Crab Hot Lau

I finally made it out to Crab Hot Lau.  Yes, it took me this long.  Like, it has been in operation since 2021, so that makes it 4 long years that I've seen their signature Crab Spring Rolls grace social media.  Originally, the owner was making these spring rolls and other Northern Vietnamese specialties during the pandemic in 2020 where people would be putting in orders for them.  It got so popular, she figured that running an actual B&M restaurant would be the best course of action.  Despite some reservations and warnings from the previous owner of where Crab Hot Lau sits now, she went full steam ahead.  Great move, because they have done quite well and are in the process of opening more locations!

Seeing how Mijune was about to pop, I met up with her for some lunch before she became a mom!  We started with the Pâté Mini-Breadsticks which were stuffed a with delicious meat spread which was smooth, sweet and savoury.  There was also some pork floss for extra texture and sweet meatiness.  The bread itself was firm, but not heavy.  We also had the Green Papaya Beef Jerky Salad.  In addition to the beef jerky on top, we found some slices of liver too.  Nice add as it provided body and texture.  As for the salad itself, things were fresh and crunchy.  Nice tang and sweetness with the usual brininess of fish sauce.

Here we are, the famed Crab Spring Roll from Crab Hot Lau!  This thing was gigantic, stuffed full of tender pork, wood ear and of course whole leg portions of crab.  Beyond the obvious briny sweetness of the crab and umami from the pork, this spring roll was all about textures.  We had the super shattering crunch of the rice paper wrapper with the fluffiness of crab and meatiness of the pork.  Combined with the herbs on the side and some spiced nuoc cham, I could've had a few of these myself!

 

Another delicious appie we had was the Ha Long Squid Cake.  This also came with a side of sticky rice and sweet & sour dip.  They don't mess around with this one as the squid is shipped by air from Ha Long Bay!  It is hand-pounded to create a springy and bouncy texture.  I loved the light and crispy fried exterior and the natural, but subtle squid flavour.  Definitely needed the sweet & sour for some added impact.  With a bit of sticky rice, it added a different texture and rice nuttiness.

 

By default, we had to also try the Northern Style Phở Dặc Biệt.  In terms of the basics, this was similar to Southern Style, except the brisket was sliced differently and the soup was more clean.  However, I still found it rather flavourful and meaty. Hence, it was did taste more like the Southern style to me.  As for the noodles, Northern employs the wider flat version.  Also, the typical condiment was at the table in the form of garlic vinegar.

 

Now the Phở was good, but we had to get their signature bowl in the Hai Phong Crab Noodle Soup.  This featured wide red rice noodles which were firm and nicely chewy.  The broth was full of umami with the sweet brininess of crab while being properly seasoned. It was balanced without being too much of one particular taste.  In addition to the fish cake and golden crab roe, we found pork wrapped in lolot.  I'm familiar with the beef version, but this was the first time trying pork.  It pretty much ate the same with the meat being a bit more bouncy and tender.  Really solid bowl of noodles.

We also had a beverage in the form of the Cà Phê Trứng or Egg Coffee and it was fantastic.  Beyond the richness of the coffee itself, the creamy egginess of the foam and sweetness from the condensed milk helped tempered the strong coffee. I really enjoyed drinking this.  For dessert, we had the Thai Sweet Soup with house-made jellies with a side of whipped durian.  Again, this was delicious with a balanced sweetness and lots of chew textures.  The coconut milk was fragrant and adding the durian really amped up the flavours with the unmistakable sweet funkiness.  Gotta say this was a delicious meal where the quality of the food was apparent.  Prices are definitely on the higher side though as a result.  Worth it for me at least and I will be coming back.

The Good:

- Those crab spring rolls!

- The Hai Phong Crab Noodle

- Quality stuff

The Bad:

- Prices are on the higher end

I Love K-BBQ

Honestly, I love Korean BBQ.  The grilling of the meats, marinated and non-marinated, it just makes things interactive and you can cook it to your own specifications (as long as it is cooked through!).  Also, the rest of the meal is great too, including Banchan, a soup of some sort and a bunch of sides.  Great for dining as a group whether it be family or friends.  Imagine my joy when I found out about a new place in Coquitlam called I Love K-BBQ.  My sentiments exactly!  Located in the old Tabom spot, they offer up Korean BBQ on a stone grill. 

Jackie and I came for a tasting of their menu and we ended up with 2 of their combos.   Both of them included a soup, Corn Cheese, Salad and Banchan.  The Lucky Combo had Prime Boneless Short Rib and Beef Short Rib.  The Happy Combo had Pork Belly, Pork Jowl and Marinated Pork.  Since they butcher a lot of their own meats, the quality control was evident.  I found the Prime Boneless Short Rib to be high quality with even marbling.  Hence, it cooked up buttery and soft.  Pork belly was also a good balance between fatty and meaty.

We added some other dishes to try to including the Cold Noodles and also the Spicy Cold Noodles.  First of all, the temperature was on point being cold, but not giving us brain freeze.  Noodles were appealingly chewy with the cold noodles sitting in a flavourful broth.  The spicy one was definitely so with a balancing amount of sweetness.  Both came with a half boiled egg and pickled sliced daikon.

So we got the usual Seafood Pancake as well and it was pretty loaded with bits of seafood.  We found shrimp, mussels and squid hidden within a slightly dense interior and a really nice crispy exterior.  It wasn't overly greasy either.  The Steamed Egg was excellent being fluffy and light with a consistent texture throughout.  It was also lightly seasoned being sweet with plenty of natural egg flavour.

We got one last dish in the Grilled Spicy Pork Intestine cooked with onions and cabbage as well as rice cake.  This was quite good with chewy (in a good way) pieces of pork intestine.  Sure, it was at its gamy best, but I personally love the taste.  There was a good amount of sweet spice that was caramelized.  Rice cakes were appealingly chewy and also took on the same flavours.

Looking at the Stone Grill, you can see that it is tilted so the fat could drain.  The cooking surface was most hot in the middle with the edges being just warm.  This worked well with the cooked meats being moved over so they could be kept warm.  At the end, Fried Rice was prepared on the stone grill (after a scrape clean) with nori and cheese.  We were able to create a socarrat at the bottom that was crispy and nutty.  A great finish to a tasty meal!  Overall, the food at I Love K-BBQ is solid and generally high-quality.  It is a fine addition to the cache of Korean restaurants in Coquitlam.

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

The Good:

- Meats are high-quality

- Loved the stone grill, can just clean it rather than replacing it

- Other dishes are solid too

The Bad:

- With the stone grill, the fat does splatter quite a bit, at least they offer bibs

- Parking can be a bit tricky on Austin

Marry Me Mochi (Kensington Market)

I'm sure, at the very least, you have seen a mochi donut before.  I'm hoping that you have tried one too!  I personally love the chewy texture of the "balls" that are neatly arranged into a donut.  My first experience with them was at Dochi in Seattle and I will forever compare anything else with it (since they are also really good!).  So while walking around Kensington Market and after some Jamaican patties, we stumbled upon Marry Me Mochi.  They have 13 locations in the area and in fact, I visited the Eaton Centre spot when I returned a few months later.

Now on my first visit, we dipped our toes into the pool lightly and only got one donut in the form of the Crème Brûlove.  Yes, this was a crème brûlée, but they just liked to do a play on words.  First off, this was much less sweeter than it appeared.  Now it was still sweet mind you, but I could definitely eat it without reaching for my water bottle.  There was caramelization that provided a different layer of sweetness.  As for the texture, it was soft with a classic mochi chew.

We were happy with the mochi donut we tried, so a few days later, we made our way back and got 3 more to try.  These included Berry Obsessed, You Had Me at Chocolate and Matcha Made in Heaven.  The berry was a featured donut with raspberry glaze and dark chocolate.  Really enjoyed this as it as fruity and just sweet enough contrasted by the bitter chocolate.  The chocolate donut had a Pocky stick and was pretty typical with a silky milk chocolate glaze.  Balanced and not bitter, the matcha was purposefully sweet and aromatic.

Our next visit yielded the Dubai Chocolate, The Nut to My Heart and Strawberry Marry Me.  Also a featured donut, the Dubai had chocolate mixed with some pistachio glaze.  On top, we found the crunchy kadayif.  Completely covered in sweet and nutty pistachio glaze, the Nut to My Heart also featured chopped pistachios on top.  Definitely a nutty donut...  Last one was basically strawberry Pocky glazed donut with Pocky pieces on top.  Again, not as sweet as it looked and did have Pocky vibes.  Overall, we thought the mochi donuts at Marry Me Mochi were solid with a wide variety of flavours.  Pretty close call between them and Dochi!

The Good:
- Soft and chewy texture
- Sweet, but only sweet enough
- Lots of locations

The Bad:
- If you arrive later in the day, some of the more popular donuts will be sold out (much like any other place)

Wonton Hut

After an average wonton experience at the ol' skool Swatow, we made our way to the Downtown location of Wonton Hut.  Sure, the name seems to indicate that "these are the wontons you're looking for".   Well apparently, they were indeed what I was looking for, but not for everyone else because this spot is now permanently closed.  However, I'm still going to do this post as their original Markham location still exists.  So that also means I have to head out to Markham next time I'm in town for my wonton fix!

So before we get to the wontons, we had to try some of their other offerings too right?  We went for the Braised Brisket Noodle Soup with round noodles.  This could be had as a lo mein as well.  We thought the soup was quite good with plenty of natural umaminess from the beef as well as the braising juices.  Hence there was also background licorice notes from the star anise.  The brisket (or beef finger meat in this case) was super tender and somewhat fatty.  Noodles were al dente.

The same couldn't be said about the Bun Rieu though.  Yes, I realize that this is not a Vietnamese restaurant, so I should go easy on them right?  Well, I'm going to do that here, but I'm not sure why they were offering this when it wasn't done right.  Okay, let's get to the positives first.  So the broth was their own take on things being more of a tomato broth with not enough brininess.  It was good in a vacuum though where there was tang and depth.  The biggest issue was the pork and crab meatballs.  They were more like just pork meatballs that were far too firm.  Okay bowl of noodles but not a Bun Rieu.

So everything was good in the world again when we had the Wonton Noodles.  I've had many a bowl in my lifetime and this could be described as legit.  The broth itself was a bit briny, nutty and full of umami.  This was quite concentrated, hence it also lightly flavoured the noodles.  About those noodles, they were firmly al dente with that desired chew and rebound.  This was achieve by the use of lye water.  As for the wontons, they were mainly shrimp and huge.  Sweet and briny, the shrimp had a juicy bounce texture.

Just because the wontons were so delicious as they came didn't mean further enhancement wasn't necessary.  For me, I love to douse them in a bit of Chili Oil Sauce.  The one provided at the table was pretty good with noted spiciness, nuttiness and smokiness.  It really did compliment the briny and sweetness of the wontons.  Since I don't live in TO, I'm not one to declare anything, but I would say these are very good wontons.  Spoiler alert, I did visit Congee Queen a few months later and no, they weren't as good (but still very acceptable).  So too bad this location is closed because one needs to travel to Markham for these wontons.  In that case, if you want to remain in the area, Congee Queen is a good substitute.

The Good:
- Legit Wontons
- Good noodles too
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Well, the menu is different than the Markham location, but I'd stick to the stuff they are good at

Juicy Dumpling

Walking up and down Spadina for a whole week meant I would be passing by Juicy Dumpling on a daily basis.  Although there are rave reviews of the place on the internet, I was a bit skeptical.  But the place seemed busy most of the time.  Also, the lure of the $2.99 XLBs prominently on their window (with minimum purchase of $10.00), I just couldn't help myself.  Despite already finishing off some tacos from Seven Lives, we stopped by for another quick bite.

So let's get right to the mini-sized Xiao Long Bao shall we?  At first glance, these did not look all that impressive with its deflated shape and also the thick top twirl.  Despite having a good amount of soup in these, the actual dumpling wrapper was a bit too doughy for my tastes.  That was mainly the top of the dumpling though as the bottom was appreciably thinner.  I would've liked to see more elasticity though.  The pork filling itself was decent being tender, if not a touch gritty.  Soup was mostly sweet with some savoury elements.  Interestingly, we had to ask for vinegar as the default sauce that came with these was hot sauce.

To get to the minimum spend for the XLB special, we got a few more items including the Pan-Fried Dumplings.  These were aggressively-seared on the bottom resulting in crunchy parts that were nutty and smoky.  The dumpling skin as a whole was medium-thick and had a chew to it.  I thought it was a bit stiff, yet it did have some elasticity.  Inside, the pork and cabbage filling was not overly dense being tender with some soup mixed with fat.

I couldn't pass up the Spicy Wontons as that is one of my favourite things to eat.  These were not bad where the filling was juicy and bouncy while mildly seasoned.  These were cooked just enough where the wrapper was delicate and buttery without being to soft and falling apart.  As for the chili oil "sauce" it wasn't too spicy where it was more nutty and smoky than anything else.  Other than those flavours, we found a bit of saltiness and mild sweetness.

Last item was the Salty Donut which had quite a bit of girth (okay, let the jokes fly here...).  Anyways, this was good where the outside was crunchy and not too greasy (despite it soaking up a decent amount of oil).  Inside, it was fluffy with some salty chewiness.  I only wish there was some congee or salted soy milk for me to dip this into!  Overall, the stuff from Juicy Dumpling is serviceable.  Not a huge fan of the XLBs despite being cheap.  I guess it is fine for those who want an inexpensive meal or something for late night eats.

The Good:

- Cheap

- Open late

- Salty donut was great

The Bad:

- Dumplings are serviceable but not memorable

Joso's

It is fine and dandy visiting some of the best restaurants in Toronto, in particular, the more recent ones.  However, we must not forget the classics as they helped shape the culinary scene.  One of which is Joso's in Yorkville.  They have been around since 1967 and was opened by Joso and his wife Angiolina.  It started off as a small cafe, but then transitioned into a spot that offered fresh and exotic seafood.  Now it is owned and operated by Leo and Shirley Spralja, who are the son and daughter-in-law of Joso.  We stopped by to check out the eclectic dining space and the freshest of seafood.

Really enjoyed the dining room as it was adorned with decor from years past.  Lots of ornate plates, sea-theme art and paintings of naked women (yah really).  Some would say things look tacky, but I loved it!  Before we even got down to ordering our food, they presented us with the Catches of the Day which included a selection of fish, shellfish and octopus.  Loved that we could pick what we wanted and have it prepared the way we wanted.

We did end up selecting the deep fried Calamari as well as some Grilled Prawns on the side.  Suffice to say, things were fresh and also prepared expertly.  The squid was tender with an appealingly chewy texture while coated in a properly-seasoned coating.  It was crispy without being greasy.  I really enjoyed pairing it with the fresh salsa.  Smoky and charred, the prawns were sweet and aromatic.  They were also still moist and had a nice snap texture.

We went for shellfish next with the Clams & Mussels Jadera.  This was also prepared well with all of the mollusks being open.  The mussels were buttery and intensely seafoody while the clams were tender and briny.  The classic tomato sauce with garlic, white wine and parsley was flavourful without being salty, allowing the natural sweetness of the shellfish to shine.  This was a simple but well-executed dish.

Since we were only a party of 2, we did not partake in the cuttlefish risotto (as it is for 4 people).  Rather, we went for the Spaghetti alla Sicilana instead.  With the nice black colour of sepia ink (aka cuttlefish), the pasta was the beneficiary of delicious umaminess.  There was also a good amount of garlic to further enhance the dish.  There was also a background seafoodiness that was not quite briny, but was pleasant.  The pasta itself was firmly al dente.

For our choice of fish, we went for the Branzino, simply grilled and served with lemon.  As you can see, it was beautifully charred with some portions of crispy skin.  It was nicely coated in olive oil and enough salt so that it would taste great with just a squeeze of lemon.  The fish itself was flaky and moist.  On the side, we had the Dalmatian Potato Salad.  Again, another simple dish, just done right.  Potatoes were soft and almost creamy, but not falling apart.  It was simply prepared with sweet onions and with a bit of salt and pepper.

Onto dessert, we went for the Housemade Tiramisu.  As much as I've had many versions of this, I felt that this one was quite solid.  The soaked ladyfingers were moist and the mascarpone cream was purposefully sweet.  This was a pretty light version of the dessert and it was the perfect ending to a great meal.  In the end, we thought the food at Joso's was well-prepared and not fussy.  It is actually rather simple, but that is what makes it good.  Fresh ingredients done right in a homey atmosphere with great service.

The Good:

- Lots of seafood options

- Not overly complex, but fresh ingredients done right

- Good service

The Bad:

- Wished they made smaller versions of the risotto, but I guess that is a lot of work for them

Bar Raval

It's been 7 long years since I was last in TO and it has also been that long that I've wanted to check out Bar Raval.  You might be wondering why I just didn't go back in 2017 right?  Well, with 2 young kids in town, Bar Raval wasn't exactly a kid-friendly option.  This time around, the kids weren't with us and after a Leafs game (I can't believe Viv was cheering for them!), we made our way out to College Street for some late night drinks and eats.

Absolutely love the custom-made wood bar and wood paneling throughout.  But we were also here for the food, so we started with their famed Tomato Toast.  As much as it sounded like something that would be mid, it was actually delicious.  The grilled bread was beautifully-charred exhibiting a nutty smokiness and a crunchy texture.  On top, the fresh tomatoes were bright, slightly sweet and mildly-tangy.  There was some basil notes and also flakes of salt on top.

Next up, we had the Jamon Croquettas that were priced by the piece.   These were large and football-shaped.  Beyond the crunchy and nutty exterior, we found a creamy and cheesy filling that was salty but not too salty.  We could get the nutty saltiness of the jamon that was rich and flavourful.  Again, it was just right on the border of salty without crossing it.  These little bites would go really well with beer and in our case, some cocktails.

It was suggested that we try the Grilled Broccolini and it was bang on.  The charred broccolini has some crispy portions that were smoky while the rest was still firm but cooked through.  Once again, they sprinkled this with salt but just enough of it.  Of course, topping it with a generous amount of lemon ricotta didn't hurt either, adding some creaminess and tang.  A layer of nutty crunch was provided by the almond dukkah.  To add some spice, there was also piquillo hot sauce.

Sure, the next dish was rather defaultish, but I love me some Patatas Bravas!  Well, despite protests from Viv, I ordered it and it was great!  The cubes of potato were crispy while being super fluffy inside.  Since they were not over fried, the texture was light.  So easy to eat, that I nearly dusted it off all by myself (Viv begrudgingly had some and liked it...).  The ample amount of zesty brava sauce and aioli kept things tasty.

Went for something a bit more interesting in the Hamburguesa featuring a thin pork patty with cheese & peppers on a potato bun.  They grilled the entire sandwich after they constructed it out of cooked components.  Hence, it was flattened but also sported a crispy exterior while the bun was still soft inside.  The melted cheese added both creaminess and purposeful saltiness.  The banana peppers provided both tang and spiciness.

My favourite dish of the bunch was the Shrimp a la Planxa.  The perfectly cooked Argentinian shrimp were buttery and had a light bounce texture.   They were super sweet and exhibited the classic aromatics associated with Argentinian shrimp (intensely briny and sweet).   These sat in a delish garlic butter and mojo rojo.  The pepper sauce added layers of spice, smokiness, nuttiness and further aromatics.

Last but not least, we had the Grilled Octopus and Chorizo.  Surprisingly, this was our least favourite dish since it was rather salty.  Octopus was tender but maybe a bit too tender.  Chorizo provided some meaty spiciness while smokiness was definitely there with the smoked paprika.  Maybe if we had some bread with this, the dish would've been less salty (or downing this with beer).  I didn't end up getting a beer, but we did get a few cocktails (and some cider).

These included the Tropic of Capricorn and a Pistachio Limoncello.  Both were on the lighter end of the cocktail strength scale.  I found the Tropic to be stronger with Appleton 8 year rum and sherry that was balanced off by the peach liqueur, hibiscus tangerine cordial  and lime juice.  So we had pops of sweetness and some tang.  For the Limoncello, it was pretty straightforward with some pistachio vodka.  It was noticeable, but in the end, the Limoncello and soda water provided the sweet fizziness.  There was also some Benedictine which only added more fruitiness.  Overall, we enjoyed the tapas at Bar Raval.  However, the real draw here is the unique space, lively atmosphere and also the bevvies.  

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Nice space, lively atmosphere

- Good drinks

The Bad:

- Super small, so gets packed and you might have to go into the overflow which is not as nice