Liuyishou Richmond (AYCE Menu)

My love for Liuyishou hot pot has been pretty obvious from all of my previous blog posts.  For those who feel it is because of the sponsored posts, please remember, I've held this opinion even before those media invites.  Yes, I've paid to go there and I feel it is a good value compared to some of the more expensive spots in town.  Furthermore, I do not believe that the quality nor selection suffers because of that.  Lastly, their sauce bar is just as extensive as Haidilao and Dolar Shop.  This time around, Jackie and I were invited to try their Premium AYCE at their Richmond location.  

The first thing that needs to be talked about is their Sauce Bar.  It is pretty comprehensive with everything you need to make a custom dipping sauce.  In addition to all of the condiments, there also small dishes in the form of bean curd skin, bean sprouts & vermicelli, pig's ear, spicy shrimp & mussels, mouth-watering chicken, grapes, oranges, cherry tomatoes, chicken giblets, honeydew and spicy peanuts.  Adjacent to the sauce bar, we found some more dishes in the tomato egg, fried rice, spring rolls, fries, fried mantou, spicy green beans and spicy tofu.  I found the cold dishes at the sauce bar to be quite good, but the food in the chaffing trays were so-so.  Better save your appetite for the AYCE hot pot stuff instead!

About that hot pot stuff, if you have 4 or more people participating in the Premium AYCE, you get a live Dungeness Crab.  That is already in addition to all of the seafood options that also include Snow Crab Legs, Oysters, Clams, Mussels, Scallops and Snakefish.  We cooked up the crab and it was truly fresh with bouncy and sweet meat.  The snow crab legs were previously frozen of course, but they still turned out well.  The rest of the seafood was on point being the right texture (assuming one cooks it properly) where the scallops were buttery, fish was flaky and the oysters were buttery.

The meat choices were plentiful and included Aged Beef, Beef Tongue, Brisket Deckle, Sliced Marble Beef and Wagyu Beef.  Not to mention, we had the classic Liu's Beef & Lamb Platter as a wood ring round the hot pot.  As expected, the meat quality was good where the colour and appearance was appealing.  My favourite of the bunch was of course the Wagyu beef as it was fatty and when cooked, was buttery and melted-in-my-mouth.  I love lamb, so the sliced fatty lamb was also great with the usual lamb gaminess.  If you have seen it, they slice the meat to order here, so it is always a bit frozen and perfect for dunking into the hot broth without sticking together as a clump.

So there are some a la carte menu items that you can add to your AYCE meal.  We chose the Braised Meat Platter with quail's egg, chicken feet, intestines, wings and pressed tofu.  This was an homage to Chiu Chow cuisine and it was pretty solid with rich old soy flavours.  As part of the AYCE, you can also order Sashimi in the form of salmon, tun and hokkigai.  This was serviceable and complimented the hot pot with something much lighter and not needing to be cooked.  Overall, the premium AYCE for $55.95 features enough options to justify the price.  If you want to be less spendy, you can do the regular AYCE for $39.95.

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

The Good:

- High-quality options including Dungeness Crab

- Extensive sauce bar

- Love their fatty spicy broth

The Bad:

- This is common for all AYCE spots, but 1.5 hour time limit means you have to be efficient with your ordering and eating

- This particular location features limited parking spots during busy times

Tutto Belle Il Gelato

As much as Vancouver has a wide selection of many things, it really doesn't have much in the way of Ice Cream and Gelato.  Let's be real here, the landscape is dominated by Earnest, Rain or Shine, La Casa and Bella.  Yah, there are some other spots, but in reality, if you were a tourist in town for 24 hours, you would probably visit one the of aforementioned places.  Since I am a local, I know there are more choices than that, but if you compare to other cities, Vancouver just doesn't have an extensive ice cream/gelato history.  Well, we do have another in town in Tutto Belle II Gelato on West 4th.

I recently was able to do a quick visit to the place and the first thing that struck me was the availability of unique flavours.  For myself, I wanted to try the sorbetto and the 2 options that spoke to me were the Mango & Passionfruit and the Strawberry & Raspberry.  Texturally, I found both smooth while a touch thick.  Maybe a touch gummy, but nothing offensive.  I thought the mango & passionfruit was mango dominant, yet that really didn't matter as it was fresh and natural-tasting while being purposefully sweet.  Predictably, the strawberry & raspberry was tangy and tart with the raspberry coming through.

Viv decided on the Blood Orange sorbetto served in a waffle cone.   It had an attractive colour and was a bit sweeter than the 2 flavours I had tried.  There was the unmistakable essence of blood orange, but we felt it was not as strong as we would've liked.  That didn't mean we didn't enjoy it still because it had the same qualities as the other ones.  We liked how they really loaded up the scoop atop the waffle cone and didn't leave us wanting for more.  The cone itself was aromatic and crunchy, holding up to the sorbetto. My daughter went for the White Peach and it was probably the sweetest of the 4 sorbettos we tried.  It was probably due to the fact that white peach lacks inherent tanginess to offset the sweetness.  With that being said, it wasn't as if the sugar content was excessive either.  Being more subtle, the white peach was more floral tasting.  This actually allowed for the waffle cone flavour to come out more unlike the dominant tanginess of the strawberry & raspberry.

My son was the only one to choose gelato and he went for his usual in the Chocolate.  This was pretty creamy and rich.  Seeing how gelato is made with milk, that meant it was executed properly.  It was plenty chocolatey while the sweetness was balanced.  I thought this was the best option to go with the waffle cone rather than the fruit flavours.  As with the cups, they were not shy about loading it onto the cone.

I returned a few weeks later on my own coin to try a few more flavours including the Mochi Ice Cream featuring strawberry gelato.  I tried eating it with the fork that was provided but honestly, I made a mess of it.  Better to jut pick it up and eat it.  I found the thin layer of mochi quite soft, but if I didn't eat it quickly enough, some parts got more chewy.  The gelato was creamy and did taste like strawberries.

I ended up also trying 2 more of their gelato flavours including Apple Pie and Sour Cherry.  Once again, the texture was creamy and light.  I thought the apple pie was rather sweet and could've used a bit more apple tang.  As for the sour cherry, it was mildly sweet with some cherry flavour.  Again, I would've liked a bit more tang to it.  Overall, the gelato and sorbetto at Tutto Belle II Gelato were good with many desirable flavours.  Definitely worth checking out!

*All gelato and sorbetto were complimentary for one of the two visits for this post*

The Good:

- Desirable flavours

- Not shy about the portion size

- Balanced sweetness

The Bad:

- Sorbetto was on the gummier side but on a subsequent visit, it was much improved

- Some of the gelato flavours could be a bit tangier to match its description

The Hard Bean Brunch Co. (Port Moody)

Back in January of this year, I was at Earl of Sandwich in Willoughby and noticed a new brunch spot a few stores down.  The Hard Bean Brunch Co. looked like a place I would definitely want to try sometime.  I filed that away in my mind for the next time I would be out in Langley.  Coincidentally, Nikita message me shortly after suggesting we meet up at Hard Bean for brunch.  I guess she read my mind!  However, the place is so popular, I wasn't able to get a reservation.  Then I turned my attention to the Port Moody location and we ended up going there instead.

We ended up with a wide range of dishes including the Nacho Breakfast with black beans, pickled onions, corn salsa, scrambled eggs, cheddar, jack + feta cheese, pomegranate seed and guacamole.  Beef was added for another $6.00.  This was a pretty large portion of nachos for one person to eat.  Frankly, this would probably be better to share for the table.  This was quite good where the nachos were crunchy and well topped with tender spiced beef.  They remained crunchy despite the amount of wet toppings.  There was some spice to this, but not overwhelmingly so.

Probably the most aesthetically-challenged dishes was the Chicken Pesto Quesadilla with pumpkin seed pesto, sundried tomato, marinated chicken, roasted red peppers, jack & feta cheese and hard ranch dip.  Not much you can do with a quesadilla as it is always flat with the ingredients hidden by the tortilla.  Despite its appearance, it was also quite good.  The pesto chicken was tender and had all of the bright flavours we expected.  Lots of melted cheese and the addition of sundried tomato and peppers provided some sweetness and tang.

For myself, I had the Hard Bean Burger with a house-made patty, lettuce, tomato, pickle, bacon, cheddar, burger sauce and fries.  I really enjoyed this burger as it reminded me of some of the better smash-burgers I've had in town.  The patty had a crispy exterior while still moist inside.  Fresh produce and melted cheddar help add even more moisture while the brioche bun held things together.  Fries were good too being crispy.

My son went for the Yorkshire Benny with bacon and smashed hashbrowns.  Rather than having an English muffin, the Yorkshire pudding was so much softer and eggy which made things not as heavy.  The medium poached eggs featured fully cooked egg whites while the yolk was still runny.  The hollandaise sauce was creamy while properly seasoned with just a touch of acidity.

As usual, Nikita and Bluebeard ordered the same dish in the Hard Bean Co. Hash with smashed browns, ham, onion, bloody mary sauce, red pepper, eggs, garlic toast, Brussels sprouts, grana padano cheese and green onion.  As much as this was satisfying in terms of the amount of well-prepared components, the overwhelming sour tomato taste of the bloody mary sauce made this dish completely one-note.  Hence, both of them had a hard time finishing it.  

My daughter went big with the Brunch Charcuterie Board with sliced hardboiled eggs, maple drizzle French toast sticks, marmalade, bacon rolls, blueberry maple sausage and seasonal fruit.  This was a bit interesting in terms of presentation, but ultimately, it was just a collection of breakfast things.  She enjoyed it though as the French Toast sticks were crunchy while soft on the inside.  Sausage was moist and tender with the sweetness of the blueberries and maple syrup.

The last plate at the table was the Barnyard Omelette with hard ham, free run eggs, corn, peppers, jack cheese, red onions, spinach and smashed browns.  This was essentially a fold-over omelette that featured fairly cooked eggs, so it wasn't exactly fluffy.  It wasn't rubbery either, so that was good.  Inside, the amount of filling was substantial enough for impact.   In the end, the food at Hard Bean was not bad.  I wouldn't say it was outstanding, but there were some highlights. 

The Good:

- Some interesting items

- Cool space, cool vibes

- Most items are good

The Bad:

- The hash was too sour

Nha Toi Boutique Café & Truedan Bubble Tea Surrey

As much as South Surrey and White Rock sound far for most people, it really isn't as far as it seems.  First of all, if we were living in Los Angeles or the Bay Area, the commute to White Rock would be typical.  We are really spoiled here when things are so close in proximity.  So that is what we had in mind when we made our way out to Nha Toi Boutique Café & Truedan Bubble Tea.  Okay, if that sounded weird to you, it is because Truedan Bubble Tea is located inside Nha Toi Vietnamese.  So you can have the best of both worlds!

So what is different about Nha Toi?  In a sea of Vietnamese restaurants, Nha Toi seeks to bring the very best as some of their ingredients are brought in specifically from Vietnam.  This was true for the Fresh Papaya Salad featuring a large prawn cracker made specifically for Nha Toi and imported from Vietnam.   This cracker was so flavourful with natural prawn that I've never had before.  Really good.  As for the salad, it was definitely fresh and crunchy while the dressing was bright and full of umaminess from the fish sauce.  This was further amplified by the roasted shallots, Thai basil, chili and peanuts.

With a bit of everything, the Street Food Platter included crispy spring rolls, fresh salad rolls, taro chips, fried fish cakes, grilled lemongrass prawn mousse skewers and chicken nuggets.  Things were pretty much what was expected with spring rolls that were crispy.  Filling was moist and flavourful.  Salad rolls were fresh with crunchy lettuce and well-prepared shrimp.  The best part was the dip on the side as it had a notable spice at the tail end.  Not your typical hoisin peanut sauce mix.  This had way more depth-of-flavour and wasn't overly sweet.  Chicken nuggets were a touch dry, but the batter was crispy and light.

The most impactful dish was the Red Rice Noodle Bowl featuring an addictive crab sauce that was both sweet and briny.  However, it was the big piece of house-made crab cake that put this dish over-the-top.  It was fluffy, briny and naturally sweet.  That needed to be eaten with the noodles for full effect.  As much as I enjoyed the wide rice noodles, I would've liked thinner noodles (even though it wasn't supposed to be).

Just for default reasons, we had to get a bowl of Pho.  That we did with the Beef Noodle Soup featuring sliced brisket, beef meatballs and thinly-sliced AAA striploin.  With lots of beef, this bowl of Pho ate robust but was not heavy due to the clean broth.  It was meaty with some sweetness and the classic star anise hit.  Noodles were plentiful and al dente.  Sure, this was on the higher-end of the Pho pricing spectrum, but it was also filling with plenty of meat.

Okay, you might be looking at this Lemongrass Chicken on Rice and wondering why the meat was not charred.  Well, I was thinking the same thing and asked.  Turns out the local clientele prefer it less charred.  Well, as I've always said, you must cater to your customers.  If you want it charred, just ask.  Despite it being white meat, it was not dry and in fact, was juicy and well-brined.  Ate much better than it appeared.

Trying to hit all the favourites, we also had the Pork Patty Banh Mi.  This was a fully-loaded sub where eat bite guaranteed a mouthful of sweet and juicy pork patty.  To compliment, there was also pickled daikon & carrots, cilantro, cucumber, green peppers and signature house-made sauce.  This was not lacking flavour nor texture.  Even the baguette was crusty on the outside and airy on the inside.

We also wanted to try the Fish Sauce-Glazed Wings and of course we got those too.  This featured fairly large mid-wings that were deep-fried just right.  The skin was crispy and well-rendered.  Inside, the meat was juicy and tender.  Naturally, the best thing about these was the glaze as it was sweet and caramelized with a salty brininess.  I would've loved even more of it on the side to dip the meat into.

Of course we can't forget about the bevvies from Truedan.  The main draw for these drinks is their freshness featuring real ingredients.  Loved the refreshing sweetness of the Mango & Strawberry Yogurt Slush, but the best one was the Brown Sugar Milk with Fresh Taro.  The smooth texture of the aromatic taro was so freakin' awesome.  Do get this if you are there!  Overall, I was impressed with the food here.  They put in the effort to make it right and put in some unique touches.  Having excellent Truedan drinks on site doesn't hurt things either.

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

The Good:

- They put in the effort, even with the smaller details (like sauces and the prawn cracker)

- Things don't seem commercialized, a bit like home-cooking

- Excellent Truedan drinks

The Bad:

- Street food platter had some times that were a bit dry

Gotham

Although I've been to Gotham a few times since my last blog post, I haven't actually been enthusiastic enough to blog about it again.  It isn't as if the food hasn't been good.  Rather, it has been consistently great along with the service.  This time around, I thought that I needed to do an updated post about one of Vancouver's premier steakhouses.  I've actually merged 2 visits into this one post just to have a bit more content.

So a visit to Gotham is not complete without their Cheese Bread.  I know, I know, it should really be a steak, but beyond that, the bread is fantastic.  For both meals, it was served hot with a mess of ooey gooey cheese atop heavily buttered bread.  The bottom was lightly crispy while the cheese was aromatic and provided a delicious saltiness.  Yes, this was not diet food, but worth all the calories.  Just commit to it and worry about it later!

Although not the biggest Crab Cake we've ever seen, the one here at Gotham was fantastic.  It was completely filled with fluffy crab with very little filler.  There was enough mayo and moisture to keep things delicate and not dry.  It was lightly coated with breading that was browned up nicely on both sides.  Yes, this was prepared properly pan-fried, not deep-fried.  Underneath, the pickled cucumbers added some acidity while the jalapeno tartar sauce was creamy with a slight kick.

Not normally on the regular menu, the Lobster Bisque was a feature for one of our meals and duh, we had to get it!  This was everything a lobster bisque should be with a rich silky texture that was full of depth and intense lobster aroma.  In addition, we could also taste the remnants of brandy that had been cooked down properly.  There was equals parts sweetness and saltiness in addition to the umaminess.  Some crème fraîche added more creaminess to the bisque.

Onto the steaks, our first visit was all about the 32oz Bone-In Ribeye prepared medium-rare.  This was one large steak that was thick cut and prepared perfectly.  There was an appealing char on the outside that also has some smokiness.  The steak was well-salted, hence it ate well on its own.  The meat was super tender and juicy where the meat flavour was uniformly apparent with each bite.  The cook on the steak was the same throughout.

For the second meal, we ordered the 20oz Bone-In Ribeye also prepared medium-rare.  Since it was a smaller steak, it was less thick.  Yet, the steak was still uniformly medium-rare, well-rested and buttery tender.  That is pretty impressive for a ribeye.  Once again, it was well-seasoned and also properly charred on the outside.  If I had to compare, I preferred the thicker cut of the 32oz as it was meatier in texture and flavour.  I would recommend you go for that one.

To get some variety and for comparison's sake, we got the 16oz Striploin also prepared medium-rare.  This was a long piece of steak with a smaller end, so that part was more medium.  This steak was a little less tender than the ribeye and of course, due to having less fat, it was not as meaty tasting.  That didn't mean it didn't taste good though as it was salted well and the char was even on both sides.  Again, it was well-rested with not pools of juices on the plate.

For our sides, we got the French Fries both times and I have to admit that they are only serviceable.  Although fried to golden brown, the fries were not that crunchy for either meal.  Now that wasn't a problem for the Portobello Mushroom Fries though.  Coated with breading, these were crunchy in both meals and juicy on the inside.  A pretty impressive feat since mushrooms release a lot of moisture.  The side of creamy ranch dip went well with these fries.

As for some veggies, we had the Roasted Broccoli with cheese sauce and the Creamed Corn.  Loved the texture of the broccoli as the florets were firm but cooked through.  Nice charred portions that were smoky and flavourful.  Cheese sauce was mild-tasting.  The creamed corn was fantastic with intensely sweet niblets that were tender but not mushy.  The cream was not that thick, but that was a good thing as the dish was not heavy.

For dessert, had the Old Fashioned Chocolate Brownie with ice cream and the Key Lime Pie.  The brownie was rich and chocolatey with walnuts.  It was sweet, but not overly so.  The key lime pie was my favourite where it was super tangy with a balancing sweetness.  The condensed milk added a rich creaminess to the pie filling where it was thick, but not heavy.  The crust was buttery while firm in texture.  So another delicious meal at Gotham.  Sure, it ain't cheap to eat here, but I've never been disappointed by their food.  I personally like Elisa more, but you can't go wrong with Gotham either.

The Good:
- Beautifully cooked steaks
- Excellent service
- That cheese bread!

The Bad:
- Of course it is expensive
- The fries are a bit disappointing

Tang's Vietnamese

Awhile back, I had stopped by for a quick meal at Tang's but only tried their Pho and not much else.  I thought it was pretty solid but lamented that I didn't try some of their more unique dishes.  Well, that wasn't going to be a problem this time around since Jackie and I were there to sample their featured items as well as ordering a few classic dishes as well.  I enjoy the collection of Vietnamese restaurants in town that now serve more than the basic dishes.  Love the variety.

As such, we began with a dish that is becoming more popular in some of the newer Vietnamese spots in the Signature Viet Butter Garlic Beef.  Of course we always have to compare to the most famous version of all - Phnom Penh.  This one featured less cilantro and smaller slices of raw beef.  But in my opinion, this was more tender and easier to eat.  In terms of taste, this was more mildly-flavoured where I could taste the garlic butter. 

Next up, we had the Tamarind Viet Snails.  These can also be had in sea salt or garlic butter.  I actually thought tamarind was a good match for these large snails since the other 2 flavours could have less impact than the tangy and sweet tamarind.  Texturally, these snails did have a chew, but were ultimately tender enough to eat fairly easily.  Due to the amount of meat, the impactful tamarind helped flavour the dish.

Another special dish was the Saigon Salted Egg Yolk Prawns.  This could also be prepared with tamarind, but since we already had that, the salted egg yolk was the flavour of choice.  The medium-sized prawns were deep-fried enough that we could eat the whole thing including the shell.  However, it may have needed just a bit more deep fry because some parts were hard to chew.  The prawns were perfectly cooked with sweet bouncy meat.  As for the sauce, it was definitely full of creamy salted egg yolk as well as garlic.

We added 2 other smaller dishes in the Shoulder Pole Chicken Feet with kumquat and lemongrass as well as the Oyster Pancake.  The gelatinized chicken feet were appealing in texture while so flavourful from the ample lemongrass.  There was sweetness and tang from the kumquat.  Rather plain-looking, the oyster pancake ate much better than its appearance.  It was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  There was a good amount of buttery and briny oysters hidden within.

We had Combo Set A as well that consisted of sugar cane prawn, grilled beef skewer and spring roll with vermicelli.  This was a good mix of components where the prawn paste on the sugar cane was bouncy and sweet.  The beef was well-charred, tender and caramelized.  Spring roll was crispy with a tender pork filling with the usual carrot and wood ear.  Also on the plate was basil, lettuce and veggies.  The trick here is to wrap all of the ingredients like a lettuce wrap.

On the topic of wraps, the Beef Rib Bánh Hỏi featured well-charred grilled beef short ribs.  They were marinated well with a rich sweetness accented by the saltiness of the fish sauce.  The dish came with vermicelli noodle sheets that you can wrap the short rib, basil and veggies.  Add some nuoc cham and you have a nice little bite with textures and briny saltiness.  As much as this was an appetizer of sorts, I would've been happy eating this by myself!

Here we go with the Phở Dặc Biệt because well, we needed to feature phở  at a Vietnamese restaurant.  As mentioned earlier, this was a solid bowl of phở  with a broth that was clean and had some rich flavours.  I wouldn't way it was particularly meaty, but the sweetness of the charred onion and daikon were present.  I could also get the licorice hits from the star anise.  The noodles were abundant and al dente while the thinly sliced meats were tender and plentiful.

Lastly, we had the Beef Luc Lac served on a sizzling cast iron plate.  Rather than cubes of meat, this featured thinly sliced beef.  This was closer in texture to the one found at Phnom Penh but with a much lighter sauce.  It was still sweet, savoury and caramelized.  Combined with the runny egg, this worked well with the plain rice on the side.  Overall, the food at Tang is quite good across the board.  Lots of interesting dishes in addition to the usual stuff.  We didn't get to try their hot pot or crab, but it looked good on the menu!  Something else to try next time!

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

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Some unique dishes
- Well-portioned

The Bad:
- Parking at the back can be a challenge on busy nights
- On the pricier side