Bar Susu

If you've followed me for at least the last 3 years, you'll know my love for Published on Main.  Hence, I am completely not surprised that they have received a multitude of awards and distinctions since they opened.  So when the same ownership group added Bar Susu where the The Whip used to be located, I was anxiously wanting to visit the place.  Well, after a few near-visits, we finally made it down to check the place out.  Now don't expect the place to be Published, as it is a bit more lively with a youthful energy.  The menu is much smaller, yet, as they name implies, a larger focus on beverages.

We started things off with the Shishito Peppers with furikake and Maggi mayo.  These were blistered and on the softer side.  The amount of furikake was quite aggressive, but that meant there was no absence of impact and spice.  Naturally, shishitos are rather mild, but a few of them were hot.  It was fun guessing which one was spicy in a Doritos Roulette manner.  Loved the Maggi mayo as it was full of umami.  Wished we had more of it though.  The puffed rice on top added a nice crunch.

Next, I had the Chicken Liver Rosette with cherry confiture and pickled rutabaga.  The key word here is "I" because they serve these individually.  Since I am the only one that love chicken liver, we only ordered one.  I loved the crispiness of the rosette where it was filled with creamy and flavourful chicken liver mousse.  It was sweet with definite chicken liver taste and cognac.  Pickled rutabaga on top provided some tang to lighten things up.

Topped with sunchoke crisps and parsley, the Beef Tartare had a particularly Asian influence with citrus kosho dressing and tobiko.  I enjoyed the pops of the tobiko that helped break up the smooth texture of the beef.  The tartare itself was bright with balanced acidity.  Eating the tartare by itself was delicious enough and impactful.  I thought the nori sheets on the side were a bit too strong tasting and took away from the beautiful tartare.  I would've liked to see shrimp chips or any other tapioca-based chip as a better vessel.

Featuring cute jicama dinos, the Dinosaur Kale Salad was well-dressed with miso citrus.  The tender strips of kale were full-flavoured due to the dressing.  Once again, another dish with noted acidity and impact.  There was plenty of comté cheese on top to provide nuttiness.  Rather than using a harder cheese, the salad was less salty (which was a good thing).  I absolutely loved the Japanese rice crackers as they provided a light and slightly salty crunch.

My absolute favourite dish of the meal had to be the Hot Smoked Trout atop spinach gomaae and dashi butter.  So buttery and soft, the trout really did melt-in-my-mouth.  No chewing necessary!  Beyond that, the smoke was just enough to provide a background essence without overwhelming the delicate fish.  Not too sweet, the gomaae provided an aromatic nuttiness.  This was further complimented by the rich and silky dashi butter that also had an herbaceous finish.  To literally top it off, the crispy fish skin provided the necessary textural contrast.

If the trout was my favourite, the Sablefish was a very close second.  Although sablefish can be very forgiving, the cook on it was perfect though.  It was buttery and flaky while being lightly torched.  The fish itself was well-seasoned, but the tomato butter really put it over-the-top.  We could really taste the essence of tomato and it broke up the heaviness of the butter.  There was barley in the sauce and it added some chew and texture.  Maitake mushrooms and seaweed provided both earthiness and umami to the dish.

Our last savoury item was the Pork Collar with miso, pumpkin orange puree and sauteed Swiss chard & chanterelles.  The pork was properly seasoned and prepared perfectly with just a bit of pink.  It was juicy and tender with a classic bounce texture.  I thought the puree was very bright due to the orange and it was the predominant flavour.  Also well-seasoned, the Swiss chard was cooked just enough and benefited from the deliciousness of the mushrooms.

Onto dessert, we had the Chocolate Mousse filled with cherry and accompanied by butterscotch.  The thing that really elevated the impact was the sprinkle of fleur de sel.  It heightened both the sweetness of the butterscotch and the intensity of the chocolate.  We would've liked even more of it!  Beyond the creamy mousse, the sweet tang of the cherries provided layers of flavour.  Some crunch in the middle added texture.  Even though Bar Susu is its own restaurant, it is hard to not have some comparisons to its older sister restaurant.  Is it as good as Published?  Well, that is not a fair question since they are not the same in many ways.  I would say Bar Susu is good and the old wood building has real charm.  Personally, I would eat at Published first, but I am not opposed to returning to Bar Susu either.

The Good:
- The building has real charm
- Service is attentive
- Food is generally good

The Bad:
- Menu is a bit limited, but the focus is not only on food here

Lee Garden (Coquitlam)

For those who are familiar with the Lee Garden chain, their first location opened on Kingsway in Burnaby back in 2014.  They added a second location in Surrey on Scott Road a few years later.  However, that one didn't really last as it quietly closed during the pandemic.  Alas, it is still a 2-restaurant chain as it took over the vacated Grand Palace in Henderson Centre in Coquitlam.  Before that, it originally opened as Kirin.  I guess 3rd times the charm right?  So we decided to check it out one day after the biggest snowfall of 2022.  Good thing we have an SUV with snow tires!

Interestingly, the first item to arrive was the Lo Mei Gai (Steamed Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves).  I guess they had some on the go already.  This one sported some wild rice which added both colour and texture to the soft and glutinous rice.  Hidden in the middle was an equal amount of moist ground pork that was mildly seasoned.  There was enough starch-thicken sauce to add some extra flavour to the rice.

One of our "go to" items is the XO Lo Bak Goh (or Daikon Radish Cake) and as such, we ordered it as usual.  They prepared this dish with enormous chunks of radish cake and hence, the texture was a bit softer and delicate.  We didn't mind this as a denser variation would not be pleasing to eat.  The exterior was a bit crispy and not overly greasy.  We would've liked to see more XO brininess and spice though as this dish was a bit flat.

Since my son loves brisket and noodles, we got the Crystal Noodles with Brisket and Tendon Hot Pot.  As you can see, there was much more tendon that brisket (to my son's dismay...).  However, I love tendon, so it didn't bother me one bit.  It was especially good that the texture was just right being soft while retaining a bite.  The brisket was equally good being tender and not dry.  I wish there was a bit more sauce to go with the slippery and chewy noodles though.

Another one of his favourite dim sum items is the classic Char Siu Bao (Steamed BBQ Pork Bun).  Yep, we got that too and it was pretty good.  Looking at the picture, it is clear that there was plenty of BBQ pork filling nestled in the soft steamed bun.  There was the random fatty piece, but most of the pork was fairly lean.  The filling wasn't overly saucy, but there was enough glaze to keep things sweet and moist.

We ended up getting 2 rice noodle rolls in the Prawn Rice Noodle Roll and the Crispy Fish Paste Rice Noodle Roll.  Sporting a medium thickness, the rice noodle was slippery and somewhat soft.  It did have some elasticity and chew.  The prawn were of a good size and exhibited a meaty snap texture.  Loved the addition of flowering chives as they added both brightness and texture.  We weren't huge fans of the crispy fish paste as it was rather dense and inundated with far too much green onion (do we really need it on both the rice noodle and in the paste?).

Now to the one of the, if not the most important Dim Sum dish - Ha Gau (Steamed Crystal Prawn Dumplings).  These were decent in size and featured medium-thick dumpling skin. The skin could've been a bit thinner, but it did exhibit some elasticity and was not overly dense.  Inside, the shrimp filling was moist and buttery.  There was a good snap texture where the pork fat added aroma and the aforementioned butteriness.

Wait...  Where is the Siu Mai???  Well, you'll have to wait because we had to!  Anyways, let's get to the offal part of the meal with the Steamed Chicken Feet in house special sauce.  These were a bit on the smaller side, but okay nevertheless.  The skin was tender while the cartilage and fat underneath were also soft.  They weren't as plump as I would've liked though.  Flavours were good with a garlicky sweetness.

Right next to it was the Steamed Beef Tendon and Honeycomb Tripe.  This was a bit small in portion size as you can clearly see in the picture.  Not much in the way of tendon and not really all that much tripe either.  At least we got our fill of tendon in the noodle hot pot.  Texturally, both ingredients were on point with the tendon being soft while the tripe having a certain meatiness to go with its soft chew.  This was plenty seasoned with equal parts saltiness and sweetness.

Off to another one of our favs, the Steamed Pork Spareribs with Pumpkin. Normally, we like to order this with rice in a clay pot, but since we had some noodles coming our way, we just got them on their own.  I found these to be a bit over-tenderized where the bouncy chew of the ribs was missing.  Now they were super tender though, but a little soft.  There was plenty of garlicky goodness though and it would've went well with rice.

Yes, just like we always do, we ordered the Fried Shrimp Spring Rolls with garlic.  If the kids had their way, we'd order 3 of them!  But we got just one and they were pretty good.  These were served hot where the wrapper was wound decently tight enough for a firm crunch.  Greasiness was modest with some glistening parts.  The shrimp filling was moist with a nice rebound.  Lots of garlicky savouriness as well.

As mentioned, here is the Braised E-Fu (Yee Mein) with assorted seafood.  This was supposed to be spicy, but due to some people at the table not wanting spice, we chose for it to be plain.  That didn't mean it did not have any taste though.  It was definitely salty enough.  The noodles were soft but still had a chew while the small pieces of seafood were cooked properly.  I liked how they added small chunks of eggplant as well.

Another larger item was the Seafood Congee.  This came in a much bigger bowl, but for my own serving, I had pieces of squid and prawn in mine.  The congee base was a bit on the thinner side, but still good.  This was drinkable rather than being too thick.  Seasoning was mild where the seafood provided much of the sweetness.  They were cooked properly with flaky fish, tender squid and bouncy prawns.

One of my favourite Dim Sum dishes is the Bean Curd Skin Roll.  I always order it, but not everyone likes it as much as I do.  So I end up eating most of it.  Oh poor me...  LOL...  This one was pretty good with tender, yet still chewy bean curd skin.  Inside, the pork filling was meaty yet tender with more of a natural texture.  The starch-thickened sauce was mild, but still provided some saltiness.

Looking a bit flat, the Beef Meatballs were much better than they appeared.  The whipped meat was bouncy and tender, yet we found little bits of meat that provided natural texture.  They didn't overdo it with the green onion, so it wasn't overly green and herb tasting.  It was mildly seasoned though and it truly needed the side of Worcestershire sauce.  On a side note, why do they always give too little of that? 

Lastly, we had the missing Siu Mai (Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumplings) that I mentioned earlier.  We waited an extra 20 minutes from the time we received our previous dish.  Maybe they were short-staffed due to the snow?  Anyways, these were also good with bouncy shrimp and meat chunks of pork.  Texturally, they were buttery and well-seasoned.  We didn't end up having dessert due to the amount of dishes we ordered.  Yes, we can actually be full sometimes...  We felt the Dim Sum here at this location of Lee Garden to be acceptable and generally above average.  Service as a bit slow, but I'm sure they were short-staffed due to the snow.

The Good:
- Generally above-average food
- Nicely appointed dining space (same as before with Grand Palace and Kirin)
- Indoor parking so you don't have to brave the elements outside

The Bad:
- Things were a bit slow, but maybe due to the lack of staff

House of Chicken

If I seem to be going on and on about food prices these days, it is with good reason.  You see, I'm very fortunate that I can afford to buy groceries and eat out.  So I'm acutely aware that the bottom line is very important to many people.  This brings me to the newly-opened House of Chicken on Scott Road.  It is directly related to Chicken World, so if the menu items look familiar, you aren't hallucinating.  In fact, this concept is a sit-down full-service restaurant with a "blues"-type atmosphere and vibe to go with shockingly low-prices for their food.  A family of 4 can come eat here and have leftovers for less than $50.00!

With a name like House of Chicken, it isn't a surprise they have Fried Chicken as well as Grilled Chicken.  Yes, these are exactly like you would find at Chicken World (which is a good thing).  Sporting a crunchy coating, the fried chicken is juicy and moist while nicely seasoned.  As for the grilled, it can also be original or spicy. For this one, it has a definite kick.  Skin is well-rendered and the meat is juicy and tender.

Featured prominently on the menu are their burgers including the Nashville Hot (there are 2 of them in this picture), Classic and Mega Crunch.  If you've been to Chicken World, then you have had these before.  Served on a soft but sturdy bun, the fried chicken thighs are juicy with a uniformly crunchy exterior.  These can be had in either original or spicy.  My pick is the Mega Crunch featuring 2 large fried chicken thighs.

Also on the menu is a few options for those who do not want chicken in the form of their Veggie Burger and Philly Cheesesteak.  Unlike other versions, their veggie patty is made with paneer and then fried.  Hence, the texture is much softer and moist.  The crunch of the exterior gives it a great contrast.  As for their cheesesteak, it features thin slices of beef that are lean, yet not chewy.  It features peppers, onions and cheese in a soft roll.

For their version of Popcorn Chicken, they use large pieces of dark meat that could easily pass for nuggets.  This is a version of popcorn chicken that needs to be shared or if it is all you are eating , you will be full!.  Naturally, these feature the same crunchy seasoned batter as the fried chicken.  Also similar is the juicy and well-seasoned chicken.  On the side, there is a spicy and sweet chili dip.

Beyond their fried chicken and burger options, they also have a few daily Indian specials.  On Wednesdays, they have the Grilled Chicken Skewer atop spiced chicken rice for $7.99.  This is more than enough for one person where the chicken is flavourful with spiciness.  Despite not looking as such, the chicken is tender and juicy.  Underneath, the ample amount of chicken rice is fluffy while chewy with spices.

Also available as a daily special on Mondays, the Chicken Biryani features large pieces of chicken thigh nestled within the spiced rice for $9.99.  I found the chicken to be succulent and spicy while the chewy (in a good way) rice was equally hot.  Full of flavour and a steal for the price.  Due to popular demand for this item, it is available every day of the week for the non-special price.  On weekends, they offer Hungry Habibi Hours that includes chicken biryani, butter naan bread, pink tea and dessert. It is available from Friday to Sunday from 5:00 - 10:00pm.

In terms of sweets, they have milkshakes such as the Mango Milkshake (there is Oreo too!) as well as Cheesecake.  The shake is creamy and purposefully sweet while the cheesecake was quite light and airy with plenty of cheesiness.  It is on the sweeter side due to the caramel drizzle.  As you can see from this post, the food at House of Chicken is very affordable and well-portioned.  Add in the fact that the food is delicious as well, then you have a real winner.  I actually work nearby so, I am going to be quite the regular now and grab some takeout for lunch!

 *All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Inexpensive (almost unbelievable)
- Generous portions

The Bad:
- Could add a few more options for sides

 

Sushi Hil

I'm sure the rising cost of almost everything is quite noticeable these days.  Inflation is real and is hitting restaurants hard.  To get a premium sushi experience these days, the price has gone up considerably.  Places I've visited in the past are now out-of-reach for many people.  However, there is a new spot on Main Street that offers up premium sushi for a not-so-premium price.  I mean it isn't "cheap", but the value is definitely there.  Sushi Hil by Chef Hil Nguy (who opened Temaki Sushi) is a no-fuss experience where the ingredients are high-quality and prepared with care.  I finally was able to make it out to see why it has been garnering so many accolades since it opened.

There is no Omakase here, rather, you merely order a la carte from their focused menu.  We started with something simple, yet often not done right, the Spinach Gomaae.  However, in this case, it was really good.  Beyond the perfectly-textured spinach (cooked through and tender, but still had a slight crunch), the sesame dressing was so full of aroma and intense sweetness.  This was sesame-forward like it should be.

As intense as the gomaae was, we moved onto the New York Steak Tataki which was much more subtle.  For some, the ponzu sauce might've be too mild, but this allowed the natural beef flavour to come through.  Also, if it was too acidic, the dish would be out-of-balance.  As for the thin slices of NY steak, they were buttery tender while still retaining a meaty texture.

For our next item, we went even more mild with the Oyster Motoyaki.  Loved the motoyaki sauce as it was creamy with a good hit of acidity.  Hidden within, we found plump chunks of briny oyster mixed with tender spinach leaves and mushrooms.  Due to the amount of these ingredients, there was an excess amount of liquid at the bottom of the shell.  However, the liquid did taste great with the sweetness of the oyster and earthiness of the mushrooms.

For good measure, we also had the King Salmon Tataki in addition to our New York Steak Tataki.  Oh this was such a treat as the king salmon was super buttery and required little-to-no chewing.  It was supremely fresh with the bright taste of the sea.  Once again, the ponzu dressing was restrained where it allowed the main ingredient to be the star of the show.  Loved the crunchy garnish with the cucumber and radish as it added texture.

For $45.00, the Sashimi Moriawase was very reasonably-priced in my mind.  It featured 15 pieces consisting of shima aji, kanpachi, madai, hamachi, amaebi, hotate, tako and tuna gomaae.  The slices of fish were fresh with a nice sheen and clean taste.  Absolutely loved the amaebi as it was bursting with natural sweetness.  Also, the tuna gomaae was excellent featuring the same impactful dressing as the spinach gomaae.

Now the sashimi was awesome, but the Nagasaki Bluefin Tuna Tasting was the highlight of the meal.  Again, for $48.00, we found this a good value as it featured 2 pieces each of Negitoro, Chutoro, Otoro and Akami.  Believe me, this was such a treat with super buttery and sweet bluefin.  My favourite was the fatty otoro followed by the soft chutoro.  I could eat these 2 all day long!

Just for curiosity's sake, we added the King Oshi with shiso, serrano chili and tare sauce.  Naturally, the salmon was just as buttery and soft as the tataki, but offering up more aroma due to the activation of the fats from the torching.  The sushi rice was on point with an appealing chew that contrasted the soft salmon.  A definite kick was provided by the thin slice of serrano while the tare added a sweet saltiness.

To end things off with a bang with the A5 Wagyu Nigiri as well as the Hokkaido Uni Nigiri.  For myself, I feel that the A5 Wagyu nigiri was a steal for $10.00 a piece.  Lightly torched and sauced, the buttery and fatty slice of beef provided both luxurious texture and aromatics.  So decadent.  Not to be outdone, the Hokkaido uni was bright and sweet with the definite taste of the sea.  A bit of wasabi on top for some bite.  These were 2 really nice bites to end off a fantastic meal.  The quality of the ingredients and their preparation blew me away, especially for the price.  This is a real gem here and I recommend that you head down to Sushi Hil if you enjoy premium sushi.  I will be returning for sure (actually have resos already).

The Good:
- Premium ingredients
- Prepared properly
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Would like an Omakase menu (maybe in the future?)
- Place is really small, make resos and don't bring a large group

Published on Main

So you know the saying that "you can never have too much of a good thing?", well I think it is completely true when we are referring to Published on Main.  Fresh off a visit back in September, I felt that I needed to come back again.  Not only do I love the food there, the biggest reason for another visit was that Viv had never been.  So I took her there for her birthday and coincidentally, I made the rez just prior to Published being awarded a Michelin star.  Oh and also being recognized as one of the best restaurants in the world as well.

With those lofty expectations, we started simply with the Chips & Dip.  Yes, this isn't the most sexiest dish on the menu, but it is one of my favourites.  Those thick cut house potato chips arrived crunchy and nicely salted.  The accompanying sour cream and onion dip was the perfect temperature being cool and creamy.  There was a natural sweetness from the onions as well as a background sharpness.  What really made the dip was the smoked fish as there was an appealing fishiness and depth.

Next up was the Chicken Fried Maitake with garlic scape ranch.  Although there was no meat in this dish, the meatiness of the mushrooms made this rather fulfilling.  Beyond the aggressive crunch of the cornmeal batter, the maitake were tender with a meaty chew.  Creamy and aromatic, the ranch helped cool things down, much like the sour cream dip, but with more effect since the mushrooms were hot.  As much as garlic scapes can be rather strong flavoured, the dip was balanced.

One of the prettiest dishes was the Albacore Crudo with an ajo blanco, almonds, olive and lemon.  It ate as well as it looked where the tuna was super buttery with a fresh taste of the sea.  Underneath, the ajo blanco was rich but had a nice bit of acidity to compliment the fish.  The crunch of the almond crumble added the necessary texture as well as nuttiness.  Providing saltiness and a touch more tang, the olives were more than a garnish.

Continuing on with the seafood, we had the Roasted Octopus with turnips and a lemon guajillo dressing.  I found the texture of the octopus to be perfect for my liking.  Often, restaurants overcompensate for the chewy texture of octopus by making it too soft.  Here, the tentacles still had a good chew but was not hard to eat.  That dressing was just plain delicious where it had great acidity as well as a smoky and sweet finish.

One of my favourite dishes at Published is their Winter Squash.  I was pretty glad that they still had this on the menu. It featured roasted squash with a pepita miso glaze, fermented currants and a koji butter sauce.  The glaze itself was almost like a brulee and had an intense sweetness accented by a rich saltiness.  The sweet squash was firm, yet still tender.  To add even more luxuriousness to this dish, the koji butter sauce was rich, yet not too heavy.

We ended up ordering 2 of their features for the night including the Pickerel Filet with rosti, celery, Brussels sprouts and green dashi butter.  The fish couldn't have been prepared any better.  It was flaky, buttery and moist while the skin was crispy and well-salted.  That green dashi butter tasted like its colour yet was not heavy.  The accompaniments were excellent as well with vibrant veggies and a crispy rosti.

The other feature was the Beef Cheek with red wine cabbage puree, German gnocchi and Brussels sprouts.  Gelatinous and fork tender, the beef cheek was rich and delicious.  However, the puree was just a bit too tangy for our tastes.  It was in a beautiful shade of violet though and really popped.  Those gnocchi had a great mouth feel with a slight chew giving way to fluffiness.  Nice sear on them with a butteriness.

Onto dessert, the Elderflower Mousse with yogurt sorbet and lemon verbena was plated interestingly and was rather functional.  Alternating between sorbet and verbena, the sliced discs were easy to pick up and eat.  Nice tang on both while the verbena was super creamy.  I gotta say that this meal lived up to our expectations.  I've never had a bad experience at Published and I think they are fully deserving of their Michelin star.  Of course I'll be back sometime soon.

The Good:
- Beautifully plated and delicious food
- On point, but not fussy, service
- Excellent cocktails

The Bad:
- Can get pricey since 3 dishes (excluding dessert) at minimum per person is needed to be satisfied
- Getting a table these days is difficult