Liuyishou Hot Pot (Burnaby)

Haven't been out to the Burnaby location of Liuyishou in a few years I believe.  But really, I should be coming here more often because it is not only not too far from where I live, it is also one of my go-to spots for hot pot in the city.  I classify Liuyishou as one of the more premium hot pot establishments, yet at the same time, they are reasonably-priced given the quality of their food as well as the presentation.  Their sauce bar is also quite good with many options and little bites.

This time around, I was invited to try some new items as well as the classics.  Of course I have to talk about the Sauce Bar first because that is a big part of the hot pot experience.  There are all the essentials there including garlic, cilantro, green onion, chilis, soy, vinegar, sesame oil and the sort.  Other than that, the snacks and fruit were quite good too.  We found spicy daikon, pickled veggies, honeydew, oranges, seaweed and braised duck necks.

Onto some cooked appies, we had the Deep Fried Chicken Wings as well as the Grilled Lamb Skewers.  Gotta say those mid-wings were gigantic and also succulent inside.  They were juicy and well-marinated while the skin was completely rendered and crispy.  As for the lamb, the cubes of meat were also tender and moist with hints of cumin and spice.  Talking about spice, there was some of that on the side that added some heat to both proteins.

So we had a few more things that were cooked including the Deep Fried Dragon Beard (Pork), which was majestically presented on a hook.  This was super crispy while not greasy.  The meat was fairly moist with enough seasoning.  However, the spice rub at the bottom of the plate added that extra bit of impact.  Served in its own golden egg, the Deep Fried Eggs were delicious on its own being crispy and fluffy.  However, it was also great being dunked into the hot broth as it took on some awesome flavours.

On the topic of broth, we had their signature Liu's House Special Soup Base (aka Spicy Fatty Cow Tallow Broth) as well as their new Golden Chicken Soup that came with a plate of bone-in chicken.  As expected, the spicy broth had some serious heat and real depth while the chicken broth was mild and sweet.  As you can see, we were also served the Liu's Beef & Lamb Platter (that neatly fit around the hot pot) along with Shrimp, Snakehead Fish Fillet, Fresh Meatballs, Tofu Skin Rolls and Fresh Noodles.

So we can't forget about the Deluxe Aged Beef Platter (aka Wheel of Meat) that just looked plain cool at the table.  Yes, the meat was sliced thin and was buttery soft when dunked into the hot broth for only a few seconds.  For dessert (other than the fruit at the sauce bar), we were served some Golden Durian and Custard Balls. My favourite was the durian as it was pungent enough without being overly so.  They were also not too sweet.  Nice and crispy outside!  Overall, this was predictably a solid visit to Liuyishou.  The classics were the same while the new things we tried, such as the chicken broth, dragon beard and fried eggs were delicious.  They even now have an AYCE option.  Need to come back soon!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Consistent food quality

- If you like aesthetics, they got that down pat

- Reasonably-priced IMO

The Bad:

- The platter around the hot pot is cool and practical in terms of meat to hot pot vicinity, but the heat actually cooks the meat while it sits there

Shoku Van

As exemplified in my Okeya Kyujiro post, high-end Omakase prices in Vancity are $300+ these days.  Depending on what you value most, this could be highly worth the cost or insanity.  Well, I'm not here to argue that point.  Rather, I'm here to provide a more cost-effective option with Shoku Van.  Their Dinner Kaiseki is only $58.00 per person and I feel it was enough food for me to be fully satisfied.  This location of Shoku is located in the former Raga and directly across the street from Toys R Us.

Instead of courses, the menu lists "5 steps" and that immediately brought back memories of NKOTB.  So Step 1 (We can have lots of fun) consisted of Spring Mix with apple dressing, Chawanmushi and Tempura.  Salad was fresh and the dressing was lightly sweet with some acidity.  Tempura was excellent with a thin crispy batter.  Silky without too much excess moisture, the chawanmushi was sweet and aromatic.

Moving onto Step 2 (There's so much we can do!), we found Sashimi (Salmon, Hamachi & Madai), Nigiri (Aburi Kia, Bluefin Tuna & Jumbo Prawn), Atemaki and Miso Soup.  In general, this was a solid collection of items where the fish was fresh and had a clean, pleasant taste.  I was surprised with the addition of bluefin akami.  Sure, it is the leanest cut, but still it was buttery and sweet. Of note, the hamachi was lighter in colour, which is generally an indication it is the farmed version.  That didn't matter to me though as it still ate well.

So Step 3 (It's just you & me) was the most filling course with Hire Katsu, Garlic Butter Prawn, King Oyster Mushroom, Grilled Pork Belly, Grilled Unagi and Grilled Scallop with assorted vegetable. There was also a variety of condiments on the side to build your own lettuce wrap.  Again, this was a solid collection of food where the katsu was crispy and the scallop was buttery.  Some things could've used a more aggressive sear though.

From here we got to Step 4 (I can give you more) where we found the Ichiban Dashi Vegetarian Udon.  I found this to be pretty standard with a light broth that had the usual savoury and sweet elements with a touch of umaminess.  The noodles were not overdone while the temperature of the broth was still fairly hot.  To complete the bowl, we found inari strips,  shungiku and narutomaki.

Last but not least, we had Step 5 (Don't you know that the time has arrived?) with 2 scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream.  I found the ice cream to be a little on the icier side, but still creamy.  This was a nice portion size to finish off a pleasant meal.  Naturally, we can't compare this to some of the more premium Omakase spots in town, but if we look at it for what it is, the Premium Kaiseki at Shoku is a good value.  Food quality is definitely more than acceptable and makes for an affordable multi-course meal.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Good food quality for the price
- About that price, it is completely reasonable
- Nice people

The Bad:
- May not meet the needs of some people wanting a more elevated experience, but really, consider the price...

Kamei on Broadway (Dine Out 2024)

A year ago, I was reintroduced to an ol' favourite in Kamei on Broadway.  I've had so many memories at this location especially from my childhood.  Hey, they were the only game in town when it came to Japanese food!  Well, this time around, Jackie was invited to try their Dine Out menu and she asked me to tag along.  Hey, I wasn't going to say no because I enjoyed my last meal there.  Also, Jackie is really cool and fun to be around (maybe she reads this and she gets me to tag along more often! LOL).

Anyways, their Dine Out 2024 menu will set you back only $48.00 and includes a Miso Soup to start and a choice of appetizer including the Karaage Taster featuring Chikuwa Cheese, Chicken Karaage and Vegetable Croquette.  As you can see, this was quite the dish of food.  I found the karaage quite good since the chicken was juicy and the batter was light and crispy.  The chikuwa cheese was pretty typical, but had plenty of melty cheese inside.  The croquette was soft and creamy with a crunchy panko batter.

Another appie option is the Sashimi Plate with one piece each of salmon, tuna, hamachi and hokkigai.  This was good where all the pieces had a nice sheen with an essence from the sea.  As for the other choice, it was the Aburi Salmon Inferno.  Essentially bite-sized aburi salmon oshi (minus the mayo) with some tobiko on top, this was very tasty.  Aside from the visuals, the salmon was torched nicely being smoky while buttery.

Onto the mains, we also had 3 choices including the Meat Lover's Trio sporting beef short ribs, chicken teriyaki and pork belly chashu on top of rice in a hot stone bowl.  Oh this was a good amount of food as there was 2 pieces of each type of meat.  About that meat, the short rib was nicely grilled and marinated while the chicken was moist and tender.  Pork chashu was fatty and buttery as well.  The sauce had plenty of umaminess and saltiness to season the rice.

Possibly the best value of the 3 choices is the Alaskan Sablefish with rice and seasonal vegetables.  We all know expensive this type of fish can be and the fact they include 2 large pieces makes this a steal for the price.  We found the fish to be flaky and super buttery.  It was supremely fresh and lightly seasoned.  There was some miso sauce on the plate to help provide more impact.  Veggies were cooked just right being still crunchy.

Now the third option is no slouch either in that Uni Cream Miso Udon with grilled black tiger prawns.  This was definitely luxurious due to the creaminess of the sauce as well as the addition of an onsen egg and a dollop of uni.  I found the onions provided a complimentary sweetness while the pops of bininess from ikura added seafoodiness.  The udon was tender but still had a chew.  Prawns were large and meaty.

Providing 2 very different dessert options, we have the Mochi Ice and the Oreo Cheesecake.  For me, I love fruity things so the mango ice was a nice finish to a fantastic meal.  The warm mochi helped melt the ice a bit (made it somewhat of a drink) while keeping a soft and pillowy texture.  There was a some ice cream and red bean for some extra sweetness.  As for the cheesecake, it wasn't as heavy as it appeared and wasn't as sweet either.  So as you can see, the Dine Out menu at Kamei won't leave you hungry as the portion sizes are substantial.  Beyond that, the food is well-prepared and flavourful.

*All food was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Large portions

- Tasty dishes

- Well-priced

The Bad:

- As mentioned in my previous post, the place could use a refresh

Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patio (Dine Out 2024)

It has been quite some time since I've been back to the False Creek location of Ancora.  Hey, it wasn't because I didn't like the place, in fact, it was pretty good.  With all of the new restaurants I need to try and also being out-of-town on many occasions, doing a revisit just never happened.  This time around, I was invited to sample their Dine Out Vancouver menus (for lunch & dinner) including some cocktails and wine pairings.  3-course for lunch is $45.00 and for dinner it is $59.00.

For the lunch menu, there are 2 choices for starters, and for me, I was served the Chicharron Sushi Roll consisting of sous-vide and fried pork belly, miso sauce and black pepper.  This ate really well with chewy and seasoned sushi rice.  The pork belly was aromatic and had a nice crunch.  Nice textural contrast from the ripe avocado.  Appealingly offering up a fermented saltiness, the miso provided the savouriness while the slice of jalapeno on top added some spice.

The next course also had 2 options including a Shrimp Risotto or a Sushi Pizza.  As you can see, I was served the pizza and it was very good.  The "crust" was fried sushi rice and I found it to be perfect.  It was uniformly crispy on the outside while the rice was warm, chewy and moist on the inside.  On top, there was dungeness crab, avocado cream, unagi sauce, tuna and sockeye salmon.  I found the fish to be good quality and exhibiting a fresh sheen.  They were buttery and soft with a natural sweetness.

For dinner, we find 3 options for starters including the Soft Shell Crab Tacos with ikura and mango salsa.  This was a fairly large appetizer with a gigantic soft shell crab.  It was delicate and creamy as expected, but the batter was just a touch thick.  This was still good though as it had a nice crunch and the accompanying salsa provided some sweetness.  There was also some nice spice from the mayo as well as the spice-rubbed lime.

There are also 3 choices for mains and in this case, I was served 2 of them.  The first was the Solterito Salad with red and white organic quinoa, queso fresco, chulpi corn, edamame, huacatay & seasonal vegetables.  Sure, a salad may not be the most filling option, but believe me, this was pretty delicious and surprisingly satisfying.  The 3 large prawns were crispy on the outside while exhibiting a meaty snap on the inside.  The combination of ingredients including some root veggies and the quinoa made this more than just a salad.

The other main dish was the Beef Stir Fry featuring sautéed striploin, red onions, scallions, saltado sauce and 

a rice.  I really enjoyed this dish even though I was skeptical at first.  The beef was far more tender than I would've imagined and it was cooked perfectly.  Just into the medium-rare zone, the meat was juicy and nicely caramelized on the outside.  There was some really good flavours going on with saltiness, tang and sweetness.  The al dente rice was well-seasoned and nutty while being an excellent compliment to the stir-fry.

For both lunch and dinner, the Picarones are an option for dessert.  These little squash & yam donuts came with pecans, spiced syrup and lucuma ice-cream.  Absolutely loved them as the outside was lightly crispy while the inside had a pleasant chewiness.  They were not dense while still having some robustness.  Although sweet, the syrup was not overly so, rather being aromatic and smoky. 

Of course a meal isn't complete (for some people that is) without cocktails and/or wine pairings.  Naturally, being a Peruvian-Japanese restaurant, there is also selection of Sake.  I tried their most popular cocktail in the Pisco Sour and it was well-balanced with the classic sweet and sour elements.  Since I was driving, I stuck with the mocktails in the Pineapple Soda and Inca Elixr for my other drinks.  Particularly enjoyed the refreshing fruitiness of both.  Wine pairings are available at $29.00 for lunch and $39.00 for dinner.  Overall, the Dine Out offerings at Ancora feature quality ingredients that are well-prepared.  Pricing is fair for the food as well as the wine pairings.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this post*

The Good:

- Quality ingreidents

- Well-prepared

- Lovely location

The Bad:

- Batter on the soft-shell crab could've been lighter

Dragon Bowl New West

As mentioned in my Instagram post, dining out these days is an expensive proposition.  It seems like we have to get a second mortgage to afford groceries.  However, there are still some good value spots available including the newly-opened New West location of Dragon Bowl.  They offer up customizable bowls that can be had with rice or noodles and a choice of protein.  You can also choose a sauce as well as 3 complimentary side items.

To get a sense of the menu, we tried all the proteins including the Beef with spicy dragon sauce on brown rice with cucumber, shredded potato and cabbage.  We thought the firm brown rice was a good match with the tender beef because it was robust enough.  The spicy dragon sauce did have a kick, but wasn't anything too overbearing.  Loved the vibrant sides where the cabbage was crunchy, yet cooked through while the cucumber was not mushy.

Next up was the Lamb with black bean sauce on rice noodles with wood ear mushrooms, spicy cabbage and bean curd.  Similar in texture to the beef but naturally with the wonderful gaminess of lamb, this bowl ate appreciably different due to the rice noodles.  It was less robust than the brown rice and those noodles were slippery and light.  Furthermore the black bean sauce was more mild and had a gentle fermented saltiness.

To get a taste of all the proteins, we doubled-up with our last bow with both Pork & Chicken with dragon sauce, steamed egg noodles, cucumber and woodear mushrooms.  Although the rice noodles and brown rice were solid, the egg noodles would be my pick for the best carb.  They were al dente and soaked up all of the dragon sauce beautifully.  Flavours were fairly mild without any saltiness nor greasiness.  Truly comforting with home-cooked vibes.  The braised egg was quite flavourful with slight herbal notes.

Last bowl was the Jumbo Shrimp with curry sauce atop white rice with woodear mushrooms, Napa cabbage and shredded potato.  Of course the white rice was a good match for the mild and slightly sweet curry.  The shrimp were perfectly cooked exhibiting a meaty snap.  I found this to be the most impactful sauce as the others were quite mild, including the spicy dragon.  As you can see in the picture, the egg was completely penetrated by the braising liquid.

They also offer up a selection of bubble teas and slushes, so of course we got some to try too.  The one on the left is Honey Black Tea with grass jelly while the other is a Passionfruit Slush with coconut jelly.  Since I love fruity things, the passionfruit was my preference.  It was a touch icy, but lightly sweet (I chose 30% sugar) and a refreshing compliment to the savoury bowls.  Overall, we enjoyed the bowls as they were fulfilling and reasonably-priced.  Definitely felt comforting with a home-cooking feel.  Would definitely get these again.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Well-portioned

- Reasonably-priced

- Felt healthy

The Bad:

- Parking can be a little difficult in the area

Chicken World (Surrey)

I'm sure you've noticed that I like Chicken World, in particular, the 96th Ave location in Surrey.  Well, to be honest, the first time I visited the place way back in 2009, was not impressive.  However, they have come a long way since then and have become one of my favs.  This location in Surrey happens to be on my way home from work, so I've been known to drop by for some take out every now and then.  For my latest foray into fried chicken goodness, I was invited with some others to try out new items in addition to their classics.

The new items started with both the Peri Rice Combo and Peri Rice Platter.  There was a green salad and spiced rice that came with the choice of chicken.  You could opt for pieces of seasoned chicken or 2 pieces of baked chicken.  In this case, it was a drumstick and thigh.  For both plates, the chicken was tender and moist.  As for the bone-in pieces, the skin was well-rendered.  There was ample flavour but the included hot sauce made things a bit more spicy (and sweet).

We ended up revisiting 2 burgers that were always on the menu - Karizma Burger and Gabbar Burger.  Being the baby of the bunch, the Karizma featured one crispy-battered chicken thigh.  It was juicy and seasoned as expected.  This could be had in regular or spicy.  Upgrade to the Gabbar and we found 2 chicken thighs and yah, that was a large sandwich.  However, the new Maula Jatt topped everything with 3, count'em 3 crispy chicken thighs!  I couldn't even fit this in my mouth!  This would satisfy even the biggest of appetites!

So of course we couldn't forget about their Fried Chicken in both regular and spicy.  Compared to the some of the other spots (such as Church's, Popeye's, Jollibee and Hi-Five), I find the chicken at Chicken World to be up there with a uniformly crunchy batter, rendered skin and juicy, seasoned meat.  For those who do not want fried chicken, they also have Peri Peri Chicken (that is featured in the rice platters) and also BBQ Chicken.  Not to be outdone, both versions feature juicy chicken as well with rendered skin.  The BBQ is not as spicy but sports a sweet and tangy sauce.

For our sides, we had the Jalapeño Poppers as well as the Spiced Fries.  I've had both before and the poppers are pretty good with a crunchy breading.  Lots of melty cheese inside.  As for the fries, they are crunchy while sporting an earthy and slightly spicy dusting.  As you can see, this was another predictable and solid visit to Chicken World.  They keep adding to their already extensive menu with a little something for everyone.  

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Juicy fried chicken

- Well-priced

- Lots of options on the menu

The Bad:

- Wish their paper plates were not so flimsy