Birdies Eats & Drinks

When they announced there would be a new location of Earls at The Amazing Brentwood, it was a forgone conclusion that the one on Lougheed would be closing shortly afterwards.  That it did and they rebranded the location into Birdies (still run by the same company).  They totally redid the outside and interior to reflect its California-inspired cuisine.  The place is now much brighter in terms of lighting as well as the colour-scheme.  I recently made a rez and visited the place with the fam.

One thing is for sure, they really pump the music on loud, so the place has an energetic vibe.  Actually, the Baja Calamari seemed quite energetic with all the colours thanks to some snap peas, cherry tomatoes, avocado and pickled onions.  These were fresh and those tomatoes were quite flavourful.  As for the calamari, we found the pieces to be extremely light and airy.  The batter was crispy and properly-seasoned.  I thought the kale aioli was creamy and pleasant, but I would've preferred something more acidic (even though we did have a lemon wedge too).

Onto one of our favourite dishes, the Yuzu Black Pepper Wings were flavourful and succulent.  Normally, most wings at non-Asian spots are never really all that juicy, but these were.  Furthermore, the balance between pepper and tangy yuzu was spot on as we got a bit of pepperiness while the yuzu helped lighten things up.  Although the skin wasn't totally rendered, it was so flavourful, I didn't mind eating it.

We shared one more item in the Bee Sting Pizza with soppressata, spicy capocollo, fresh basil, red peppers and hot honey.  This was pretty good with a thin crust that was uniformly crispy throughout.  There was a low rumble of spice that lingered a bit at the end.  The drizzle of honey helped balance things off while the peppers and tomato offered up tang and sweetness.  I did wish there was more meat on the pizza though.

For her main, my daughter decided on the Saffron Spaghettini with a light cream sauce, prawns, grana padano and fresh basil.  We thought this was solid with firmly al dente pasta and buttery prawns that had a sweet snap texture.  As for the sauce, it was definitely creamy and had a noticeable amount of saffron.  Hence it was aromatic and appealing.  However, there could've been a bit more of it since the dish ate a bit dry.  Also, the basil should've been in smaller strands, not big leaves.

My son wasn't into anything on the rest of the menu, so he went for an appie for his main in the Crispy Birria Tacos.  As with any birria tacos, the tortilla was dipped into the braised short rib liquid and fat, then cooked on the flattop.  They also added cheddar on the outside and seared it up until it was crispy.  Hence this ate quite heavy and plenty sinful.  He didn't even dip the tacos into the braising liquid since the tacos had so much flavour and moisture already.  I dipped it and the shallots added a lot to the meatiness of the liquid.  There was plenty of shortrib inside the tacos and it was more or less tender.

Viv didn't get anything big and went for the West Coast Salad with avocado, bacon, apples, romaine, cherry tomatoes, kale, nut & seed blend, grana padano and white balsamic & avocado dressing.  Okay, the salad itself was good where the freshness of the ingredients was evident.  Bacon and the cheese added the necessary saltiness and body while the dressing had enough balancing acidity to keep things light.  Really didn't think they needed to put that many croutons, but they were crispy and light.

My dad went for his standby being the only fish dish in the Lemon Herb Salmon.  This featured an oven-roasted fillet that was flaky and moist.  It sat atop rice and roasted Brussels sprouts.  I really liked the sprouts as they were still firm but cooked all-the-way-through.  There was some smoky charring and they were well-seasoned.  The lemon parsley glaze was mild and subtle.  It could've used a bit more punch.

My mom also had her usual in the steak, specifically the Salsa Verde Steak.  She asked for it to be prepared medium-rare but closer to rare.  Well, it was perfectly executed.  Hence it was juicy and generally tender (with a few chewy parts).  The steak could've used a bit more seasoning though.  As for the tomatillo salsa verde, it was actually rather mild and I would've liked to see more flavour.  There was a seared potato pavé underneath it was good -  buttery with tender layers of potato.  

For myself, I had the Birdies Burger with double patty, tomato jam, smoked bacon, American cheddar, lettuce, onion and pickles on toasted brioche.  I generally enjoyed this burger since the bun was soft, yet stayed intact while the bacon was uniformly crispy.  The burger patties were a decent size and were moist and tender.  However, I found the patties to be crumbly and lacking a bit of meat texture.  Despite this, the burger was still good.  It also came with a whack load of crispy fries.

For dessert, we decided to give their Key Lime Bar a go.  This was a fairly large portion where the strong tanginess of key limes really came through.  The bar itself was rich and creamy while quite sweet.  Graham crust was firm while the Chantilly cream was light.  Overall, the food at Birdies was generally good with a few tweaks needed.  The place has a youthful presence with bright colours and loud music.

The Good:
- A lot brighter and "open" than the old Earl's
- Decent eats
- Energetic vibe, if you like that

The Bad:
- I love loud music and I play it loud in my car and at home. However, it was so loud at Birdies, it was hard to have a convo

 

Aloha Hawaiian Grill

Oh how I miss Hawaii!  Totally love the weather there, the beaches and of course, the food!  Such an eclectic fusion of cuisines due to the many different cultures intermixing on the islands.  Although we have Hawaiian eats available on the mainland, there isn't much of a selection locally unless you are looking for poke.  Even with that, you get a mish mash of what is supposed to be poke, but sometimes you end up with fish salad.  So when Nora tipped me off a Aloha Hawaiian Grill in Steveston, I just knew I had to meet up with her to try it out!

We were lucky to get there at opening since it was pretty busy by the time it hit Noon. So we had to get some classics including the Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp on rice with a side of mac salad and corn.  This was not bad with plenty of garlickiness and butter.  I would've liked to see a bit more salt, but it was enough to season the shrimp.  About that shrimp, they were of a decent size and plump.  Good buttery snap and natural briny aroma.  Rice underneath was chewy and dry (in a good way).

We also got the Luau Pork Ribs with the same sides.  These slow-cooked ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender but at the same time, they didn't exactly fall-off-the-bone upon contact.  Hence, this was the perfect balance between being tender while not being mushy.  These were sweet and a bit smoky from char off the grill.  I found the mac salad to be decent with al dente noodles and not too much mayo.  It could've used a bit more seasoning though.

Our last big plate was the Loco Moco featuring the usual beef patty with brown gravy and a fried egg on rice.  I quite liked this as the beef patty was large and thick.  It was moist with tender beef and benefited from the sweetness of the onions.  It had been seared nicely and exhibited good caramelization.  The gravy was flavourful but not salty.  The mushrooms added some body and umaminess.  Once again, the dry rice was perfect for accepting the gravy.

Of course couldn't forget about the ever popular Spam Musubi right?  We got a couple of these and right off the bat, I liked how the spam-to-rice ratio was almost 50:50.  Furthermore, the rice was mixed with furikake which meant extra umaminess.  Like it should be, the spam was teriyaki-sauce glazed  which helped also flavour the rice.  I would've liked to see a more aggressive sear on the spam though.  Otherwise, this was a solid version.

We ended off with a small bowl of Shaved Ice in Mango, Cherry and Passionfruit topped with some condensed milk.  I found the shaved ice to be rather snowy and light.  Hence it was easy to eat and not "icy" if that makes any sense.  The flavours could've been anything because it all just tasted sweet to me.  Just enough condensed milk so that the whole thing wasn't sickingly sweet.  Overall, I thought the food at Aloha was pretty good for the mainland.  I still miss the stuff in Hawaii though, but flying there will cost me, so not really fair to compare.

The Good:

- Generally good eats

- Nice people

- Wonderful location

The Bad:

- Garlic shrimp could be more flavourful

- Parking in the village sucks

New Mandarin

Here I am again at New Mandarin with my usual bunch of foodie friends.  Yep, it was another invite to try out their solid dim sum service.  They do incorporate some creativity into their dishes and when I was doing the whimsical piece for Openroad Magazine, I did feature some of their cute desserts.  I've actually been back to New Mandarin several times with my family and others since I enjoying eating there.  In fact, even before I been coming here for invites, I was regularly coming here (on my own coin) for dim sum!

So yes, it didn't take much arm-twisting to get me to go!  Let's get right to the most important dish in the Ha Gau (Steamed Prawn Dumpling).  These were textbook with medium-thick dumpling skin that was delicate with a good elasticity.  The shrimp filling was mostly whole pieces that had a good bounce texture that was moist and well-seasoned.  Along the same lines, we also had their signature Wasabi Scallop & Shrimp Dumplings that featured a bright green dumpling skin that was a bit firmer than the regular version.  The background bitter spice came through and offered up something different.  In terms of the filling, the scallops did add some sweetness, but the overall texture was similar to the regular Ha Gau.

Onto the two versions of their Siu Mai including the Steamed Black Truffle Siu Mai as well as the Quail's Egg Sui Mai.  Comprised mostly of whole shrimp, both siu mai were fairly light and featured a buttery rebound texture.  They were steamed just enough so nothing was overcooked.  Seasoning was on point where we had savoury and sweet notes, but nothing overpowering.  The dab of truffle sauce was restrained so that it didn't take over the dish.  As for the quail's egg siu mai, the egg inside added some creaminess from the yolk.

So we actually had one more version of Siu Mai in the form of Steamed Dace Fish Siu Mai.  This ate considerably different from the shrimp and pork version.  This still exhibited a bounce texture due to the airy fish paste, but it was firmer and more uniform.  It was sweet with mild seasoning.  The Shrimp & Pork Dumpling in Spicy Sauce were not mild at all with an immediate hit of heat, saltiness and sweetness.  The heat lingered and was quite pleasing.  The dumplings were large with a juicy pork filling.

Another one of their signature Dim Sum items is the Steamed Hot & Sour Soup Dumplings.  Yes, they are similar to the ones found at Mott 32, but for way less money.  That doesn't mean they are any less in terms of execution though.  They featured a fairly thin dumpling skin that was delicate with a bit of chew.  Inside, the pork was tender and moist with plenty of soup.  It was balanced in terms of spiciness and tanginess.

So we had 3 types of Siu Mai, therefore it was no surprise we had 3 types of Ha Gau including the Crispy Shrimp Dumplings with some mayo in the middle.  Even though the shrimp filling was the same as the others, it was a bit different due to the cooking method.  It was more robust and impactful due to the oils and activation of flavours.  The dumpling skin was fairly light and had an airy crunch.

Keeping with the deep-fried stuff, we had the Deep Fried Shrimp Paste Stuffed Egg Tofu.  Personally, I love egg tofu since it is so silky and lightly sweet.  Cooking with it can be a real challenge since it falls apart even if you look at it.  This stayed in one piece and had a lightly crispy exterior.  The shrimp paste was bouncy and had a buttery snap.  Even though it was a rather defaultish to use sweet chili sauce, it did go with the dish.

Why not keep this deep-fried train going and talk about the Deep Fried Squid Tentacles with garlic & five spice?  These were really good with almost juicy squid that had a tender chewiness.  That snap texture was on point and the batter on the outside was perfect as well.  There was a solid crunch while not too hard.  It was properly seasoned with a balanced saltiness and of course the 5 spice.  Had some Taiwanese flavour vibes.  Best of all, this dish was not greasy despite the portion size.

This is a good segue to a similar protein in the Steamed Curry Cuttlefish.  Again, this was a large portion with cuttlefish literally overflowing over the plate in the bamboo steamer.  This was also very good where the cuttlefish was tender but had a slight resistance that provided the desired texture.  There was plenty of curry flavour that was only mildly spicy with some sweetness.  Some potatoes underneath soaked up the sauce.

One of my favourite dishes of the meal was seemingly one of the most simple.  The Deep Fried Taro Cake with seaweed was probably the best version I've ever had.  The pudding cake itself was texturally on point being delicate with soft chunks of taro.  Seasoning was spot on as the it was balanced as well as offering up meatiness from the cured sausage.  Due to the deep fry, the whole thing was intensely aromatic and nutty.  Moreover, the seaweed added some umami to the dish.

One of the most interestingly-plated items was the Deep Fried Shrimp Bean Curd Skin Rolls.  The rolls themselves were awesome with an inordinate amount of buttery well-seasoned shrimp encased in crispy bean curd skin.  However, the cucumber in between them did soften up the texture.  Maybe use a less wet ingredient?  Also, not sure mayo and blueberries go together.  Ultimately, I loved the dramatic way it was presented though because hey, why not try something different?

Onto something more conventional, we had the Steamed Chicken Feet (or Phoenix Talons when directly translated from Cantonese).  These were fairly plump with tender skin and mostly soft cartilage and fat underneath.  A bit of it was still firm, but still completely edible.  They were completely seasoned with a sweet and savoury garlicky sauce that was nicely soaked up by the peanuts underneath.

For our rice noodle roll selection, we had the Pork Floss Salty Donut Rice Noodle Roll.  I love the one that they have here because they really load on the pork floss.  It was airy and light while being salty enough to flavour the dish.  The rice noodle roll was fairly thin and had nice elasticity.  Inside the salty donut was light and crunchy.  In addition to the sweetened soy, we had the usual sesame sauce and hoisin.

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the Steamed Mixed Wild Mushroom Dumpling.  Yes, normally, I prefer the meat dishes, but this was "meaty" due to the bevy of mushrooms stuffed in the translucent dumpling wrapper.  Nice textures there including the appealing chew to the wrapper.  On top, we found vegetarian "kidney" which added some firm texture on the top.  Creative way of presenting this, but ultimately, it was delicious.

To get some veggies into this indulgent Dim Sum meal, we had the Stir-Fried Tong Choy (Water Spinach) with fermented tofu.  This is a super classic dish and they nailed it.  The water spinach was fresh and cooked just enough to wilt the leaves while the hollow stalks still had a crunch.  There was enough garlic and fermented tofu to offer up a rich saltiness that was balanced off with some sweetness.

Presented in a stunning black colour, the Stir-Fried Mushroom Fried Rice with Squid Ink was something I've had before.  Sure, your teeth and tongue will go black, but it is well worth it since the rice is delicious.  Generally, squid ink doesn't have too much flavour, but it did offer up some background brininess as well as saltiness.  The stir-fry was done right where the rice was dry, nutty and chewy.

Something that I was hesitant to try was the Pan-Fried Vermicelli with Bitter Melon in Black Bean Sauce.  I have a love-hate relationship with bitter melon and it is mostly hate.  However, they must've soaked it enough to take away most of the bitterness.  Hence, we had tender slices of melon that still retained a bite, yet wasn't too bitter.  It mostly tasted of black bean sauce.  Loved the crispy vermicelli that soaked it all up.

Onto the sweets, we had  both the Steamed Egg Yolk Buns QQ Style as well as the Steamed Oatmeal Egg Yolk Buns.  They were somewhat similar but the egg yolk filling was more molten in the former.  It was sweet with a bit of background saltiness and aromatics.  The oatmeal bun was more robust as expected, yet it was still fairly fluffy.  The first bun was fluffier and was also more delicate (as exemplified in the picture).

So we had an array of desserts that included Almond Cookies, Baked Egg Custard Tart, Strawberry Mousse Sleeping Bear, Ginger Ale Mousse Cake, Mango Pudding shaped as a corn on the cob and Coconut Pudding Piggies.  Had all of these before and strangely, I like the ginger mousse cake since it is so gingery.  Not everyone agrees with me, but I love ginger!  I also like the mango and coconut pudding since they are pretty textbook.

Finally, the most killer dessert of them all - Deep Fried Purple Yam Chrysanthemum Balls with a sweet syrup.   These were actually super light and airy with aromatics and sweetness.  I've had these before and this is the dessert to order here!  So another tasty Dim Sum service at New Mandarin.  It wasn't really a surprise since it is like this every time I've visited recently (they've improved since it first opened).  Head chef Tony Zhang has really put his stamp on the food here and it is no wonder they are Michelin-recommended.  Sure, some will debate whether Michelin means anything at all.  But even if we ignore that, don't just take my word for it, you'll find many others echoing the same sentiments.

*All food was complimentary for this post*

The Good:

- Solid dim sum across the board

- They try to be creative and it mostly works

- Service has improved immensely over the years

The Bad:

- Seating is a bit tight still

- With creativity, some dishes will need tweaks

Published on Main

Here I am at Published on Main once again.  This is my 7th visit and if you know me, a restaurant has to be damn good for that to happen.  I truly believe it deserves all the accolades it receives.  Recently, it was named #3 restaurant in Canada by Canada's 100 Best.  #1 is Mon Lapin in Montreal and I dined there a few weeks ago.  Spoiler alert - I know I haven't posted Mon Lapin yet, but for me personally, Published wins hands down.  Love their creative dishes with equally unique plating.

This time around, we had to start with one of their classics - Chips & Dip featuring smoked fish and onion mixed within the creamy dip.  Some fresh dill on top finished this concoction.  Absolutely love the viscosity of the dip as it adhered to each chip with a certain richness.  The chips were semi-thick and uniformly crispy with enough saltiness.  The smokiness of the fish came through while it provided body to the dip.  Naturally, the onions provided a fresh and bright sharpness.

Believe it or not, for all the times I've been here, it has never occurred to me to try the Aebleskiver.  Very shocking as this is one of their classic menu items.  It consisted of 3 savoury Danish donuts filled with stewed herbs.  One bite and the cake-light texture of the donut was not exactly light, but it was appealingly moist.  The herbs offered up plenty of flavour but the herb emulsion really put the dish over the top with a creamy and bright condiment.

To get fill our veggie quota, we had the Grilled Summer Vegetables with miso bagna cauda.  On this plate, we found charred broccolini and snap peas that were pretty well-salted.  Hence, they ate with a well-seasoned smokiness even without the bagna cauda.  However, the fermented saltiness really help bring out the natural flavours of the crunchy snap peas and broccolini.  Impactful veggies, beautiful dish.

Not to be outdone, we were also served the Summer Bounty with both yellow and green zucchini atop a tasty paste.  Edible flowers and truffled marcona almonds finished off the dish.  Tender with still a buttery crunch, the zucchini slices were perfectly prepared.  We felt the tasty paste had a particularly Asian flavour and the texture of pureed beans.  It has was on the saltier side with hits of sweetness and spice.

I guess we didn't delve heavily into the meats for our initial dishes, as the Ravioli alla Vodka featured a creamy fresh cheese filling.  The pasta itself was fairly thin while still tender and al dente.  It was bathed in a rich and creamy vodka sauce where the alcohol was properly cooked down (and also restrained in the amount).  So I could taste the essence and that was it.  Love the chanterelles as they had a buttery texture with bite while offering up the usual light fruitiness. 

Off to our first protein, we had the colourful and beautifully plated BC Halibut with fresh summer veggies and a vierge dressing.  The combination of grape tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil and herbs really made this dish bright.  The citrus segments provided another layer of acidity as well sweet juiciness.  We found some tender, yet firm pieces of squash that had slightly soaked up the sauce.  However, the star was the halibut (as it should be).  It was flaky and buttery, as with perfectly prepared and fresh halibut should be. 

You can never go wrong with any form of Scallops at Published.  So we got their current iteration, which consisted of expertly-seared scallops that were caramelized on the outside while still rare on the inside.  The result was a buttery and sweet scallop with proper seasoning on the outside.  In the middle, we found fresh corn in a smoked garlic popcorn butter.  This was aromatic, sweet and had the essence of popped corn.  This was our favourite dish.

As always, we also go for the beef dish, whatever it is and this time around it was the Beef Striploin with chanterelles and grilled kale in a cowboy sauce.  As you can see, the steak was prepared a perfect and uniform medium-rare.  It was properly rested too, so it was juicy and tender.  The combination of chanterelles (and their jus from the saute) and the cowboy sauce added body, earthiness and buttery tanginess to the dish.

We were also served the Lamb Belly with gem lettuce with a cilantro dressing.  This sported fatty and super tender lamb belly that practically melted-in-my-mouth.  It was grilled enough to have a smoky char and resulting caramelization on the outside.  It was sauced with a sweet BBQ glaze that helped balance the savouriness.  On the side, the crisp lettuce was tangy and sweet with a cilantro-forward dressing.

For dessert, we went for the ol' standby being the Hay featuring aerated hay custard with green apple, meringue and chamomile.  If you ever wondered what hay tasted like, this would be the perfect way to do it.  In addition to some dry grassiness, there was earthy and nutty notes.  The custard was light, creamy and purposefully sweet.  The key to this dessert was the broken meringue as it added an airy crunch.  As you can see, this was another delicious meal at Published.  We come here so often that 2 of the dishes were comped. I truly think that they need to return to their #1 ranking for the following year.

The Good:

- Expertly-prepared dishes that shows attention to detail

- Intentional flavours that are impactful

- On point service

The Bad:

- Need to order lots in order to be full, but not a bad thing if you want to try more

Archer

Well, this is not really how I wanted to visit Archer for the first time.  No offense to brunch in general, but I originally wanted to come here for dinner.  However, due to a multitude of factors, I never made it out to do that and now we ended up here for brunch instead.  Situated in the former location of Pink Elephant Thai, Archer dishes up West Coast cuisine in a pretty nice dining space.  The brunch menu isn't very extensive, so we were able to get to most of their offerings.

For myself, I went for the Smoked Brisket Sandwich with potato hash, sauerkraut onion slaw, beer mustard and alfalfa on brioche.  I quite enjoyed this sandwich since the Montreal-style smoked brisket was tender with a rebound.  It was also flavourful and complimented nicely by the tangy sauerkraut as well as the mustard.  The aggressively fried hashbrown added some great crunch.  The toasted brioche was light enough to keep the sammie from being too heavy.  As for the house-cut fries, they were limp and soggy.  These needed to be oil-blanched and dried out quite a bit more in order to be crunchy.  I suspect these were not Kennebec potatoes.

Viv had the Croque Madame and it was excellent.  It was chock full of mortadella and gruyere cheese.  Hence, there was no absence of meatiness to the sandwich as well as the saltiness of the meat and nuttiness of the cheese.  The bread was soft and extremely easy to cut through and eat.  Hence, the sandwich was not as heavy as it appeared.  There as plenty of mornay sauce on top that helped moisten the bread as well as adding creamy cheesiness.  A perfectly fried egg finished off this concoction.

My son only had eyes for the Pork Belly Benny and it was an excellent choice.  Look at that thick slice of pork belly (which was melt-in-your-mouth tender) atop what looked to be a slice of baguette.  Due to the egg yolk (perfectly soft-poached) and Hollandaise, the bread was sufficiently soft with some crusty edges.  About that sauce, it was creamy with a good amount of acidity.  Unlike the limp fries, the hashbrowns were crispy.  They were properly salted too.

My dad went for the other non-vegetarian Benedict in the Fish Benny with cold smoked sablefish.  Unlike the pork belly, the sablefish made this dish predictably much lighter.  It had a balanced smokiness and was buttery soft with a light bite.  The medium-poached eggs were done correctly with a runny yolk and firmer whites.  We liked how they added a side salad to break up all the heaviness.

My mom went back to the well and had the Steak Frites with a 6oz Denver cut steak, chimichurri and house cut fries.  She asked for it to be prepared medium-rare but closer to rare and it was done so perfectly.  Nice char on the outside and the steak was sufficiently tender with good flavour.  The blended chimichurri was creamy with a cilantro-forward taste.  Once again, the fries were a letdown as they were limp and too wet.  They were nicely salted though.  So overall, we thought the brunch at Archer was pretty good..  Portions were fair for the price considering its prime Alberni location, welcoming dining space and attentive service.

The Good:

- Brunch in general was prepared well and tasted good

- Excellent service

- Nice dining space

The Bad:

- Those fries were not very good