F.N. Pasta Fresca

While we were munching on meats and cheeses at Enoteca Salumeria Lombardi, we were staring at the huge lineup at the F.N. Pasta Fresca kitty corner in the Mercato Centrale in Florence.  That really piqued my interest and I vowed to return to try it.  After touring the Uffizi Gallery in the morning, we made our way back to the market and lined up for fresh pasta at only 6 Euros each.  You pick your pasta and your sauce and it is made freshly in their small kitchen. Sure, there isn't really anywhere to eat this other than some counter seating or if you brought it upstairs to the food court.  Fortunately, we were staying nearby and merely brought it back to our apartment.

I decided to get the chef's recommendation in the Ravioli al Limone with olio e parmigiano.  This was really good featuring big raviolis stuffed with ricotta cheese and lemon.  I found that the lemon really came through in an aromatic sense rather than being tangy.  The pasta itself was firmly al dente and held up even with the short walk back to the apartment.  Dressed merely in olive oil and parmesan, the flavours were nutty and slightly salty.  But not strong enough to take away from the subtlties of the pasta.

While in line, I noticed someone scoffing down some Spaghetti alla Chitarra with ragu di cinghiale.  I found this to be appealingly firm which was partially due to the perfect preparation but also the squared cross section rather than being round.  This robust texture went well with the wild boar ragu.  The ragu itself was rich and thick with the deep flavours of the meat and fat coming through.  It was a bit salty, yet at the same time that helped flavour the firm pasta.

The biggest portion of pasta happened to be the Gnocchi with ragu bolognese.  Honestly, for 6 Euros, this would definitely fill someone up.  Beyond the value, this was also delicious with the gnocchi being tender with a bite.  This was even better than the one we had in Rome on our first night (at a restaurant).  As for the ragu, it was plenty meaty with lots of body and natural flavours from the meat and tomatoes.  This was a less creamy bolognese and was much tangier.  This was also a touch salty.

Our last pasta was the Fagottini di Carne with pomodoro.  This was a good pairing of pasta and sauce since the meat-filled pasta was already robust and meaty.  The light pomodoro with plenty of fresh tomatoes acted as a counter-balance provided a lighter and brighter finish.  The pasta itself was thin and al dente while being delicate.  We felt that the pasta at F.N. Pasta Fresca to be more than acceptable given the price point.  Compared to the pasta I had at the Mercato Centrale in Rome, this was light-years ahead in quality and execution (comparing apples to apples).  Would gladly eat again if I was back in Florence.

The Good:

- Cheap

- Well-prepared

- More than acceptable given the price and venue

The Bad:

- A bit salty

- Long line (but moves)

Ristorante Romantico il Paiolo

Since we were trying to dine on something quintessential to Florence, we were on the hunt for Bistecca alla Florentine.  This famous item consists of an adult Tuscan ribeye that is aged and has to be minimum 1.2kg in size.  Furthermore, the thickness has to be 3-4 fingers high and can be only cooked to rare.  Well all of this sounded awesome to us as and we decided to give il Paiolo a try since it is highly-rated and wasn't far from our apartment.  Similar to many other restaurants serving bistecca, they have a display at the front with all of the whole prime ribs.

Of course we had to eat other dishes too, so we started with another Tuscan specialty in the Crostini Misti su Polenta Grigliata featuring toasted polenta topped with chicken liver, blue cheese, mushrooms and meat sauce.  Really enjoyed this as the polenta was firm, yet wasn't hard.  The chunky chicken liver Pâté is something I've had before from Fiorino in Vancouver and this was similar, if not better.  The bits of liver were tender while the rest was buttery and well-seasoned with the sweetness of masala.  Even though blue cheese can be pretty sharp, this one here was creamy and well-balanced.  I particularly loved the bolognese as it was meaty and rich, going well with the polenta.

Next, we had the Sformato di Carciofi con Fonduta di Burrata or Artichoke flan with burrata fondue.  This was certainly something different that we've never had before.  I didn't find the flan particularly fluffy due to the amount of artichokes compared to the amount of eggs.  However, I didn't mind that as it gave the flan more substance.  Even before we talk about the burrata fondue, the flan itself was plenty nutty and cheesy.  However, it got even more creamy and cheese with the fondue.

Trying to get all of the greatest hits, we had another Tuscan specialty in the La Nostra "Ribollita" Toscana or Traditional Tuscan Bread Soup with mixed vegetables.  This was certainly hearty due to the addition of bread but it was hardly dense and not heavy.  Rather, the bread had soaked up all of the sweetness of the vegetables.  We actually could eat this with a fork and it was so comforting with the mix of tender veggies and fluffy bread.

Before we got to the steak, we had a few pastas first in the Pappardelle al Ragù di Cinghiale.  This featured extremely al dente pappardelle which was fine by us.  It was simply tossed in stewed wild boar and the accompanying stewing liquid.  Hence, this was a rather meaty dish with chunks of lean wild boar and the sweetness of the sauce.  Although lean, the boar was still plenty tender and moist.

Just because the kids love it, we also got the Lasagna Tradizionali al Forno.  This was actually very good with a bevy of thin sheets of fresh pasta with a noticeably creamy bolognese.  We found the pasta to be firm despite being layered with meat, cheese and sauce.  About that sauce, it was plenty meaty with the aforementeioned creaminess.  Hence, any tomato flavour was completely tempered.

Now to the 1.2kg Florentine Steak cooked on the bone.  This was cooked to rare as evidenced in the picture.  We found the meat sufficiently tender, yet it had a bit of a chew.  Not surprising since it is a ribeye.  It had good natural meat flavour while mildly salted.  There was a good char on the outside.  In the end, we found the food pretty good, but was wanting a bit more.  Service was friendly, yet very slow.  It took us quite long to finish our meal and to get the bill.

The Good:

- Super friendly staff

- Decent eats

The Bad:

- Friendly, but super slow service

Perché No!

Most popular versions of the story say that the birthplace of Gelato is in Florence by Bernardo Buontalenti.  For those unfamiliar, gelato is not ice cream because it is made with milk.  Hence it has less fat, but in turn it has more sugar.  So don't suddenly think it is a health food.  It also has less air in it as it is churned more slowly than ice cream.  So the first thing after lunch in Florence was to hit up Perché No! and get us some gelato!

For myself, I didn't do any sorbetto this time around, not because I didn't want any, but the person preparing my cup didn't hear me asking for Mora (which is blackberry).  Rather, my whole cup was only Pistachio Gelato.  Not necessarily a bad thing as the flavour was quite good with the aromatic nuttiness of pistachio coming through.  I found this gelato to be a bit less creamy though and sweeter.

Viv went for some Matcha and Coffee thinking it was breakfast time?  You can have gelato for breakfast right?  Anyways, as you can see, this was melting real fast since Florence was a toasty 37 degrees Celsius.  Furthermore, gelato is supposed to melt fast due to the lack of any stabilizers added.  With that being said, this was very soft and not as creamy as Frigidarium in Rome.  Flavours were nice though as the matcha came through without being too bitter and the coffee was rather aromatic.

For my son, he didn't stray from his favourites in the Strachiatella and Chocolate.  Once again, the flavours were really impactful as the sweetness of the strachiatella was appealing.  We could taste the natural sweetness and flavour of the milk further enhanced by the sugar.  Of course the chocolate shavings were welcomed.  The chocolate was also sweet and due to that, it was less bitter and not at dark as he would've liked.

Lastly, my daughter had the Limone and Strawberry Sorbettos.  She is more into that rather than gelato due to the heat.  It is more refreshing and for her, she needs that as she hates the heat.  Should've went to Greenland instead right?  She found her sorbetto to be light and smooth.  Both flavours were sweet with the limone being less tangy than others we've had.  Overall, the gelato at Perché No! was good, but we still like Frigidarium more (yes I know it is in a totally different region and city in Italy..).

The Good:

- Lighter if that is your preference

- Flavours were apparent

The Bad:

- Sweeter than others we've had

Salumeria Enoteca Lombardi

Having arrived in Florence and just barely meeting our Airbnb host in time, we made our way to the Mercato Centrale for some lunch.  We settled on Salumeria Enoteca Lombardi due in part that we weren't super hungry but knew we had to eat. Okay, we were well-aware that is is a tourist trap.  You can see it from far away, as it is located right at the market entrance and there are more tourists dining there than locals.  However, upstairs was unbearably hot and completely packed.  Since we love meat and cheese, we just went for it.

We ended up with the Salumi e Formaggi Platter for 4 people at 50 Euros.  Was it pricey?  Sure it was, but again, we knew what we were getting into.  This consisted of prosciutto toscano, sopprasata, salami, toscano, bresoala, pancetta, provolone, olives, artichokes, sundried tomatoes and a side of bread.  This was a good amount of sliced meats and they were more or less good.  Being Tuscan prosciutto, it was definitely salty, but had some more complex flavours.

On the side, we found EVOO as well as Aged Balsamic for the bread and to compliment the meats and cheeses.  Sure, these may not seem important, but for some of the saltier meats, the balsamic provides some balance.  As for the EVOO, definitely great to drizzle on the bread for both aroma and moisture.  So yes, we could've been more creative with our lunch spot, but ultimately, the meats and cheeses did the trick.  Sometimes simple works best and in this case, it was better than being in the sauna upstairs.

The Good:

- Located downstairs and is less hot than upstairs (during the Summer)

- Meats & cheeses were more than acceptable

- Divided amongst 4 people, it really wasn't that expensive

The Bad:

- If you are hungrier and need more food, then this isn't the place

Kosoo Cardero

Okay, here is the trifecta of Kosoos with the original location out on Cardero off Robson.  I've been here before a long time ago, so it was a good time to see what they are doing lately.  Jackie and I were here specifically to try their new menu items featuring a quad of big share dishes.  Unlike their other 2 locations, the original Kosoo focuses on more typical Korean dishes whereas the one in Coquitlam is a BBQ and the one in Chinatown is a "pocha".  No, it isn't a food stall, but it serves that type of food.

Before we got to the featured dishes, we began with a classic in the Tuna Kimbap.  With all the rage these days with the viral Trader Joe's "can't find" version and also Attorney Woo Young-Woo's favourite food, Kimbap is a very popular dish.  I'm happy to report this one here is very good.  Boasting a huge clump of tuna, and being rolled not too tightly, this ate almost fluffy, yet with a certain firmness.  The rice as chewy, yet not dense while the veggies were fresh with a slight crunch.

So another Korean restaurant staple is the BBQ Galbi and we always seem to get it.  Must be the fatty tender texture and caramelized sweetness?  Well, this particular plate happened to be all of the above where the meat was indeed fatty and succulent.  Was really good wrapped in the provided lettuce with peppers and bean paste.  I thought the marinade on the meat was aggressive, but it just stayed on the right side of sweet.

When the Crab Fish Cake Tang hit the table, it was immediately impressive just to look at.  It was chock-full of fish cakes, radish, cabbage, shrimp, mussels, mushroom, flower crab and jalapeno.  So you could imagine that the broth was super sweet and full of depth.  That it was, benefiting from the crab juices too.  Honestly, that was the purpose of the crab as trying to eat any of the meat was a challenge.  However, the fish cakes were delicious and had good mouth feel.

So the previous dish is part of their new menu that features 4 shareable items including the Cream Cheese Dakgalbi.  This consisted of chicken, prawn, mussel, onion, green onion and rice cakes in a special cream sauce.  I found this rather heavy and thankfully most of the ingredients were seafood and cabbage.  Naturally, being a share dish, you would only be eating a portion of it.  Would go well with some form of plain noodle in my opinion.  Definitely creamy and the seafood was perfectly cooked.

Going in the opposite direction, we had the Spicy Treasure Chicken with cheese, onion, green onion, cabbage and rice cake in a red pepper paste sauce. Like the previous 2 dishes, this was really large and could easily feed 3, maybe 4 people (with some rice).  The overall flavour profile was sweet and spicy with plenty of garlickiness.  There was wealth of tender chicken that was complimented by the onions and melted cheese.

Last one of these was the Cheese Bean Sprout Jeyuk Bokkeum.  Also in a spicy red pepper paste sauce, we found tender slices of pork belly mixed with cabbage and onions topped with melted cheese.  Lots of crunchy bean sprouts inhabited the centre of the cast iron pan.  Despite being pork, I found this one less heavy than both the creamy seafood and the spicy chicken.  This was possibly due to the large amount of sprouts in the dish.

Last dish was the Truffle Japchae which was extremely earthy.  They didn't skimp with the truffle sauce and that showed in terms of taste and smell.  The noodles were chewy and were not clumpy.  The meatballs on the side were fairly tender and meaty.  In general, the 4 new menu items we tried were very large in size and should be shared by a group of 4 or more.  I would find it hard to eat even a 1/4 of the dishes because that would be rather monotonous.  Maybe order a few or all of them and share amongst a big group.

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

The Good:
- New menu items are large and stuffed with ingredients
- Pricing is fair considering the portion size
- Love the vibe at night

The Bad:
- New dishes (other than the Tang) are quite heavy, need to share with a larger group, otherwise, it will become monotonous

Old Xian's Food (North Road)

If you've ever seen those viral Biang Biang noodles before, you would know that the best place to get them is Old Xian's Food.  I originally tried out their Kingsway location many moons ago.  It has been quite some time that I haven't been back.  So much so, they've expanded to 3 locations with one in Richmond and the newest, out in Coquitlam on North Road.  Too bad it is in the same plaza as Sushi California, because we all know that parking is a real issue.

No matter, we arrived early and snagged one of those precious parking spots.  We already had a game plan as to what to order, but somehow we got 2 of nearly the same noodle with the Xian's Cold Noodles and the Sesame Sauce Noodles.  Yep, the only real difference here is the addition of sesame sauce (and of course less spicy stuff on top).  Hence, the white noodles, cucumber, sprouts, bran dough and the base sauce (vinegar, soy, sugar, chili oil) were all the same.  I enjoyed both of them as the crunch from the veggies contrasted well with the slippery noodles.  Balanced combination of flavours and with the sesame sauce added, that bowl was less spicy and a bit creamy and nutty.

Here we go with the Biang Biang Noodles!  This one was served with a Tomato Eggs and Soybean Pork.  These wide sheets of noodles not only look grand, the texture was so appealing.  So much chewiness and elasticity made for great mouth feel and eating enjoyment.  I found that the soybean pork sauce was more dominant with a meaty umaminess.  However, the texture of the tomato egg did come though intermittently.

Sticking with the Biang Biang noodles, we got the Cumin Beef Fried Noodles.  Being stir-fried, the texture of the noodles tightened-up and hence were chewier with even more elasticity.  They were definitely less clumpy due to being wok-tossed in oil and the accompanying ingredients.  In terms of flavour, there was predictably caramelization and infused flavours.  Due to the use of cumin, the dish was earthy and definitely had more aroma.

Since this is Northern Chinese cuisine, cumin is a common ingredient and it was evident in the Cumin Beef Burger.  Now this can be made with lamb too, but we chose beef for this one.  Interesting they used raw green peppers here.  I've seen it without peppers and also with cooked peppers.  My preference would be with cooked as raw is pretty powerful.  The beef in this was tender and fully spiced.  Now we did up getting the Cumin Lamb to make up for the lack of it in the previous dish.  With the cooked green peppers, there was more continuity with the flavours.  The aromatics from the peppers and onions added plenty of complimentary sweetness to the earthy cumin.  There was also good caramelization of the spices added some heat.

Possibly the best dish of the meal was not a noodle dish, rather, it was the Pickled Blackfish.  This was an individual order that also came with a bowl of rice.  This was so delicious with the tang from the mustard greens and some spice from the chilis.  Best of all, the sliced fish was so delicate and flaky.  I think this was one of the better versions I've had in town.  This was such a huge portion, one person may have difficulty finishing it!

Something that is not commonly found in the GVRD is Northern-Style Sweet & Sour Pork.  This version features thinly sliced flat pieces of pork coated in a light crispy batter (akin to Korean-Style).  This one did indeed feature a light batter and the pork was lean, yet still tender.  I found the sauce to be more sweet than sour being quite mild.  The viscosity was bang on being thick but not goopy.  Overall, not bad, but could've used more tang.

Lastly, we had the Hot & Sour Soup which did not contain any pork or shrimp.  That didn't matter as this was still robust due to the generous amount of ingredients.  Lots of crunch from the wood ear and bamboo shoots as well as silkiness from the egg and tofu.  The broth itself was the right thickness to coat a spoon but be drinkable.  Lots of vinegariness and spice.  Overall, this meal at Old Xian met our expectations.  It is a great place to grab hand-made noodles (especially the biang biang) and other complimentary dishes.

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

The Good:
- Love the hand-made noodles especially the biang biang
- Excellent pickled mustard greens and fish
- Reasonably-priced for what you get

The Bad:
- That parking lot  

Kokoro Mazesoba (Ironwood)

Okay, I've been to Kokoro Mazesoba on a few occasions, starting with their Downtown location.  Then I made it out to their Burnaby spot afterwards.  For those who don't know, they specialize in mixed noodles with a variety of toppings.  There is no soup with this and once you are finished, you can get a bowl of rice to soak up the remaining sauce and ingredients.  Jackie and I visited the new Ironwood location in Richmond recently and we did a good overview of the menu.

To begin, let me talk about their drinks first.  We had the Blue Hawaii Lemonade, Strawberry Iced Latte, Kokoro Grape Refresher and Japanese Crown Melon Milk.  These were all non-alcoholic and fruity.  I found the lemonade and refresher to be the refreshing as it helped us eat more food.  The strawberry iced latte was sweet and milky while the crown melon was also milky and mildly sweet.  It was the most aromatic of the bunch.

So with the appies, we got them all including the 10 pc Pork Gyoza and Takoyaki.  Served in the cast iron pan it was prepared in (maybe not this particular one because it is upside down), the gyoza were nicely seared with a crispy skirt.  Dumpling wrapper was fairly thin and had good elasticity.  Inside, the pork filling was juicy and tender.  As for the takoyaki, it was pretty typical with a slightly crispy exterior giving way to a soft interior with bits of chewy octopus.

We also got the Ebi Mayo as well as the Karaage Bao.  I enjoyed their ebi mayo as the shrimp were quite large and prepared properly.  They were lightly battered and fried until crispy.  The shrimp were meaty and not overdone either.  The best part was that the coating of sweet mayo was not overdone, so enough for flavour and moisture without a gross amount.  So the steamed bun was filled with 2 large pieces of crispy chicken karaage.  The meat was juicy and seasoned but the spicy glaze and chili mayo added some more impact.

On the topic of karaage, we got both the Spicy Chicken Karaage and the Chicken Karaage.  Well, the spicy karaage was coated with far more glaze than the one found in the bao, so it was much spicier and of course saucier.  Chicken was the same as expected.  For the regular chicken karaage, the batter was predictably more crispy due to the lack of sauce on the outside.  The chicken was still juicy, but less flavourful.  However the side of chili mayo did help with things.

Getting to their specialty, we did a comprehensive overview starting with one of their basic bowls in the Shio.  This featured their made-fresh daily multi-grain soba topped with slow-braised pork chashu, bamboo shoots, nori, spinach, minced garlic, ground saba, green onion and sesame.  Due to the amount of green onion, that was the dominant texture and flavour.  Hence, the bowl was green-tasting and "fresh".  The noodles were chewy while the pork was super soft and tender.  Amping up things, the Zenbu consisted of the same ingredients except adding minced pork & beef, egg yolk, half soft-boiled egg, chives and nori sheets.  This was much more fulfilling in terms of meatiness and silkiness.  The minced meat and egg yolk coated the noodles creating both texture and flavour.    For me, this is my personal favourite whenever I dine at Kokoro Mazesoba.

Onto two very different bowls from the previous ones, we had the Carbonara and the Mentaiko Cream.  With the carbonara, I personally do not think the red onion is necessary (and you can omit this if you want) because it is so strong that it overwhelms the delicate flavours.  So with me picking out the onion, the carbonara was quite tasty.  Creamy and cheesy while having chewy noodles and the tender chashu.  As for the mentaiko, it was similar to the shio except with the addition of fish eggs and egg yolk.  This of course made this silky and briny.

Next we moved onto the Salmon Mazesoba and the Chicken Karaage Rice Bowl.  So for the salmon, it was same components found in the shio except with the addition of bite-sized raw Atlantic salmon and an egg yolk.  As you can imagine, this was a very subtle-tasting bowl with the umaminess of the ground fish and nori.  For something different, yet the same, the rice bowl featured many of the same things as the zenbu except with the addition of chicken karaage and mesclun greens.  I personally liked the minced meat and egg with the rice much more than the noodles.  I found it a better match where the rice soaked it up and hence had more impact.

Our last 2 items were their soup ramen including the Vegan Ramen and Tamago Ramen.  Interestingly, I thought the vegan ramen was quite good with a thick broth that was quite flavourful and creamy.  Could really taste the tomato and the depth of the soybean.  Seared tofu had a nice texture to it too.  As for the other, it was a typical pork bone broth which had good meatiness, yet wasn't heavy.  The pork chashu was fatty and tender while the tamago had a custardy yolk.  We had the thin noodles and they were al dente.  You can get more noodles if you want too.  So after all these dishes, it was pretty obvious to us that many of the components are similar.  However, that isn't a bad thing. With just a switch of some ingredients, the bowls taste remarkably different.  My favourites were the Zenbu, Chicken Karaage Rice Bowl, Carbonara and *gasp* Vegan Ramen.  Lots of choice and with the option of adding a bowl of rice to sop up the remaining sauce or add more ramen to your bowl, you won't leave hungry.

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

The Good:
- Lots of choice
- Interesting flavours
- Unfortunately we didn't get to have any, but their Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream is so good!

The Bad:
- You have to like onions of all kinds here (but you can opt to have them omit it)