chicken (Canadian Flavour) due to its plain appearance.  However, it did ultimately taste good though.  The honey butter did not hit me in the face like the spice of the Mexican or the sweet glaze of the Korean.  Yet, the aromatic nuttiness of the butter and the natural sweetness of honey made for a very pleasant taste.  This would be perfect for those who were wanting something less powerful.  Also, it meant the batter was crunchier too.

Another interesting flavour was the Italian where the spices adhered to the batter after the toss.  So this had a distinctive aroma of the usual oregano, basil and thyme where it stood out from the others.  I would say it was trending towards the other KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) territory where we were dealing with herbs and spices on the batter.  Now that would not be very interesting, so their twist was to make it into a vinaigrette.  So yes, we had the Italian herbs in there, but also some background acidity for good measure.

So the award for "most out-there" KFC was the Thai flavour.  So one would think that tossing the fried chicken in Thai sweet chili would be the thing to do here right?  Well only for a place being lazy and not creative...  The chef decided to take the Canadian (just regular fried chicken on the menu) and add a side of coconut chili dip on the side.  I enjoyed the creamy and lightly spicy dip so much, I started dipping the other flavoured chicken into it as well.

We also tried all of their sides including Crackling, Milk Balls and Wedges.  The fried chicken skin was crunchy and the fat had mostly been rendered.  It came with a ranch dipping sauce.  With a crunchy breading, the thickened milk balls were quite good, reminded me of the Chinese version.  Rarely seen, the breaded wedges ensured that the outside was crispy while the inside was soft and potatoey.  Even though it was merely a Cabbage Slaw, I really enjoyed it because it was fresh and completely dressed.  Good compliment to the rest of the fried menu items.  Lastly, we tried the Mr. Tiramisu which was their version that didn't included mascarpone and any coffee.  Hence, it was mostly creamy with soft sponge and chocolate.  I have to say this was the most interesting KFC joints in the Lower Mainland.  Not only are their prices super reasonable, the flavours are uniquely different.  Definitely one of the better options.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:

- Resonable pricing

- Unique flavours

- Well-executed

The Bad:

- Parking in the area is challenging

Straight & Marrow

Originally, I was supposed to dine at Straight & Marrow back in early January.  Well, just like I mentioned in my Carlino post, Omnicron happened and we didn't end up going.  However, we didn't forget about our postponed reservations.  So when we got the chance, we made another rez and made our way to a location that used to house Bistro Wagon Rouge.  It is an intimate spot with a nice bar and a limited amount of seats.  For those who don't know, Straight & Marrow are known for their share plates featuring less popular meats and cuts (such as offal).  Hey that is right up my alley and we were excited to try as many dishes as possible.

Since I was not with Mijune and Viv isn't the biggest eater, we settled on 8 dishes, which was short about 5 of trying the entire menu.  Where is Mijune when you one needs her???  Anyways, we started with the Octopus Carpaccio which featured thinly sliced braised octopus loaf with peppercress, bone marrow confit tomatoes and smoked paprika aioli.  Loved the texture of the octopus as it was tender yet still possessing an appealing chew.  The smoky paprika in the aioli provided depth while the pops of tomato added a luxurious tang (due to the fattiness of the bone marrow).

We were presented next with the Chicken Oyster Kyiv with garlic purée, tabouleh salad, tomato shio koji aioli, watermelon radish and brown butter powder.  Crispy and light, the best part of the chicken (as mentioned in the movie Amélie) was tender and buttery.  I'm not normally into raving about a tabouleh salad but this one was so bright and well-seasoned, I wished there was more of it.  Really enjoyed the take on the dish by using a brown butter powder rather than straight up butter.  Also, that aioli was so complex with subtle notes and umaminess.

Now one of the stealthily good dishes was the Eggplant Parm "Double Down" which is a take on the KFC sandwich.  Rather than 2 fried chicken breasts, we found breaded eggplant sandwiching torched halloumi cheese, basil and marinara.  This was great texturally and tastewise.  Loved the crunch giving way to delicate eggplant and the classic squishy texture of halloumi.  A bit of smokiness from the torching and the side of marinara added moisture and more tanginess.  Yum!

There was one daily feature and I ended up ordering it because it was the Lamb Sweetbreads (due to the fact I love lamb AND sweetbreads...).  This was served with fried cauliflower, cucumber, romesco sauce, watermelon radish and cashews.  I could definitely taste the lamb in the tender sweetbreads.  They were properly prepared (as in soaked enough so they were buttery tender and no membrane still attached).  I thought the romesco complimented the sweetbreads with an aromatic nuttiness and background tang.   The fried cauliflower was nicely crunchy and a bit smoky while the crunch from the other veggies added texture.

Alright, our favourite dish of the meal was the Squidtzel where they subbed in squid and prepared it like a schnitzel.  The humboldt squid was super tender while still having a bouncy bite.  I found the nicely browned breading to be buttery and crunchy.  Underneath, there was a squid ink scallop spätzle (yes made of pureed scallop) which was soft and squishy (in a good way).  The whole thing was brought together by a sweet and savoury uni demi.  I would eat this dish all day.

Now a close second would be the Rabbit Gnocchi with lardons, brussels sprouts and brown butter butternut squash purée  Pillowy soft and almost creamy, the house-made gnocchi still had a light chew and a perfectly seared exterior.  Strewn throughout, the house-cured rabbit confit was tender with a bite.  Beyond the textures, everything was seasoned properly.  To top it off figuratively and literally, the purée was smooth and creamy with a natural sweetness complimented by the aromatic nuttiness of the brown butter.

Of course I ordered the other lamb dish in the Braised Lamb Neck with tomato potato “risotto”, anchovy breadcrumbs and castelvetrano gremolata remoulade.  Oh that braised lamb was so tender and fatty, it merely melted in my mouth.  The braising liquid was flavourful and hence the lamb as well.  I thought the whimsical take on risotto by employing little cubes of potato flavoured with tomato was genius.  Texture of the potato was still firm on the outside, but fully cooked and tender enough.  The remoulade added a salty tangy creaminess to the already rich lamb which to me, emulated a richer and more impactful tzatziki (due to the use of mayo rather than yogurt).

Onto dessert, there was only one item I would choose which was the Hoof Wing and Fin Mille Feuille sporting puff pastry topped with chicken liver mousse, fish sauce caramel and duck fat icing sugar.  Okay if you read the description carefully, you would realize that this would ultimately be a combination of savoury elements with sweetness.  I thought it worked beautifully where things were balanced.  The chicken liver mousse was there but it did not overwhelm the dessert portion of the dish.  Also, the fish sauce was restrained so that there was a little salty something something to go with the sweet caramel.  Puff pastry was light and crispy with defined layers while the richness of the icing sugar completed the creation.  I gotta say, this was one impressive meal and I really have nothing but praise for the execution of some creative dishes.  I definitely will return

The Good:
- Creative dishes
- Well-execution of these dishes
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- Limited seating