Stock & Supply

One of the most hidden restaurants in Downtown is Stock & Supply within the Delta Hotel Vancouver.  It doesn't get much fanfare despite being open since 2020.  Maybe opening just before the pandemic wasn't the best timing, but I've always heard good things about the place.  They are known for their Stock Boards where one can choose 3 items from a selection of 12 for $40.00.  All boards include sourdough, soft truffle butter (which was awesome with the bread!), house pickles and peppers.  Jackie and I were invited to try those stock boards as well as a few other menu items.

Located right in the lobby of hotel, Stock & Supply features a fully-stocked bar that is a great place to hang out and meet some new friends.  We ordered a few drinks that included the Basil Zen, She's a Feisty Mango and Classic Summer Spritz.  The showstopper was the basil zen since the bubble contained a good amount of smoke.  It helped create an aroma around the drink while complimenting brightness of the fresh cucumber and gin.  Naturally, the mango cocktail was fruity with some spice, tang and plenty of tequila vibes.  The spritz was refreshing and a great drink for the summer, as expected.

Onto the Stock Boards, we ended up with 2 of them with 5 items each (so we could try nearly all of the options).  The first board consisted of  Whipped Jalapeno & Feta Tirokafteri, Beet Hummus, Crusted Halloumi Cheese and Sticky Bourbon BBQ Pork Belly.  On the side (since it didn't fit onto the board, we had the Poutine Croquettes.  Beyond the appealing creaminess of the whipped feta and hummus, the grilled pita was excellent.  Nice grilled smokiness and the texture was a bit crispy and plenty soft in the middle.  Loved the spice with the feta.  The crusted halloumi was super crunchy with melty cheese in the middle.  Presented in large slabs, the pork belly was tender and meaty with a sweet glaze.  I found the croquettes to be also quite crunchy and the potato, gravy and cheese in the middle was very poutine-like.

The second board included Summer Strawberry & Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Signature Chorizo Scotch Egg, Grilled Artisanal Truffle Sausage, Smoked Island Brie and Blistered Brussel Sprouts.  For me, this board was all about the scotch egg as it was perfect with a runny yolk and juicy spicy chorizo encasing it.  Nicely crispy on the outside too!  I found the strawberry & goat cheese bruschetta something completely different.  What brought this altogether was the balsamic as it tied the sweetness of the strawberries to the creamy and gamy cheese with tang and more sweetness.  Baked brie was smoky and of course was complimented well by the side of grilled sourdough.  Sausage was pretty good, but I found it a touch dry.  Had great earthy flavours though.  Brussels sprouts sported crispy leaves on the outside but was tender yet firm on the inside.

Onto some mains, we tried the garlic & ginger brined Fried Chicken with spicy glaze atop slaw with pickled fresno, scallion and crispy garlic.  The big pieces of chicken featured a crispy batter than was thin and not heavy.  I could really get the brine with plenty of gingeriness coming through.  The chicken itself was on the drier side though.  However, when combined with the creamy slaw, that wasn't an issue.

Next up was the Suite Burger with 7oz CAB chuck patty, sharp cheddar, butter lettuce, dill pickled, tomato, onion and S&S sauce on brioche.  Due to the large patty, the burger was rather robust and filling.  I found the patty to be tender but a little on the leaner side.  The ample amount of sauce and produce did make things more juicy though.  There was a nice sear on the patty which added nice aroma and caramelization.  

We also went for the Fennel Sausage Rigatoni with mascarpone cream, whipped harissa puree, spring peas and butter brioche crumble.  This was a large portion of pasta that would be fit for even the biggest of appetites.  There was an abundance of fennel sausage that was pretty tasty.  Those little nuggets were juicy and well-seared with hits of fennel.  The rigatoni was al dente and soaked up the cream well.  I think there could've been more cream as the pasta ate a bit dry.  Flavours were good though and the harissa came through.

Lastly, we had the 7oz AAA NY Steak & Egg atop a duck fat rosti with chili honey carrots and horseradish cream.  We asked for the steak to be prepared medium-rare and it was exactly that.  I found the steak to be meaty while being tender on the inside.  Loved the crispy sunny side free-range egg.  Lots of texture, but still runny yolk.

Onto dessert, we had the Yuzu Cheesecake and Triple Layer Key Lime Pie.  We enjoyed both desserts as they were not overly heavy despite appearing to be.  The cheesecake had the classic rich cheesiness, but also was not dense.  It was mildly sweet with the brightness of yuzu and the berry compote.  The key lime pie was also not heavy, but it was definitely creamy, sweet and tangy.  Really enjoyed the firm buttery crust.  Overall, the meal at Stock & Supply was fun, interactive and delicious.  Those stock boards are the real draw here and are perfect for a social gathering to share.  The mains were a bit hit and miss though.  Loved the space and the cocktails.  Great place to hang out.

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

The Good:

- Wonderful stock boards with many different and delicious bites to choose from

- Great space to hang out, especially at the bar.  Maybe meet new friends!

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- Some of the mains need some work

Toe Dam Korean Fusion BBQ

When it was time to celebrate my son's birthday, his choice of cuisine was something very familiar - Korean BBQ.  Hey that is a great choice, but it can be a pretty expensive proposition these days.  But anything for him right?  So we decided to hit up an ol' favourite in Toe Dam Korean Fusion BBQ located in the H-Mart strip mall along North Road.  We haven't been back in awhile and this was a great opportunity to do so.  We made a reso (very much a good idea) for opening and that was a good move as the place was packed shortly after.

As usual, we started with a selection of Banchan that included potato salad, kimchi, pickled daikon and salad.  There was also the usual garlic and jalapeno for wrapping the meats in romaine.  We were also served a trio of sauces including sweet soy, sesame oil salt and spicy.  Kimchi was pretty good with spiciness.  The mashed potato salad was not as heavy as it looked.  We got a refill of that.

We went for the Monday Night Special for $100.00.  It included beef rib finger, chuck flap tail, prime boneless short rib and marinated pork collar.  That was a pretty good deal as the amount of meat would be good enough for 4 people.  The quality of the meat was quite good with the rib finger having enough fat for both flavour and butteriness while having a chewy tenderness (if that makes sense).  The chuck flap tail was a bit more meaty in texture, but it was very beefy.  Of course the short rib was the star of the show with its buttery texture with a meaty bite.  It was so flavourful due to the fat.  Pork collar was tender with its classic rebound texture.

Of course this wasn't enough food for 6 of us, so we went ahead and also got the Duck Set that consisted of roasted duck, striploin, garlic beef, rib finger, steamed egg with cheese and bean paste soup.  As much the duck is one of their signature items, I'm not convinced that I actually like it.  When placed on the BBQ, they inevitably overcook and the skin doesn't render enough without burning the whole thing.  Hence, you are left with a dry and chewy piece of duck.  However, the striploin was good though.  It was sufficiently tender and meaty.  

We added a side of Soy Sauce Marinated Blue Crab just because nothing we ordered included it.  Oh and also, I wanted to try their version of the dish.  I ended up selecting the one that had roe.  This was pretty good with well-marinated crabs, that were also of a good size.  The sweet roe and crab butter was very appealing with a sweet brininess.  The body meat was soft and sweet with enough soy marinade to balance.

Included in the duck set was a Tofu Soup and Steamed Cheese Egg.  The soup was bubbling hot and quite tasty.  There was no shortage of spice either.  Tender cubes of tofu and veggies loaded up this soup.  As for the egg, it was plenty cheesy with melted cheese on top.  However, the egg itself was a bit stiff and not as fluffy as we would've liked.  Also, there was quite a bit of residual water.

Also included was an order of Japchae that was for all intents and purposes, a good version.  It was not clumpy yet not greasy while the veggies were still vibrant despite being cooked through.  It wasn't overly sweet like some versions we've had, but it was also a touch lacking in seasoning.  Overall, the meal at Toedam was solid despite being a bit pricey.  Mind you, all Korean BBQs are not cheap due to the cost of the meat.  It really helped to have that Monday night special.  Service was friendly, if not hurried.  Not a place to linger.

The Good:

- Good meat quality

- Solid eats

- Efficient service, if not hurried

The Bad:

- With any Korean BBQ, it will cost you

- Duck isn't as good as I thought it would be

Chiu Chow Seafood Restaurant

Having already visited the newish Chiu Chow Seafood Restaurant for dinner, it was only a matter of time we went back for their Dim Sum Service.  To be honest, the dinner was a disappointment as the Chiu Chow dishes were a bit lacking.  However, the Dim Sum looked promising as it seemed like the menu was barely different than when it was still Regal Mansion.  Did they actually change staff?  Looks like many of the same people and maybe even the kitchen?  That would explain the mediocre dinner but promising Cantonese Dim Sum (despite being Chiu Chow now).

So I made several visits for their Dim Sum service already, but I'll amalgamate all of it in this one post.  Naturally, we need to have the staples including the Ha Gau and Siu Mai.  Both of these were quite good with the ha gau featuring a medium-thick dumpling skin that had good elasticity.  It was not oversteamed, so it held together when I picked it up with my chopsticks.  The filling had a moist and buttery texture with the classic shrimp snap.  Nice sweetness with an aromatic brininess.  As for the siu mai, they were buttery with the classic bounce from the pork and shrimp.  There was minimal chunks of fat, but the siu mai were still juicy.  Nicely seasoned with it being more sweet than savoury.

Due to the multiple visits, we were able to try 4 versions of their Rice Noodle Rolls including beef, prawn, scallop and BBQ pork.  As you can see in the pictures, the texture of the rice noodles were a bit different.  The one with the beef was the ribbon-type while the others were the classic rolls.  Hence, the beef version was softer and more intertwined with soft bouncy beef and green onion.  Large with a meaty snap, the prawns were texturally appealing.  Scallop was a more uniform texture being soft on buttery soft.  Loved the natural sweetness.  Overstuffed, the BBQ pork was combined with cilantro.  Not sure if that was necessary, but there was lots of lean meat.

Onto two versions of fried dumplings in the Deep Fried Glutinous Dumplings and the Deep Fried Taro Dumplings.  I found the glutinous dumplings to be only mildly crispy, but the shell was soft and nicely textured.  Inside, the pork and shrimp was moist and mildly-seasoned.  As for the taro dumplings, the mashed taro outer shell was a bit oil-logged, but that is typical because they mix the taro with lard (yes really).  So it was creamy and soft with a crispy exterior.  The pork and pine nut filling was also moist with a bit of starch-thickened sauce.

For me, I always like to get the Steamed Beef Tripe & Tendon in Teriyaki Sauce.  This was piled high with buttery tender slices of honeycomb tripe that had completely taken on the flavours of the braise.  It was sweet, garlicky and savoury.  There was no gaminess, so they had prepared the tripe well.  The tendon was super soft, but not melting.  Hence, there was an appealing sticky texture.  Looking like it needed something for colour on top, the Steamed Pork Spareribs with prune & taro was ultimately well-executed.  The meaty pieces were tender and buttery with that classic rebound.  I didn't really get too much prune, so it was more porky tasting than anything.

Continuing on with the usual Dim Sum items, we had the Chiu Chow-Style Steamed Beef Meatballs.  So these were sitting in a clear broth with some greens on the side.  Hence, the dish was very subtle.  Even the beef was not seasoned aggressively (that is what the side of Worcestershire sauce is for).  Texturally, they were a bit more dense that I would've liked, but they were still tender and bouncy.  Another classic was the Steamed Chicken Feet with chili and garlic.  These were fairly large and plump.  They were prepared properly where the cartilage and fat underneath were soft, but not melted away.  The skin was intact and tender after the deep fry and subsequent braising and steaming.  Lots of garlic flavour as well as a bit of spice.

Normally, we find Pan-Fried Daikon Radish Cakes on most Dim Sum menus.  Nothing unusual about this dish, but here they slap on a layer of shrimp paste on the top.  I've never seen this done before and really, it wasn't rocket science, but I enjoyed it.  It gave more body to the medium-firm pudding.  The shrimp paste was sweet and nicely seared.  On the topic of shrimp, the Deep Fried Shrimp Spring Rolls were also quite good.  They were served hot and the wheat wrapper was crunchy and not too greasy.  Inside, the whole shrimp were buttery moist and bouncy.

Moving along, we had 2 types of carbs including the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves).  As you can see in the picture, there was an equal amount of ground pork filling to the sticky rice (with some wild rice thrown in).  That meant this was obviously meaty tasting.  The starch-thickened sauce mixed well with the soft sticky rice and helped flavour it.  We also got the Seafood Congee with prawns, scallops, fish and squid.  There was a good amount of seafood that was cooked just enough.  Hence, their textures were exactly how it should be.  The congee itself was well-seasoned but not salty.  It was not super thick, but not watery either.

One of their best dishes is their Baked BBQ Pork Buns (Gwei Fei Bao).  These were pillowy soft with a thin crispy & sweet sugary butter topping.  Inside, the ample amount of lean BBQ pork was coated in a sweet sauce.  I kid you not, another must order is their Sweet & Sour Pork.  This was a smaller Dim Sum version, but it was still plenty.  The chunks (or large strips) of pork were meaty and tender while not too fatty.  They were fried-to-order unlike some places that are par-cooked.  Hence, beyond the crispy and thin batter, the meat was juicy.  With just enough sauce to coat each piece, the flavours were definitely balanced between sweet & sour.

For dessert, we had the Baked Egg Tarts.  These were exactly how we like them with a buttery and flaky puff pastry shell and a silky semi-sweet egg filling. However, their signature dessert is their Twisted Egg Pastry (Daan San) with coconut and syrup (probably a honey/maltose mix).  These light-as-a-feature crisps were very fragile but appealing to eat.  With a bit of both condiments, it was sweet and aromatic.  Honestly, the Dim Sum here feels like it is exactly the same as when it was Regal Mansion.  Sure, there are some Chiu Chow additions, but that is about it.  Could it be the same Dim Sum chef?  Possibly.  Whatever the case, it is better than their dinner service in my opinion.

The Good:

- Generally above-average eats

- Comfortable dining space

- Fairly good service

- Validated 3-hour parking

The Bad:

- Still not sure about their Chiu Chow dishes

- Not the easiest restaurant to get to from the parking lot.  Only one elevator for that side.

 

Li's China Grill

Is it just me or is Kingsway between Joyce and Boundary, the epicentre of Chinese skewer joints?  The newest one is Li's China Grill right across from the Safeway.  To be honest, I didn't even know this place existed until I got a message to try the place out.  The place isn't as big as some of the other restaurants nearby, but their menu does include most of the usual items including skewers, whole fish and rice/noodle dishes.  They are also licensed, so one can get some cold beers to go with your meal.

Before we got to the BBQ skewers, we had some dishes in the form of North-East Style Vegetable Salad, Special Cold Sauce Clams, Marinated Cucumber with Garlic Sauce and Black Fungus with Pickled Pepper.  The vegetable salad was more mung bean with a spicy peanut sauce than actual veggies, but I wasn't complaining.  This was pretty good but maybe a bit too saucy.  Noodles were slippery and still al dente.  Clams were buttery and did have a nice spice to it.  Cukes were crunchy also with spice while the woodear was crunchy with some spicy tang.

What better to go with skewers than a Beer Flight?  Well, this is the first time I've seen it at a Chinese skewer restaurant.  Got to try 4 different beers, which was fun.  Also got the Sichuan-Style Spicy Chicken which definitely looked spicy.  It certainly was, but not incredibly, so that I could still taste the garlic and vinegar.  As for the chicken, it was poached lightly where the meat was moist and tender with gelatinized skin.

Moving onto the BBQ items, but not necessarily the skewers just yet, we had the Beef Tongue, Chicken Wings, Beef Short Ribs and Eggplant.  Sliced incredibly thin, the beef tongue was not chewy.  Wings were flavourful, especially the spicy ones.  Juicy meat inside.  The short ribs were a bit dry, but had good spice.  Loved the eggplant as it was tender, but not mushy.  Once again, well seasoned.

So for the Skewers, we got a good selection of them and I'm not going to list them all, but I will give some highlights.  I really liked the chicken knees as they were cooked just enough and had that classic cartilage crunch.  Tendon was soft and had a slightly crispy exterior.  Chicken hearts were still juicy with a nice grilled flavour. As you can see in the picture, the squid tentacles were nicely spiced and had a bouncy moist texture.

With the Grilled Oysters and Grilled Scallops, we got all of the available flavours including Motoyaki, Hot Pepper, Black Bean and Garlic.  Beyond the type of flavour topping, the oysters were buttery, briny and fresh while the scallops were equally buttery and had an appealingly chewy mantle.  The vermicelli underneath soaked up all the juices and flavours.  My favourite was the hot pepper as it was definitely spicy while the garlic was a close second.  However, the motoyaki was good too as they didn't overdo it with the mayo.  Black bean was not bad either, being a bit salty and garlicky.

Another major item on their menu is the Grilled Fish with various flavours and accompaniments.  We got the half-and-half Catfish in Pickled Cabbage and Soy Bean Paste.  Spicy Sichuan is their signature flavour, but we didn't want spicy this time.  We added rice cake and lotus root to the pickled cabbage while for the soy bean, we had quail eggs and wide vermicelli.  As much as catfish can be muddy tasting, this was actually sweet and moist.  Loved both flavours, but the soybean was my favourite as it had that fermented saltiness with some spice.  Overall, the food at Li's China Grill was solid and I especially enjoyed the skewers and fish.  Pricing is fair and I liked how the minimum order on each skewer wasn't something ridiculous like 10. 

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

The Good:

- Love the fish, well-prepared and flavourful

- Skewers are cooked properly

- They have flights of beer

The Bad:

- Service can be slow due to lack of staff

Davie Village Bakery

Last time I visited Davie Village Bakery, I was there to try their Giant Croissants.  Okay, before you roll your eyes thinking that these were solely a novelty, they were actually really good!  The croissant itself was exactly what I want from one.  It shattered, had good lamination and was buttery.  Sure, they were as large as my arm, but I found them reasonably-priced.  This time around, Jackie and I were there to try their Giant Donuts as well as other goodies.

So let's get right to those Giant Donuts!  So these were not technically donuts even though they were shaped as such.  In reality, they were large eclairs featuring choux pastry with a cream filling inside and a glaze on the outside.  We had to let them warm up a bit first since they were in the fridge.  Eating them like an eclair, they were legit with all the right textures and not being incredibly sweet.  We put a regular donut next to the "Simpsons" donut for size comparison.

We had some baked goods in the form of a regular Butter Croissant, Hazelnut Croissant, Pistachio Chocolate Croissant and Double-Baked Crookie.  Since I've already had their giant croissants, I already knew their butter croissant would be solid.  That it was with good lamination and shattering beautifully when I bit into it.  The other 2 variations had similar qualities except with chocolate hazelnut and pistachio chocolate respectively.  The crookie was interesting that was, you guessed it, a cross between a croissant and a cookie.  It was not as firm as a cookie but not flaky like a croissant.  It was semi-sweet and I thought it was not bad.

Then we moved onto some creative Desserts featuring Lemon, Peach and a Raspberry Macaron.  Love the whimsical presentation where once cut into, the lemon revealed a lemon cream filling and a lemony custard centre.  Really refreshing and natural-tasting.  The peach was very similar except for the difference in flavour.  It wasn't too sweet and had a nice floral fruit taste.  As for the macaron, the texture was on point with a crispy delicate shell with a soft but slightly chewy texture inside.  Raspberries and the cream in the middle were fruity and light.

For even more variety, they also have made-to-order crêpes as well as gelato/sorbetto.  Naturally, being freshly-made, the Crêpes were soft, warm and fluffy.  Loved the nutty and aromatic pistachio.  Of course the Nutella was a bit sweet, but at least it was a pleasant sweetness.  We then moved onto the Gelato and it was also quite good.  I liked how it was creamy and light (where it was melting, which is a good thing because no stabilizers used).  The flavours were chose were Cherry Cheesecake, Pistachio and another flavour that I honestly forgot.  But what I can say is that it was purposefully sweet and surprisingly good for a non-gelato spot.  In fact, everything I've ever tried here has been very good.  You can't go wrong with the things here and the pricing is reasonable.

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

The Good:

- Solid all-around

- Their novelty items (giant croissant and giant donuts) are actually good and well-priced

- Large selection of items

The Bad:

- Crêpes were good texturally, but maybe a bit too much sweet sauces