Match Public Eatery (Pitmaster BBQ Menu)

Yes, here I am at Match Public Eatery again (specifically at the Delta location in Ladner) for their Pitmaster BBQ Menu.  Honestly, I look forward in coming out to Match and the last few times, it was on my own coin.  They have really good wings (came for their wing night last time) and their burgers are also on point.  This time around I was invited to try their Pitmaster BBQ Menu that features 2 unique wing flavours and also some fried apple pies.

To begin, before we got to the food, we tried 2 of the featured beverages from the Pitmaster BBQ menu.  We had the Tennessee Lemonade as well as the Spicy Rosé.  I really enjoyed the refreshing lemonade that featured Jack Daniels, triple sec, lemon-lime soda and lemon juice.  Even though it was refreshing, that didn't mean the alcohol didn't come through.  It really did!  As for the Spicy Rosé, it consisted of BASK rosé and fresh jalapeño.  This was light and had a bit of spice.  We mashed the jalapeño to get an extra kick.

Onto the food, we started with the Southern BBQ Wings with BBQ sauce, white lightning sauce drizzle, pickled onions, cornbread crumble and cilantro.  Like many times before, the wings were a decent size and fried until the skin was well-rendered and crispy (even with sauce all over it).  We found the sauce to be sweet with a bit of tang.  Not sure why I ate all of the cornbread "croutons" (because they filled my stomach), but I liked them. As for the meat itself, it was still moist.

We also had the other wings on the menu in the Nashville Hot Spiced Wings featuring a Nashville rub, sweet honey toast, coleslaw and sour dill pickles.  As much as the BBQ wings were good, these were really good!  First of all, since it was a dry rub, the skin was super crispy.  As for the rub, it was impactful with lots of spice.  It was smoky, tangy and sweet.  I would so have these again if they had them on the regular menu (on wing Thursday of course!).

Off to the main event, the BBQ Pitmaster Platter, it sported roasted half chicken with white lightning sauce, half-rack BBQ back ribs, farmhouse sausage, mac & cheese, pitmaster baked beans, coleslaw, jalapeño cornbread and pickles.  I thought the ribs were quite good being tender and moist with lots of BBQ sauce cooked right into them.  The sausages were meaty and well-seared.  The dark meat for the roasted chicken was quite good but the breast was predictably a bit dry.  Sides were quite good where the cornbread was fairly moist and that spiced butter was delicious.  Mac & cheese was not overcooked while bathed in a creamy cheese sauce.  Beans were tender with some bite left while being deeply sweet.  Fresh and crunchy, the coleslaw was a nice break from the heaviness.

Just for kicks, I added the BBQ Ranch Hand Burger (on my own coin) for good measure since I love their burgers (and it is featured on that menu too).   This did not disappoint with a well-charred burger patty that was still moist inside.  With the addition of cheddar, coleslaw, onion ring, pulled pork and spicy BBQ sauce, this was full-flavoured and robust.  The pulled pork was tender and nicely sauced (not sure why they didn't include it in the platter, it would've been good!) and provided a real jolt of flavour and texture.  The pretzel bun was firm enough to keep everything together without actually being too dense.  As for the fresh-cut fries, they were crispy and hot.  Really good.

Onto dessert, we were served the Crispy Apple-Cinnamon Hand Pies with vanilla bean ice cream and Kentucky bourbon caramel.  Oh man, this was absolutely the bomb!  It may of looked heavy, but the puff pastry was super light and crispy.  Inside, the apple filling was delicate, just sweet enough and equally tangy.  Yes, the creamy ice cream complimented this well and I could've eaten another order of this!  Overall, the Pitmaster BBQ Menu sports some pretty tasty eats.  I would've added the pulled pork into the platter since it was so good.  I think maybe just having BBQ chicken legs would've been more consistent in texture.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Dry rub wings were money (their wings are usually quite good in general)
- OMG those pies!
- Burgers are typically really good

The Bad:
- Chicken breast was dry

Tap & Barrel Bridges

I don't hide the fact that I like certain chain restaurants.  Yep, I'm not afraid to admit it.  Just because it is a chain doesn't automatically exclude it from the delicious category.  Now, are there other options out there for roughly the same price that are more unique?  Absolutely.  However, there are times when it isn't practical to seek out those places (too small, too far away, not enough choice on the menu etc...).  Hence, we have the reliable chain restaurant.  This time around, we visited Tap & Barrel Bridges where the old Bridges restaurant use to stand.  Well, it still stands, but it is just a Tap & Barrel.

So other than the killer location by the water, the other thing different about this Tap & Barrel is that there are exclusive menu items.  We tried to focus on those starting with the Seafood Chowder.  This was super chunky and rich with cod, clams, potatoes, corn and Old Bay seasoning.  Although this was creamy, it wasn't heavy.  Rather, it was more of a seafood stew since they were not shy about loading it up with ingredients.  Potatoes were tender, yet not dissolved while the fish was still moist.  Lots of clams around that gave some brininess while the Old Bay seasoning added a wealth of spices. There was an option to add Garlic Bread to this and of course we did!  Glad we did because it was well-toasted and very buttery.

Staying with the exclusive items, we also had the 1 lb of Mussels & Fries.  This was prepared in a spicy harissa tomato broth topped by cilantro and served with fries and garlic aioli.  This was well-prepared with all-opened mussels that were buttery and briny.  Exhibiting smokiness and slight spice, the broth was clean-tasting with the mild tang of tomato.  The fries on the side were crispy and of course we dipped it into the aioli.

Yet another exclusive dish, the Hot Seafood Caesar consisted of garlic prawns, halibut and salmon.  It didn't look very big at first, but due to the amount of fish, it was rather filling.  The caesar itself featured fresh and crisp romaine with a balanced dressing that had enough acidity.  Loved the fried capers as they added salty crunchiness.  Prawns were flavourful and cooked just enough.  The flakes of fish were also done right being moist and mildly-seasoned.

Okay, we had the Crispy Humboldt Squid, which is a regular item on all Tap & Barrel menus. This came with fried banana peppers, roasted red peppers, dill, jalapeño mayo, chili garlic sauce and lemon.  Although the squid was tender and not dry, the batter wasn't as crispy as we would've liked.  I much preferred dipping them into the chili garlic sauce as it had more impact.  The fried banana peppers were actually quite delicious with plenty of pop.

Onto my main, I had the 2 pieces of Fish & Chips.  I chose the cod rather than the halibut since I wasn't super hungry.  As such I was expecting light and flaky fish, which this delivered.  Despite being crunchy and light, I found the beer batter to be quite greasy.  I went for the truffle waffle fries and yes I've had them before and yes, they were crunchy and delicious.  The coleslaw was pretty good too with crunch and tang.

The Fish & Chips is an exclusive Bridges item and so is the Cioppino sporting sautéed prawns, halibut, mussels, parsley,
yukon gold potatoes, tomato fennel broth and
grilled sourdough.  Considering it is $32.00, this was not bad.  It ate much more like a Manhattan seafood chowder due to the lack of premium ingredients (such as scallops and crab), but again, that would be like $50.00 and not sure if it is fiscally-viable for Tap & Barrel to stock those expensive perishables.

So the last exclusive menu item was the Pesto Prawn Pizza with prawns, almond basil pesto cream,
fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, feta, basil and lemon.  In terms of flavour, this pizza was quite good with definite pesto vibes coming through with nuttiness, cheesiness and acidity.  Prawns were perfect too.  However, the pizza crust was a bit too soft and could've been a bit crispier.

Okay, the real dud of the meal was the Fried Chicken Mac & Cheese with buttermilk fried chicken, cavatappi noodles, bacon, sharp cheddar bechamel, parsley and parmesan breadcrumbs.  The real issue wasn't the mac & cheese was it was definitely cheesy and nutty with al dente noodles.  It was with the chicken where it was fried far too aggressively.  The chicken itself was dry and chewy while the batter was quite dark and hard.

The last dish was the Steak Frites featuring a  7oz Certified Angus Beef sirloin, peppercorn sauce, fries and truffle arugula.  This was asked to be prepared rare and it came out as such.  Due to this, the steak ate a bit chewier, but it was still fine.  The peppercorn sauce was creamy and lightly peppery.  In the end, we thought the food is pretty good, but really, the draw here is the killer location and view.  In terms of food execution and quality, I've had better at other Tap & Barrel locations.

The Good:
- Awesome view and location
- Good service

The Bad:
- Food was fairly good, but I've had better at other T&B locations 

Linh Café (Granville Street)

It has been a long time coming, but I finally made it out to the Downtown Vancouver location of Linh Café.  Interesting spot really as it sits underneath the Granville Street Bridge a stone's throw from Fresh Street Market.  Compared to their much smaller original location, this one sports a full-service bar, open kitchen and many more seats.  They still feature most of their popular items including many more deluxe ones too.  This blog post is an amalgamation of 2 separate visits 2 days apart.

They have a featured menu at the moment where the first item is the BC Spot Prawns sautéed with garlic butter (also the option to have them deep fried).  Sure, this won't be available much longer, but we couldn't resist.  Good choice though as these were perfectly prepared.  Spot prawns are notoriously delicate and can overcook easily.  These were still buttery soft and tender.  They had all of the natural sweetness and the garlic butter was a delicious compliment.  We dipped the bread into it.

Staying with seafood, we got the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare atop avocado and dressed with soy and sesame oil.  It was served with a side of house made potato chips.  The was a study of textures and not necessarily about strong flavours.  The buttery soft tuna and avocado were balanced off by the crispy potato chips.  Since tuna is rather delicate in taste, the restraint with the soy ensured it wasn't overdressed.

On the other visit, we went for the Steak Tartare with shallots, capers and parsley.  This was also good with tender cut-to-order striploin.  They were not shy with seasoning it where the tanginess really came through as well as some noted spiciness.  Hence, every bite had layers of flavour where it started off tangy and gave way to the aromatics of the shallots and then finished off with spice.

We really enjoyed the Foie Gras Parfait as it was super smooth, appealingly sweet and full of aroma.  Of course the butteriness and creaminess of the parfait made it texturally delicious.  We had toasted house-made brioche on the side to act as a vessel for the parfait.  To compliment the richness of the foie gras, there was some tangy and sweet strawberry jam.  I actually didn't need any of that because I wanted the full force of foie gras on the airy brioche.

Since I wasn't ordering any dish with Fries, I decided to get a side of them.  Spoiler alert, I didn't get the Steak Frites because I got something a bit bigger...  Anyways, back to the fries, they were actually starch-coated.  Usually, I much prefer house-cut fries that are not coated in anything, but these were pretty good.  They were crispy with lots of potato goodness inside.  Unlike the Cavendish brand type of starch-coated fries, these didn't have that greasy sliminess.

Onto something that really piqued my interest when I first saw the menu - Lobster Benedict on brioche.   It featured a split butter-poached lobster tail with a runny poached egg in between.  Then it was topped with a seriously rich and thick Hollandaise sauce.  I found it to have quite a bit of acidity, which helped cut through the heaviness.  The egg was perfectly poached while the lobster had its classic rebound texture.  I liked this dish, but felt the Hollandaise was probably just a touch too rich.

Continuing with the larger items, we had the Ling Cod with baby bak choy and velouté.  The fish itself was prepared properly with flaky and moist meat while the skin was hard-seared until crispy.  There was enough seasoning for the fish, but the velouté underneath had good flavour and wasn't too thick from the roux.  There was some slight pepperiness to go with a surprising amount of acidity.  But it worked with the fish.

We also had the Brome Lake Duck Breast atop duck jus, glazed grapes and apples.  This was served medium where it was fairly tender and moist.  Loved the natural duck essence which was complimented by proper seasoning.  The duck jus added both moisture and body.  Underneath, the grapes and apples were cooked through being soft with lots of inherent sweetness activated by the cooking process.

Okay, we went big with the 40oz Côte de Boeuf (rib steak) that was prepared a perfect medium-rare.  It had been rested properly where the juices stayed within the meat.  That meat was super tender with natural meat texture while being well-salted.  Underneath, we found a creamy peppercorn sauce that was rich and only amped the decadence of the dish.  This was quite the steak and was enough for 2+ people.

Of course we couldn't forget about the Phở Bò with braised beef brisket.  There are many options on the menu to amp this bowl of pho, but we chose not to since we had enough food already.  So the basic bowl was pretty small in portion size.  I would say if you want this as your meal, you need to add extra noodle and meat.  We found the broth to be clean with deep flavours.  It was meaty and full-bodied bordering on salty.  The noodles were still a little soft while the beef was buttery and tender.  Yes, we added the chili vinegar condiment to this and yah, it tastes good.

For dessert, we had the Lemon Tart as well as the Matcha Cream Puff.  The lemon tart featured a firm, yet somewhat crumbly shell that the creamy lemon curd resided.  It was tangy with just enough sweetness. But our favourite was the cream puff.  The choux pastry was on point being crispy on the outside with a soft and airy inside.  The matcha cream in the middle was fairly light and not overly bitter.  It was a nice study in textures too.  Overall, the food at Linh was a quite good with a few standouts.  Sure, the prices are on the higher end, but what isn't these days.  Love the location as it is bigger and more spacious.  As good as the Pho was, I would recommend that you go to an actual Pho shop instead because you would get a better value.  Come for the French food though.

The Good:

- Nice dining space

- Excellent service

- Food is generally good

The Bad:

- Can get spendy

- Pho is delicious, but not a good value here

Kokoro Toyko Mazesoba (Brentwood)

It has been nearly 5 years since I tried the original location of Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba in Downtown Vancouver.  For those who do not know, they specialize in mixed noodles without soup.  Sure, they have ramen on the menu, but that is not their main thing.  Rather, they have a selection of noodles with various toppings.  Once you are finished, they offer you a bowl of rice to sop up the remaining "sauce".  Spoiler alert, we didn't do that this time around.

So to start, we got the large order of the Chicken Karaage served with spicy mayo and tangy mayo.  This came out piping hot and glistening.  Hence, the exterior was uniformly crispy and in certain parts, rather crunchy.  The dark chicken meat was juicy and naturally tender.  We found the chicken to be sufficiently tender but a bit of lemon and the dips helped add more pop.  For me, I enjoyed the spicy mayo more as it added some sweet kick.

We also got the 10-Piece Pork Gyoza, which was served in a cast iron pan (but not the one they prepared it in).  As you can see, there was a nice sear on the bottom and an accompanying skirt too.  The result was a smoky and nutty crunch that wasn't overly greasy.  The dumpling wrapper was fairly thin and al dente.  Inside, the pork filling was mixed with plenty of veg and green onion while being juicy and flavourful.

For myself, I had the Zenbu Mazesoba featuring slow braised pork chashu, spicy minced pork, soft boiled egg, seaweed, bamboo shoot, seaweed flakes, egg yolk, chives, green onion, minced garlic, ground saba, and house-made multi-grain noodle.  Yes, this had everything but the kitchen sink.  The result was a rather fulfilling bowl of noodles that had the meatiness from both types of pork as well as the "green" taste of the chives and green onion.  I had to pick out some of that because it was a lot.  The raw garlic really came through (and lingered) while the ground fish provided brininess.  Noodles were chewy, but in a good way.

For my son, he ordered the Salmon Avocado Mazesoba with spinach, seaweed flakes, ground saba, minced garlic and egg yolk (he omitted the green onions).  His first remark was that it was a bit weird with warm noodles and cold salmon.  Now I've had cold and hot in the same dish before and they do work.  In this case, I was on the fence.  Maybe a completely cold noodle might've been better.  Otherwise, it was good with similar flavours as the Zenbu except no pork and less green-tasting.

For my mom, she had the Mentaiko Cream Mazesoba with slow braised pork chashu, seaweed flakes, green onion, minced garlic, ground saba, spinach, egg yolk and mentaiko.  Naturally, this was a briny-tasting concoction while creamy (just as its name suggests).  Noodles were al dente and ate much like a mentaiko udon except with some meatiness from the pork.

My dad wasn't very hungry so he got a Mince Bowl which was essentially rice with spicy minced pork with an egg yolk and green onions.  This ate very similarly to the Taiwanese dish Lo Rou Fan except without pork belly.  This had a good spice and meatiness while the egg yolk added a creamy silkiness.  The rice itself was not too soft or wet, so it was the right vessel for mixing with the minced pork.

My daughter had exactly what she had last time in the Tomato Tonkotsu Ramen with slow- braised pork chashu, ramen egg, green onion, garlic, baby corn, dried red pepper, bamboo shoot, bell pepper, kabocha, cherry tomato and black fungus.  Yes, the list of ingredients make it sound like a lot, but it was only like one piece of each.  The broth was thick and creamy with good tomato essence.  The thin noodle remained al dente even though it sat in the broth for awhile.  I think this tastes really good, but the broth is really rich and I don't think I could drink all of it.

Of course we couldn't get out of there without their Hokkaido Creme Cup complete with a plastic shovel.  Actually we wanted the cone, but this is the second strike-out for us as they didn't have it again!  No matter, the creamy and rice ice cream was super milky and delicious.  Sure it was sweet, but in a milky way.  It is a lot more than it looks, best to share with someone, unless you really want it all to yourself.  Overall, the dry noodles at Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba is good, but personally, I prefer classic soup ramen more.  But it is something different and there is many choices to be had.  Love that ice cream though!

The Good:

- A bit different than regular soup ramen

- Excellent service

- That ice cream!

The Bad:

- It looks like a lot, but it really isn't that filling, unless you get the complimentary rice

Lee Garden (Henderson Centre)

Okay, our last visit to the newish Lee Garden in Henderson Centre was only half-a-year ago, but that was after a heavy snowfall.  This meant the restaurant was not fully staffed nor was it completely busy either.  We had a decent meal, but I felt we had to go back when it was 100%.  I guess going on Father's Day itself might've not been the best choice because that could be deemed too busy.  However, it was not overflowing with customers and it seemed like they had the full compliment of staff.

So without further delay, let's get right into the food!  Well, I'll talk about the two most important dishes right off the hop.  The Ha Gau (Lee Garden Crystal Prawn Dumplings) were quite good.  Although the dumpling skin was medium-thick, it wasn't too dense.  There was a nice translucency with appealing elasticity.  Inside, the shrimp filling was moist and buttery with a classic snap texture.  Seasoning was mild with sweetness and some sesame oil aromatics.

Off to the Siu Mai (Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumplings), they were not uniform in appearance, but ultimately that didn't matter much.  Somewhat loose, the mixture of pork and shrimp were texturally on point.  Exhibiting the desired rebound while being tender and moist, the pork was also well-seasoned (so it wasn't too porky in flavour).  As for the shrimp, it has all of the same qualities as the Ha Gau with a buttery snap.  

We also had the Steamed Rice Noodle Roll with Prawns & Chives which was not bad.  I found the rice noodle itself on the stiffer and drier side.  Now with that being said, it didn't make or break the dish necessarily.  By employing some of the sweetened soy, it somewhat helped soften the rice noodle somewhat (in addition to adding flavour).  As for the prawns in the middle, they were of a good size and had a meaty snap while being lightly seasoned with appealing sweetness.

We always enjoy the Baked BBQ Pork Pastries and naturally we would order these here.  Generally, these were quite good where the pastry was buttery and flaky.  There was a nice aroma while we ate them and I'm sure it was due to the use of lard (hey Dim Sum isn't health food!).  Love the colour on the outside too.  Inside, there was an average amount of BBQ pork filling that featured fairly lean pieces.  The minimal amount of glaze was mostly sweet with some savoury elements.

One of the strangest items we had was the Ling Cod Congee.  Okay, nothing really strange about the dish itself, but the preparation was not what we expected.  They put the head as well as the bones into the congee which meant it tasted great with a natural sweetness.  However, we had a fun time trying to not accidentally swallowing bones.  Not sure if that is necessarily a good idea to prepare fish congee this way.  In terms of the congee itself, the viscosity was good where it was thick but drinkable.  It didn't get watery at the end either.

Onto another larger item, we had the Crystal Noodles with Beef Brisket Hot Pot.  This was served in a hot pot and it was indeed sizzling.  That was good and bad since the noodles on the bottom got pretty singed.  Hence, those noodles were more chewy and in some parts, actually hard.  The positive of the sizzling hot pot was that the whole dish remained warm and the sauce caramelized.  The brisket itself was excellent being tender and meaty.

One of our go-to dishes whenever we are at Dim Sum is the XO Daikon Radish Cake.  These cubes are deep fried then wok-tossed with XO sauce, peppers and bean sprouts.  We found the radish cake to be rather squishy, but they were delicate and not dense.  However, the deep fry on them was not aggressive enough and hence the squishiness.  There was not a lot of XO sauce going on either, so I needed to dunk it into hot sauce.

As you can see in the picture, the Pan-Fried Eggplant with Shrimp Paste was pretty generous with the stuffing.  It was also good where the shrimp was airy and light with a rebound texture.  It was sweet and had a natural shrimp essence.  I thought the eggplant was excellent where it was cooked through while still having some firmness.  The only part of the dish that could've been better was the starch-thickened sauce, it was rather bland.

The parade of shrimp-related dishes continued with the Fried Shrimp Spring Rolls with Garlic.  Again, if we reference the picture, you will noticed the generous amount of whole shrimp jammed within the roll.  There were no empty voids and this made for a robust spring roll.  Texturally, the shrimp had the requisite buttery snap while being well-seasoned.  The spring roll wrapper was wound tightly and was crunchy without being greasy.

Onto the offal portion of our Dim Sum meal, we had the Hong Kong-Style Steamed Beef Tendon & Tripe.  Honestly, I've never seen a dish like this plated so carefully (well at least not at this class of restaurant).  Instead of tripe strewn about, they were neatly arranged on top of the tendon.  Besides that, the tripe were in large pieces and perfectly textured being soft with a chew.  Tendon was also soft but not melted while savoury and sweet in flavour.

A touch on the paler side, the Phoenix Talons (Steamed Chicken Feet in House Special Sauce) were a lot more plump than it should be.  Let me explain, the chicken feet are fried before they are steamed.  They didn't fry them enough, hence the texture of the skin was more akin to steamed from raw than the desired texture.  Beyond that, the rest of the chicken feet was good though being soft and tender.  Flavours were good with lots of garlicky spice.

One of, if not the best dish of the meal was the Steamed Spareribs with Pumpkin.  First of all, the portion size was generous with predominantly meaty rib pieces that weren't too fatty.  Secondly, the meat was the proper texture being tender with a rebound.  In terms of flavour, the seasoning was impactful with lots of garlic, a touch of spice and plenty of savouriness.  Underneath, the pumpkin was soft and soaked up all of the flavours.

Last savoury item was the Beef Meatballs and they were also quite good.  Texturally, these whipped meatballs were fluffy and airy.  However at the same time, there was still some "meatiness" left.  There was just enough green onion mixed in for some flavour without taking over the dish.  I was happy that they put fried bean curd skin underneath as it provided a different texture as well as soaking up some of the juices.

For dessert, we had the Steamed Egg Yolk Bun as well as the Steamed Sponge Cake.  I found the buns to be fairly fluffy with a good amount of runny salted egg yolk filling.  It was sweetened enough so there was balance.  The nuttiness of the egg yolk came through.  The sponge cake was fluffy and light yet there was a noticeable baking powder aftertaste.  It was mildly sweet with a rich brown sugar aroma.  So this second visit to Lee Garden in Coquitlam was good.  Sure, some dishes could be better, but overall, we enjoyed the food.  Service was decent and the spacing of the tables was comfortable enough.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Decent service

- Fairly comfortable

The Bad:

- Some refinements needed