Dinner @ Spicy Court

*Restaurant is now closed*

Although I've been to Spicy Court countless times, I've only blogged about their Dim Sum. They do have a very good Dim Sum service with a diverse menu which includes some items not found at other places. I'm no stranger to their dinner menu; but it has been awhile since I've been back. Initially, my parents were wanting to head over to Victoria Seafood Restaurant for dinner. That plan was kiboshed due to weddings booked on every weekend in the foreseeable future. For me, I don't understand why they like that place so much. It is indeed solid; yet there are so many better choices out there. I suggested we try a different restaurant and for once, they listened! And that's how we ended up at Spicy Court. As we were deciding what to eat, I noticed that the next table was having Peking Duck. I think my mom noticed too as she suggested we order it. We wanted the 3-course Peking Duck at first; but one of the managers said that it was unavailable. That's fair. After all, there was a wedding that took up 1/3rd of the restaurant. I was sure the kitchen must've been stretched to the max.

So without the option of the duck bone soup, we went for the Daily Soup instead (which was the pork bone, watercress and snakefish). The soup was pretty good with plenty of flavour from the slow and long boil. I particularly liked that it didn't rely too heavy on salt to season the soup. Since it is Spot Prawn season, we got some prepared by simple hot water blanching. For me personally, I like it done the other ways (such as soy wok-fried, tomato sauce or salt and peppers); yet, to get the true taste of the sweet prawn, the simpler the preparation, the better. These were huge and cooked perfectly. Now onto the first course of the Peking Duck. I found this attempt to be sub-par. Not only was there far too much fat underneath the skin, the skin itself was not even crispy in most sections. Rather, it was soft much like a regular BBQ Duck. That is not exactly the texture that makes a good Peking Duck. Furthermore, the accompanying crepes were doughy and unappealing. If one wanted good Peking Duck, they should head over to Red Star or Koon Bo instead.

Remember when I said that they informed us that the soup course was unavailable? Well, the table beside us apparently got the soup. That incensed my mom so much, she walked up to the manager and complained why we didn't get to order it. The manager gave us the reason that after that first order, no other duck soup orders would be taken. Again, fair enough. They were extremely busy. However, my mom then continued to say that they would be "written-up" by me. Yes, she pulled the "you know who he is?" routine. *Gasp*. That was ultra-embarrassing. Personally, I would never do that. Anyways, on a related note, my mom asked for the Lettuce Wrap to be made without green onions as she gets an upset stomach from them. The manager said that she cannot promise that. She went on about the kitchen being used to making a certain way and they may not be able to accommodate that request. Again, being quite familiar with a Chinese kitchen, I found that a fair remark as well. However, her next remark was just plain stupid. She told us that if it came out with green onions, we'd have to take it as is. WTF? Would any non-Asian restaurant do such a thing? Geez, only in a Chinese restaurant...

I guess we were fortunate though since the Duck Lettuce Wrap arrived without green onions. This was very good. Lots of duck meat and the veggies were all still crunchy. It was only moderately seasoned which was fine because of the accompanying hoisin sauce. Oh and about that hoisin sauce, they actually provided more than enough. I hate it when restaurants supply only a small sauce plate of it for the whole table. The one thing that bugged me though was the hack job done on the lettuce. I could barely make a decent wrap since everything fell out. To satisfy our requisite veggie quotient, we got the Stir-fried Pea Shoots with Garlic. This had the makings of a very solid dish. It had high-quality pea shoots and was properly cooked being soft while still exhibiting a slight crunch. Also, there was little to no water at the bottom of the plate. Lastly, there was plenty of garlic and seasoning. The problem? It was super greasy. After eating one small portion, my lips were no longer chapped.

Seeing how we love their Szechuan Beef Noodle during Dim Sum, we ordered the Szechuan Beef & Tendon Hot Pot. And as expected, it was very familiar. The beef shank was pretty moist with a few dry pieces while the tendons were soft; but not falling apart either. There was a considerable kick to this dish and we should've had some plain rice to go with it. We didn't get plain rice due to our order of Fook Chow Fried Rice. I'm sure the name of the rice may raise a few eyebrows. Rest assured, it is not what you think... Rather, it is a fried rice base with an oyster sauce-based topping with carrots, shiitake, chicken, gailan stems, conpoy and duck meat. This one wasn't bad, if not too wet. The sauce was seasoned just enough to provide flavour. Lastly, we had the Peking Pork Chops for no other reason for another plate of meat. The meat was tenderized properly where the it had a bounce-like texture. I thought the sauce was a bit weak without any discernible hits of tang or savouriness. It was slightly sweet and mostly bland. Overall, the meal was decent, if not a bit hit and miss within each dish. I will give them a mulligan since they were probably busy with the wedding. Normally, the food here is quite solid. However, just like the past few times, service could and should be better for this class of restaurant.

The Good:
- Based on past visits, the food is generally good across the board
- Portions are relatively good

The Bad:
- Service is not up to par for this class of restaurant
- Seating is a bit tight even for a decently-sized dining room

Nu Greek Street

What would I do to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2? How about waking up real early and making my way Downtown to see it a 8:30am on its opening day in North America? Thanks to NetApp, Viv and I were invited to a special early morning screening of the movie before it went live at noon. Rather than dealing with traffic and parking, we skytrained it down. As part of the special screening, we got a complimentary popcorn and beverage. I don't know about you; but a big bag of popcorn at 8:30 in the morning? Yes please! I downed the whole thing before we even got out of the previews and considered attacking Viv's popcorn until I realized that room must be saved for lunch.

After a short visit to Dressew when the movie was over, we headed back up to Granville and Georgia to try Nu Greek Street. When I approached the cart, it was like deja vu. It was the same dude from the defunct PanDa Fresh and Lully's. Nice guy. It's like he is at every food cart... Ordering was quite easy since there are only a few things on the menu (which is a good thing). Viv got Chicken Pita while I had the Lamb Pita. For the first time in who-knows-how-long, I used my Canon P&S (didn't want to bring the DSLR into the movie theatre). The 2 things that struck us immediately was the garlicky tzatzki and the wonderful soft texture of the pita. I really liked the slight char from the grill which added some contrasting texture and flavour to the pita (it was almost naan-like). The meat was almost secondary to these 2 components. That's not saying the meat didn't have flavour either, they were marinated in the usual oregano, thyme, lemon and garlic. Not bad for $6.50. One of the more solid offerings from the Downtown food carts.

The Good:
- Fair pricing
- Wonderful pita
- Tasty tzatziki

The Bad:
- Could've used more meat

L.A. Sushi

Generally, I'm not a huge fan of takeout. I actually like eating my food at a restaurant, even with kids in tow. Something about the whole experience. But the most important reason I don't like takeout is it doesn't make for great pictures. Somehow, a Styrofoam box isn't exactly the sexiest serving vessel. Yes, there are times when it cannot be avoided such as food carts or trucks. That's what happened with Coma Food Truck, I just had to make it work. When it comes to actual restaurants I'd much rather get it plated, then stuffed into a box afterwards. Yup, call it obsessive or OCD; but that's the way I roll. Sometimes it is so confusing, the server boxes it up anyways, much like the time at Wing Yuen.

On my way home from work, I was not in the mood to cook. So I stopped at L.A. Sushi and grabbed a few items. Much like the time I got takeout from Hong Sushi, I had to resort to "plating" it at home. The first item was Salmon Sashimi. As evidenced in the picture, the pieces were large and fresh looking. They were indeed quite good being buttery while not mushy. Just because it looks nice in pictures, I got several pieces of Nigiri including tuna, salmon, unagi and chopped scallop. For no apparent reason, they gave me an extra piece of tuna. You gotta love owner/operators who really care about customer relations. Once again, the ingredients were fresh and aesthetically pleasing. As for the sushi rice, it was on the gummier side of the continuum. You can clearly see this in the picture.

Looking at menu, I noticed that the specialty rolls were reasonably-priced, so I ended up ordering 2 of them. The Crispy Roll was recommended by the chef as the most popular among their customers. The inside was essentially a dynamite roll with ebi tempura, imitation crab and avocado. On the outside, there were crispy bits soaked in a sweet and spicy sauce. I really liked the sauce, it provided all the flavour necessary without the need for soy or wasabi. I liked how it had a discernible kick. However, the same gummy sushi rice somewhat muted the experience. Once again, the sushi rice did the same number on the Tiger Roll. On the inside it was a California roll and on the outside, there was alternating design of avocado and ebi (looking like a green tiger?). The ingredients were good and the roll itself was pretty good. However, if there was less of the gummy rice, it would've been much better. It's too bad really about the rice. I will give them a mulligan though because the rest of the items were fresh and prepared nicely. Furthermore, the sushi chef/owner is extremely friendly. Pretty decent value for above average sushi.

The Good:
- Decent value
- Friendly/personable owner

The Bad:
- The sushi rice I had was a bit gummy

Dhoom Restaurant & Bar

A restaurant named "Dhoom"? Really? So I guess it is alright to say that the restaurant is Dhoomed? Well, other than being some sort of TV show in India, I'm not sure where the name Dhoom comes from. Maybe it has something to do with the owners which is the Dhaliwal Group. In fact, they run several businesses and restaurants. So as you can see, they are most certainly not Dhoomed... Now as for the restaurant itself, it is a tricky one to find. Hidden within York Centre on the corner of 128th and 80th in Surrey, you really must know where you are going. If you have ever heard of Afghan Chopan, then you'll find it only steps away. I did not eat alone this time since a bunch of co-workers joined me on this adventure. Good thing too. Indian food is best when shared. Eating an entire Butter Chicken is neither great for ones' health nor for the afternoon since it is so heavy.

Upon walking into the place, the decor was actually quite pleasant and unique. The restaurant is expansive while being noticeably dark. They did turn up the lights; yet it was not exactly bright. Marymac, who is quite the food expert, did the ordering. She suggested an order of the Boondi Raita, which I personally have never tried before. It is essentially raita mixed with tiny balls of fried chickpea flour. It was interesting for sure; however, I'm still impartial to the plain raita. Don't get me wrong, it was good, I just want it smooth. Since everything arrived at the same time, I'll just randomly talk about each dish. The Tandoori Chicken consisted of 4 drumsticks which were relatively moist. Due to the nature of the tandoor oven, the chicken will never be juicy, so this was as juicy it was going to get. I found the flavours to be mild; yet present at the same time.

Hey, a visit to a Northern Indian restaurant isn't complete without trying the Butter Chicken right? Well, I'm sure there is an Indian person laughing at this statement right now... Anyways, this particular version was heavy on the tomato paste. So much so, it was no longer really creamy, even though there was a good amount of cream in it since the sauce was quite thick. Hence, there was an obvious level of tartness and a bit of spice. The biggest problem wasn't the tomato paste; rather it was with the salt content. Man was it salty. Lastly, they used dark meat here and although I personally like dark meat, it probably would've been better with white meat especially with the saltiness.

I love lamb and when Marymac suggested we have a Lamb Rogan Josh, I did not object. I found the lamb to quite tender while the curry had the flavours of the usual spices such as cumin and coriander. Yet again, the whole thing was tainted by the liberal use of salt. Even the lamb itself was salty. If they used less salt, this would've been a very good dish. Now what was probably the best of the bunch was the Palak Paneer. This was very creamy with large chunks of cheese. Unlike the other dishes, this one was not as salty. I found there was a good balance of flavours and once again, the usual spices were evident, particularly the cumin.

Instead of ordering plain basmati rice, Marymac suggested we get the Pulao Rice (which is basmati rice cooked with onions and bell peppers). Again, call me boring or predictable; but I usually get plain rice because I want it to be a blank canvas for the sauces. With that being said, the Pulao rice was good in the sense it had some flavour of its own and different textures. Lastly, we got the Garlic Naan instead of plain naan. Now, in this case, I would've ordered garlic naan anyways since it adds an extra oomph to the bread. I found this one to have a good amount of fresh garlic on the outside which in turn made it fragrant and tasty. With an abundance of colour and charring, this tandoor-cooked naan was quite crispy in parts. Maybe I got the end pieces because I found it too crispy. However, when I tried a middle section later in the meal, it was exactly the texture I prefer which is slightly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. The naan went well with all the sauces. And about those sauces... If they just let up on the sodium, it would've been a completely different story. Obviously too little salt or too much can greatly affect the final product. In the end, we all agreed that the food was decent, just like many other Indian restaurants in the area. So for me at least, I'm willing to return if someone wanted to eat here.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Spacious dining space
- Pricing seems reasonable considering all factors

The Bad:
- For us, the food was too salty
- Dining space is rather dark

Tony's Beef Noodle

Geez. Finally. We got to play a softball game without the threat of rain. What's up with the weather anyways? Oh right, we live on the Wet Coast. Well, at the very least, everything is green here. With our recent additions to the team of Chill and Bubbly, our team has become quite formidable. Including this game, we haven't lost yet. That's a good thing too since I usually blank out during the game, daydreaming about food. However, it was Ketchup who did the daydreaming this time. On a routine grounder to short, she was staring into space when Silent Bob wanted to toss her the ball at second. Thinking Arby's? No idea. Well, the team was quite hungry after the game and being such, we decided to hit up something nearby. Being in the Oakridge area, we settled on Tony's Beef Noodle.

Boy, this place has been here forever - at least there has been something here for awhile. As a kid growing up in Oakridge, I remember eating at this location (but am not exactly sure what it was then). They have renovated the dining room; yet have neglected to do anything with the washrooms. Typical of Chinese restaurants I guess... We arrived at around 8:20, which was 40 minutes to closing time. The one server seemed concerned with the size of our group and hesitated to seat us. Ultimately we did get to stay; but I would like to point out the service was bordering on "not-wanting-to-be-there" attitude. Anyways, Boss Woman and I decided to share some items starting with the Marinated Assorted Meats consisting of beef shank, beef tripe and pork intestine. Although the shank was a little dry, it was still not tough. There was just enough sauce to flavour it without being salty. We were a bit indifferent with the tripe because it was on the chewier side and dry as well. I really liked the intestine because it was soft while not falling apart. It was served warm and wasn't particularly gamy (well, to me at least). Next up was the Salty Peppery Chicken. Despite its oily appearance, this was quite good. The chicken was moist while the batter was light. It could've been crispier though. We found it to be peppery, which was a good thing.

Milhouse had the Sliced Beef Shank in Green Onion Pancake. To me, it looked thick and doughy; but he thought it was fine. He remarked that the crispy exterior made the roll. Good balance of meat, hoisin sauce and green onion. By virtue of being a TBN joint, we all had to get the Beef Noodle right? Boss Woman and I went for the Spicy Beef Noodle while almost everyone else had the regular beef noodle. Before I dug into the spicy noodle, I tried some of the regular one first. We found the broth to be decent; but after the initial hit of flavour, it became weak and ended off with a whimper. Definitely not very rich nor enough depth. As for the noodles, they were hand-made and had a good chewy texture. The beef shank was very moist and practically melted in our mouths. It could've stood to be a little less soft since there was very little meat texture left. As for the spicy broth, it wasn't really all that spicy (at least to me). Furthermore, they should not skimp on the pickled greens. More was needed.

Judes decided to go in a different direction with the Chinese Pickle and Pork Noodle Soup. Once again, the noodles were al dente and probably the best part. And also once again, the broth fell flat. You would think there would be tonnes of flavour from the pickled veggies and pork... nope. Lastly, for curiosity sake, we got an order of Xiao Long Bao as well. Actually, this was my 3rd order of XLB in one day! With that in mind, I was going to give them the benefit of the doubt since Tony's is not a Shanghainese restaurant. So it was no surprise that the dumpling skin was soft while there was no juice to speak of. However, if we looked at it as just a plain ol' steamed dumpling, they were fine. The meat had enough seasoning and it was of a nice texture - these were just not XLBs. XLBs withstanding, the food in general here is decent. There is better albeit not nearby. So, it does the job if one was in the neighbourhood. Just be forewarned that the service, or lack of, might turn some of you off.

The Good:
- Decent TBN considering the neighbourhood
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- Broth is a bit weak
- Service is only a rumour

Cuu Long

"That place?" is what both Kaiser Soze and JuJu exclaimed when I suggested we do Pho at Cuu Long. That place has been around as long as I can remember. I keep driving past it; but have never stopped to eat there. I've even spotted people I know walking in while driving by. So after hockey, we decided to give the place a try despite some apprehension. It's not much to look at from the outside and the same goes for the inside. However, it is clean and well-kept though. The first thing that struck us was the genuinely pleasant attitude of the staff/owners. We felt welcomed and very comfortable right away.

Kaiser Soze waffled between ordering the Bun Bo Hue and a Pho Dac Biet. As always, I let him do the ordering first before I figured out what to have. He settled on the Bun Bo Hue. The reason he was having a hard time deciding was due to the bad experiences he's had with Bun Bo Hue. You see, some places merely pour some chili oil on top of regular broth and call it Bun Bo Hue. The version here was somewhere in the middle. There was lemongrass and chili which made it a somewhat flavourful broth but I didn't get a sense of any heat at all. A bit mild for my tastes; but Kaiser Soze seemed to like it. He remarked that the noodles were good while the meats were sufficiently tender. JuJu went for the Com Bo Kho or Spicy Beef Brisket with Rice. We found that it wasn't really all that spicy; in fact, it was rather sweet with a touch of savouriness. JuJu enjoyed it with the rice and used up most of the broth. As for the the beef and tendons, they were super tender and practically melted in my mouth.

For myself, I wanted something different this time and had the Hu Tieu Dai Dac Biet or clear noodle in soup with pork and seafood. Unlike Pho, the soup here was clear and very light. Now it was light in colour only since it had plenty of flavour. Again, mostly sweet with a bit of aromatics. Although it was sitting in broth, the clear noodles retained its texture. There was a mix of pork, meatballs and offal along with shrimp and squid. I found the pork slices to be slightly chewy while the offal and meatballs to have a nice bounce texture. The shrimp had a good snap while the squid was a tad too chewy. Not a bad bowl of noodles; however, I found it to underwhelming in terms of portion size. And believe it or not, I actually added another order of noodles - the Pho Dac Biet. What immediately struck me was the size once again. With only one size to choose from, it was rather small and I knew I could demolish it even though I had just finished a bowl of noodles. I found the broth to be light while flavourful at the same time. I wouldn't exactly call it a meaty taste; rather it was sweet and a little bit fragrant. There was a modest amount of noodles which were al dente. The small amount of meat was alright. It was mostly tender.

Was that all the food we ate after hockey? Heck no! Everyone decided to add a Banh Mi as well. Kaiser Soze had the BBQ Pork, Juju went for the Lemongrass Chicken and I had the lowly Ham Banh Mi. I went for that since there were only 3 choices and the other 2 were taken already. No duplicates! At least for my Banh Mi, I found it be rather bland. No fish sauce, no pate, no mayo, no flavour. The pickled carrot and daikon were not impactful and the lack of peppers didn't help either. At the very least, the bread was light, airy and crunchy on the outside. Due to having more flavourful meat, Kaiser Soze and JuJu's Banh Mis were better tasting. And that would be it right? No. JuJu, the eating machine, had an order of the Salad Roll, all to himself. Nothing exciting to report here other than a typical salad roll. It was rolled tightly and the ingredients were well-balanced and sufficient. The dip was a good mix between hoisin and peanut sauce. In the end, we were satisfied with the eats here. It didn't blow us away; but it was solid. In fact, the one thing that will keep us coming back was the personable service we received. It was noticeably better than most Vietnamese restaurants.

The Good:
- Great service
- Decent eats

The Bad:
- Portions are slightly small

Skyhawk

So many times, there are restaurants with interesting food. That can draw people from far and wide. Then there are times where the location of the restaurant is the draw. It's even better if both the food and location are interesting. Call it the strange food in a strange location phenomenon. It's almost like finding treasure on a desert island. For the one who made the discovery, it is almost like a badge of honour. Well, I wasn't looking for treasure nor was I wanting any badge of honour on this food adventure. I merely just wanted to eat something other than fast food in Ladner. Yes, it's true. Ladner is not really a great place to grab interesting eats. Other than La Belle Auberge, there are not many places one would drive out here to visit. So on my way in, I took a slight detour off Ladner Trunk Road into the Boundary Bay Airport. Nope, I wasn't leaving town to eat; rather I was paying a visit to Skyhawk.

A completely random restaurant in a hidden location, this was the something different I was looking for. For those who have not been out here, the restaurant is actually quite nice inside with high ceilings and a fabulous view. In terms of the menu, well, it is an eclectic mix of typical American food with a dash of Chinese and some near-gourmet items for dinner. Since I am a masochist, I started with a bowl of Wor Wonton Soup. Hey, the kitchen staff were Asian. I thought to myself: "why not?". Believe it or not, it was actually decent. The broth was somewhat close to an real wonton soup (which is light brown in colour). I wouldn't say it was extremely flavourful; but it wasn't bland nor plain salt water either. As for the wontons themselves, I was in total shock when I bit into them. There was shrimp! Yes, in a non-Asian restaurant in Ladner at the Boundary Bay Airport, we had semi-authentic wontons... In addition, the pork filling had a nice texture while being seasoned nicely (with hints of white pepper and sesame oil). The only problem I had with this wonton soup was the price. For $12.00, I was expecting something a bit more substantial.

I ended up ordering their MOT Burger for my main. Now, the burger itself was nothing special; but boy was the beef patty cooked perfectly. I haven't had a juicy burger in some time and this was moist and juicy. The fries were your typical frozen type; but once again, it was cooked properly being crispy. Now trying 2 dishes was not enough for me. Thus, I returned again for some more. This time, I brought Ma and Snake Eyes with me. For me, I started with a large Poutine. as you can see, this would never pass off as a true poutine since the cheese (which were not cheese curds) was completely melted. I like a tad of melted cheese; but that was too much. The gravy wasn't bad, it had the right consistency and enough flavour. This was essentially a poutine in name only.

For my main, I decided to try a breakfast item in the Corned Beef Hash. This was a pretty basic; yet nicely made hash. Simply shredded hashbrowns and brisket corned beef, this was good if not unexciting. The hashbrowns were pretty good being fluffy with a touch of crispiness. With my choice of eggs, I went for poached and they were done perfectly. Snake Eyes did the unthinkable and had the MOT Burger (darn duplicates...), so nothing to talk about there. On the other hand, Ma had her favourite - the Beef Dip. She thought the roast beef was quite tender; but there wasn't really enough of it. The dip was very flavourful with the addition of caramelized onions. Overall, a solid beef dip. Considering the location of the restaurant, the food is surprisingly good. Again, it's not going to knock anyone's socks off; yet, it does the job in a pleasant environment. With that being said, the prices are a bit confusing. Some items are reasonably-priced while some are not. Furthermore, for each time I was there, the wait for the food to arrive was approximately 30 minutes. Not a huge deal for me; but it could be if you were in a rush.

The Good:
- Solid food for what it is
- Comfortable surroundings
- Good service

The Bad:
- Food comes out slow
- The Chinese food is grossly overpriced