Sandy La

Not too long ago, I was driving down Victoria Drive and noticed that Nancy Wonton House had closed up shop. In fact, renovations were taking place for a new restaurant. The new place bore the name of another female - Sandy La. Okay, I'm not really sure it is named after anyone at all, but it does make one wonder what happened to good ol' Nancy... Let's not speculate. LOL... So the good news is that place retained its late night hours which really suits our hockey team just fine. I'll say it and say it again - for such a large city, Vancouver sure doesn't have a great selection of late night eats.

Actually, we only had a small group consisting of Myself, Milhouse, Emilicious and Sweet Tooth for eats this time around. But that didn't stop us from ordering 6 dishes from their "da lang" menu (or Chinese late night). Hey, we figured from the small portions we've received from other da lang joints, 6 would be just enough. The first dish to arrive was the Black Bean Clams. The clams were plump and cooked nicely with only one not open. There was just enough black bean sauce to flavour the dish. The sauce was salty enough and garlicky. The classic da lang dish, Fried Silverfish, arrived in a heaping mound. This was a sign to come as to the portion size. Now, for those who are alarmed at us eating silverfish, don't worry. These are not the same crawly things found in your kitchen. Rather, they are little fish that are battered and fried, then wok-tossed with salt, chilis and garlic. This particular dish was executed beautifully. The fish were crispy and flavourful, going really well with the plain congee.

With similar seasonings and preparation, the Fried Tofu was somewhat less successful. The tofu itself was fried nicely being crisp on the outside while retaining some tofuness on the inside. However, the wok-toss seemed to be lacking as the pieces of tofu were tasteless. For our meat dish, we had the Chinese-Style Beef Tenderloin. Now let's get real here - rarely do we ever see actual beef tenderloin used in this dish, even at higher-end Chinese restaurants. Rather, it could be any cut of meat that has been pounded and tenderized (baking soda). Well, this one could've used a bit more tenderizing in a few pieces as they were quite chewy in the middle. With that being said, most of the other pieces were tender and just cooked. The proper amount of sauce clung onto each piece affording them with a sweet, slightly tart flavouring.

Continuing on the sweet n' sour theme, we had the Sweet & Sour Fish which arrived in a radioactive red tinge. The fish, which I believed to be Basa, was in large pieces. This probably helped in keeping it moist and flaky. The sauce itself was mostly sweet with only a hint of tartness. Lastly, we got some veggies in the form of Tong Choy (or water spinach) stir-fried in the usual fermented tofu. Yes, it doesn't sound all that appealing, but the two ingredients seem to go hand-in-hand. Again, this was a healthy portion which featured nicely cooked tong choy (which was still crunchy). Despite the appearance of enough fermented tofu, the whole dish lacked enough impact. Now impact in flavour was one thing, but portion size is another. Although these dishes were part of the late-night "smaller" size menu, they were plenty big. We had more than enough for the 4 of us and the prices were reasonable. Sure, not everything was perfect, but as I say over and over again, nothing is (especially when dealing with a restaurant kitchen where there are many variables). The food was more than acceptable. The service was "okay". It is rare to experience "warm & fuzzy" service at Asian restaurants anyways. It was sparse though as we had some trouble flagging servers down. At the very least, the experience was decent enough for us to consider returning to try their noodles and congee.

The Good:
- Good portions
- Reasonable pricing
- Decent food

The Bad:
- Sparse service
- A bit greasy (but what Chinese food isn't?)

Pink Pearl

Oh man. The mother-in-law wanted to go for Dim Sum again... Usually, I need to get myself mentally prepared to endure that 2-hour torture. Okay... breathe deeply. Accept that there will be a lot of yelling. A LOT of yelling. At her husband, at us, at the wait staff and even random strangers. Accept that there will be a lot of complaining. About the food, her husband, the guy who sold her a new couch, random people and why not, the whole world. A LOT of complaining. Accept that people in the restaurant will be staring at our table. A LOT of staring. From people around us, from my kids (wondering who is this crazy woman at our table), from people at the other end of the restaurant and probably from the kitchen as well. Okay, I was ready. Ready for the ordeal. The destination? Hell. Er... I mean Pink Pearl. After a kitchen fire (ironically) that closed the place for nearly 2 years, it is back up and running. This Vancouver institution used to be one of the only places for Dim Sum, but with so many better choices, it has been mostly forgotten.

We arrived just as it opened which meant that the push carts were not running yet. Hence, we ordered off a checklist with only the regular Dim Sum available. We had to wait until 10:00am to order the specialty dishes. It would've been nice if they had put that information on the sheet... More on that later. So I'll start with the standard - Haw Gow (steamed shrimp dumpling). As evidenced in the picture, the skin was somewhat wet and in fact, broke apart on one of the dumplings. The whole shrimp filling had a nice bounce texture, yet was pretty bland in terms of seasoning and natural sweetness. The Sui Mai (shrimp & pork dumpling) were large and full of well-marinated pork, crunchy shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. The pork benefited from a good amount of fat to achieve its bouncy texture. Some people might find it off-putting though. In terms of flavour, it was also quite mild and could've used some more seasoning.

Next up was the Beef Meatballs which were also quite large. I would normally make a "ball" joke here, but at this point, my head was hurting from all the yelling. Most importantly, I was hiding my head from complete utter embarrassment. I'd rather suffer the yelling from Dragon Lady at Po King than this! In fact, I would like a puck to the head instead. I think I got a concussion from all that yelling. Oh right, and the beef meatballs had the desired bouncy texture with a touch of chewiness. It was also quite mild with a good amount of crunchy water chestnuts and just enough cilantro. With a similar beef filling, the Beef Rice Noodle Roll was not bad. The rice noodle was fairly soft while the beef was plentiful and tender. I know this is a minor issue, but the darn thing was plated haphazardly with a pathetic sprig of yau choy on one side.

Off to some more daring eats (to some, not us of course!) was the Phoenix Talons (aka chicken feet). These had a good texture which featured soft skin with plenty of gelatin and soft cartilage underneath (sounds yummy eh?). The flavours were discernible too with a good amount of garlic and sweetness. For our obligatory offal dish, we got the Steamed Bible Tripe (omasum tripe) with ginger and green onion. It had a chewy texture that was still tender enough to eat comfortably. There was no need to gnaw at it. The pieces of tripe were quite large and not gamy at all. However, I found it bland as none of the seasoning and other ingredients seemed to have any impact (despite being in plain view on top).

Onto Viv's favourite - the Stuffed Eggplant. This was a large portion consisting of bouncy shrimp mousse which was well-seasoned. It could've been toned down a tad since it overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the shrimp. The eggplant was soft while not mushy. Okay, the award for worst dish of the meal had to go to the Scallop & Shrimp Dumplings. These pathetic things were not very fresh tasting. The shrimp were overcooked and rubbery. Moreover, the dumpling skin was hard and dry, yet at the same time, the dumpling was wet. Very strange textures going on. We weren't sure if these were freshly made to begin with. However, that is just speculation. On a positive note, the scallops were okay though.

As my son was still waiting for the curiously absent rice noodle rolls (which we ordered when we first got to the restaurant), we got something to keep him busy in the Spring Rolls. These were not the modern all-shrimp version, rather, they were completely ol' skool with pork, wood ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots. There wasn't a lot of filling per se which actually made the spring rolls light. They were not greasy and were very crisp. Now, we really didn't get the Egg Tarts near the end of the meal. As usual, it arrived mid-meal (if you look at the picture of the beef meatballs, you'll see it on the table). So consider it a sweet intermission of sorts. Can't really blame the restaurant as these are baked in batches and need to be eaten fresh. These were pretty good with a flaky shell which exhibited a good level of "bakedness" (much like some people on 4-20... ahem...). The egg custard was smooth and quite sweet.

We already decided to settle the bill since the Soy-fried Rice Noodle Rolls had not arrived even though we had ordered it nearly an hour prior (apparently, the dish is not available until after 10:00am). Well, as we were paying, it showed up. Just like we suspected, they waited until there were a few orders before they prepared it. Our dish came out with several others on the same platter. Now, that is an efficient way to cook, yet not a great thing for the waiting customer. At the very least, give us the heads up or put down on the menu that the item is only available after 10:00am. Leaving us guessing and annoyed is not the way to go. The noodles were not bad. It could've been fried a bit longer for some colour and caramelization. At least there wasn't too much grease. So the newly reopened Pink Pearl doesn't deviate much from the old version. Food is pretty average, but serviceable. There are the faithful that will keep the place full, I'm not one of them though.

The Good:
- Large facilities
- Large parking lot

The Bad:
- Food is pretty average
- Service isn't bad, could be better though

Fraser BBQ & Fresh Meat

Picking up where we left off with my Chinese BBQ adventures, the next place up for discussion is Fraser BBQ & Fresh Meat. This was sort of random since I really wasn't planning on picking up any BBQ meats. I was merely driving down Fraser on my way home when I noticed it. I did my best bad driving impression and made a quick lane change right into a parking spot. Yes, I do realize I was being hypocritical... Anyways, I'm not sure if they are affiliated with Galaxy Bakery because they share an open space with them. Oh yes, I also wandered over and picked up some buns too. Talk about random. From no food to lots of it to take home!

Naturally, the first item I selected was the Roast Pork. Due to the lean cut of meat, the pork was not all that moist. There wasn't any belly meat left, so it would be difficult to compare against places like HK BBQ Master (since they only use the belly). The crackling wasn't exactly crunchy though, it was slightly chewy. Originally, I wanted to get a few pounds of BBQ Pork. They had apparently ran out, so I settled on BBQ Pork Ribs instead. If these were any indication of the BBQ Pork marinade, then we had a winner. The sweet syrupy glaze afforded the ribs a nice colour and char while adding the necessary flavour. The ribs were cooked nicely where the meat was still moist and tender while the outside had a chewy sweet bark.

Lastly, I got a whole BBQ Duck (since it was on special to get a whole duck, so Chinese of me...). The duck was moist and meaty. Most importantly, it was not salty, not even the thigh portion (which usually gets the bulk of the marinade). The skin on the duck was aesthetically pleasing in colour and appearance. I tried a piece right away and the duck skin was nicely rendered. Moreover, the wing portion was edible, unlike some other places where the drumette is merely a throw-away piece. Other than the Roast Pork (which was the lean portion, not their fault), the ribs and duck were pretty good. Definitely above-average.

The Good:
- Glaze for the pork ribs is good
- BBQ Duck well-prepared
- I asked for 2 pounds and I got 2 pounds

The Bad:
- Roast pork was so-so (but it was lean meat though)

Golden Swan (ChineseBites Dinner)

Recently, I was approached by Raymond Chow about joining him and other bloggers for meals at Chinese restaurants in order to highlight signature dishes. The rationale behind this is that many Chinese establishments do not have a Net presence. In fact, many of them exclusively advertise in Chinese print media. In that sense, they are not reaching out to over half of the population (and those who don't read Chinese!). On his site, ChineseBites, he hopes to bring awareness to authentic Chinese cuisine to everyone. The initial intention was to pay for our meals (or at least part of) at the restaurants we eat at as a group. However, as expected, many of the restaurants decided to comp our dinners. Not really a surprise since this serves to promote each restaurant at their best (and of course we'd get good service... duh...). Therefore, I've personally decided that my posts about these dinners will not be a "review" per se (not linked to Urbanspoon), rather they will be about my experiences with these recommended dishes.

So first up was Golden Swan out on Victoria
Drive in Vancouver. They changed ownership last year with the owners of Golden Ocean buying them out. In addition to Raymond and myself, others at the dinner were Kevin, Rick, Alvin and Louisa. Like many Chinese set meals, we started off with the Golden Swan Appetizer Platter consisting of Smoked Salmon, Beef Shank, Shrimp, Mock Goose and Honey Garlic Spareribs. This was pretty typical and nothing was amiss. I did like the beef shank as the slices were thick, yet at the same time, the meat was moist with definite hits of five spice. Next up was a beautifully plated dish named Soft Tofu in Japanese Style. Huh? Yah, that's what I thought too. Something got lost in translation. Whatever the case, the dish consisted of delicately sliced silken tofu fanned carefully around the plate. At the centre, there was a stir-fried mix of edamame, corn, carrots, shiitake and preserved radish. The vegetarian mix was still crisp and vibrant while the silky sauce was mild. The one thing that kept this dish from boredom was the preserved radish. It provided crunch and saltiness.

Next was another nicely plated dish - Sauteed Geoduck and Scallops with Sweat Peas. Now this is usually a pretty common combination of ingredients, however, they added different herbs including lemongrass. Hence, the flavour profile was completely different. There was a certain aromaticness to go with the natural sweetness of the seafood and crunchy snap peas. One thing of note, there was no "Geoduck" in the dish, rather, they were sea cucumber innards. Moving along, the next dish to arrive was the Sauteed Beef Tenderloin with Chayote in Black Pepper Sauce. The chayote was still crunchy while cooked all the way through. With the addition of strawberries, it further accentuated the sweetness of the dish. Naturally, the sweetness was accented by the a mild amount of black pepper. The chunks of beef were tender, yet still meaty in texture. However, I found it to be rather salty.

Majestically golden brown, the House Special Salty Chicken was presented in a clay pot. This was cooked in a salt crust which was removed just before serving. I asked if they had quickly oil blanched the chicken first because of the crispy skin. Apparently they did not, so this was achieved via the baking process. The chicken was moist even with the white meat. I found it to be only moderately salty despite the salt crust. Next was definitely not a fan favourite at our table. The Egg White Custard with Almond Milk was a white blob of food which neither had enough flavour nor texture to maintain our interest. There were bits of Asian pear that only served to add to the overall sweetness of the dish. There wasn't enough crunch to alleviate the mushiness of the blob.

Elegantly plated was our next dish - Angel Hair with Tiger Prawn. The fried prawn was doused in a ketchup, sweet chili sauce and garlic concoction accompanied by some angel hair pasta. Yes, some fusion thing going on here. However, it was not anything dissimilar to items found at a Hong Kong style cafe. I found the sauce to be rather sweet with the prawn being cooked perfectly. Our last savoury dish was the Lobster, Scallops, Shrimp with Rice on Lotus Leaf. I've seen this dish many times before, however, not with shrimp and scallops. Me thinks that we got the royal treatment here (duh...). So everything was prepared carefully. The scallops and prawns were just cooked while the lobster was fried beautifully. The rice at the bottom soaked up some of the flavour from the seafood as well as the sauce. The addition of corn along with Chinese sausage, mushroom, tobiko and green onion added pop to the rice.

Onto dessert, Kevin was hoping for Baked Tapioca Pudding and his wishes came true. What really made this dessert was the excellent crunchy topping. Normally, the topping is thin, much like the one found atop a Pineapple Bun. This one was much thicker and had more impact. The tapioca pudding had a nice texture and the addition of lotus paste was nice. Surprisingly, the dessert wasn't too sweet which suited me just fine. Last and certainly not least was the Durian Rolls. That drew some reaction since durian can be quite pungent. If you've ever come across the actual fruit, it can quickly overwhelm. However, since it had been processed and baked into a flaky pastry, there was only flavour (which can be an acquired taste). It was definitely sweet with a certain fruit gaminess to it. I personally liked it. And on the topic of like, if I had to do my own signature dish choices, I would think that Soft Tofu and the Salty Chicken were the most interesting of the bunch. Nice meal thanks to ChineseBites. I look forward to our next meal.

*Note: This was an invited dinner where all food was comped*

Minami

If you have been to Miku, you are familiar with their Aburi Sushi which doesn't require soy nor wasabi. Their seared sushi with tasty sauces are flavourful enough on their own. Located in the former Goldfish, a new sister restaurant has opened up. Minami operates with a similar menu except for the addition of a few things (including noodles). With Yukon Gold back in town (and the fact I haven't seen him in 5 years), it was a good excuse to round up Rich Guy and Vandelay to meet him for some eats at Minami ( since I missed the media event a week earlier, I was craving Aburi Salmon Oshi).

We started with the Hamachi Carpaccio with citrus avocado sauce. The fish was buttery smooth and practically melted in our mouths. Although there were plenty flavouring agents, we could still taste the hamachi. Next was the Ebi Fritters consisting of white shrimp with spiced couscous, sweet chili aioli and soy balsamic reduction. The parsley batter was very crispy while being quite thick (possibly too much so). The shrimp had a good snap with lots of natural sweetness. I liked the sweet rich balsamic as it went well with the crunchy batter.

We weren't that thrilled with the Pork Gyoza with savoy cabbage, chili oil, soy, vinegar and lardons. For a filling made with poin loin and pork belly, it was dry and stiff. We were expecting moist and fluffy considering the addition of pork fat. On the other hand, the meat was tasty. When combined with the sauce, it covered all the bases: sweet, tart, spicy and savoury. Next up was the Aburi Carpaccio with organic 64° egg, asian pear, market greens, lotus root chips and jalapeño-garlic ponzu. The meat was super moist and tender. The sous-vide egg provided an almost buttery addition to the beef. The sauce added too much salt though.

Alright, all these dishes were fine and dandy, however, the main event arrived on a large platter. Starting from left to right, we had the Una-Kyu Roll, Pacific Roll, Aburi Salmon Oshi and Minami Roll. The Una-Kyu Roll consisted of BBQ fresh water eel tempura, cucumber, seven spice salt and unagi sauce. The crunch from the cucumber and eel tempura added plenty of texture in a normally "soft" roll. The unagi sauce was sweet, yet tempered by the salt. None of the flavourings overwhelmed the eel as we could still taste it. The Pacific Roll consisted of albacore tuna, jalapeño, cucumber, wrapped in shiso and yellowtail topped with cracked pepper and avocado sauce. It was light and refreshing with a hint of spice. There was a nice finish from the buttery avocado sauce. Onto what I was waiting for - the Aburi Salmon Oshi. Essentially pressed sushi with salmon topped by Miku sauce and jalapeño, this is their signature dish. The sushi rice had a nice texture and mild taste which was essentially a canvas for the nicely seared creamy sauce. One of my favourite things to eat in town.

Lastly, the Minami Roll was made up of Aburi short rib, spicy prawn, cucumber, wasabi and masatake. This was a flavourful mix of flavours and textures including the sweetness from the shrimp, aromatics from the sesame oil, crunch from the cucumber and the tender meatiness of the beef. I personally like the food at Miku/Minami even though it ain't cheap. So it begs the question: why not eat at a small sushi joint for much less? Well, if one needs to ask that question, then they are missing the point. You might as well declare you can eat yourself silly at McD's for $10.00 rather than spending your money on a tasting menu at West for $100.00. Those are 2 different things that should not be compared. I like Miku and Minami because the food is carefully prepared as well as tasting good. Service is attentive with great ambiance. Yes, that is all factored into the price. Oh, and let's not get into the "it's more authentic and better in Japan" argument. We're in Vancouver. I'm not going to fly to Japan to compare a restaurant.

The Good:
- Aburi sushi, enough said
- Attentive service
- Nice ambiance and decor

The Bad:
- Yes, it is expensive, but consider where it is located and what you are getting
- Not a big deal for me, but Minami doesn't really offer anything different from Miku

Dim Sum @ Szechuan Chongqing (Broadway)

Here we go again... Dim Sum with the mother-in-law. It has become such a common occurrence, I've even started to enjoy her company. What??? Not! Well, it probably has more to do with me tuning out and daydreaming than anything else. Again, there was the usual requests to go to Tung Sing Chin once again. However, I suggested we head over to the Broadway location of Szechuan Chongqing instead. Wait a minute. Cantonese Dim Sum at a Szechuan joint? Are you mad? No, I'm not, but eventually sometime during the meal I would be (especially with MIL at the table). Actually, in the past, when we used to live in Downtown, Viv and I would frequent the place not only because it was half-decent, it was also inexpensive.

Well, that was then... Seems like inflation set in and the prices are roughly on par with other restaurants in this class. The one thing going for the place is the free parking spots at the back (albeit the few that there are). They still employ push carts here, as rare as it is these days. However, being such a small place, there are only like 2 carts maximum in action at one time. Hence, we practically got all of our items as quick as we sat down. Good for those who are hungry. Bad for me, where I had to get all my photos as quickly as possible. Since there was no real order to the food arriving at our table, I'll start talking about the most important item first - the Haw Gow (steamed shrimp dumplings). The dumpling skin was slightly on the chewier side, yet was thin enough where it wasn't doughy. The shrimp filling had a good bounce and crunch where it was very well-seasoned. It partially overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the shrimp though.

As always, we got the Sui Mai (pork & shrimp dumpling) to go along with the haw gow. These were smallish in size and were moist. The moistness was a blessing and a curse at the same time though. The dumpling ended up being a touch soft because of it. Despite this, the shrimp were nicely prepared where they exhibited a good crunch (which alleviated the softness of the meat somewhat). Once again, the dumpling was well-seasoned. One particular item that I seem to always order is the Bean Curd Skin Roll. Yes, it doesn't sound that appetizing and its wrinkly appearance may concern a few people. Hey, don't knock it until you try it! It is essentially pork filling encased in fried bean curd sheets. These rolls were somewhat loose with a filling consisting of ground pork, bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms and carrot. Overall, the roll had a good texture from the tender meat to the chewy (yet soft) bean curd skin. There was just enough oyster-based sauce to keep the rolls moist.

Another favourite of mine is the Steamed Blackbean Pork Spareribs. These were slightly over-tenderized where they were easy to chew, yet lacking in bite. The squash underneath the ribs was a mushy mess which was neither aesthetically-pleasing nor edible. The flavours were good with a good balance of savoury, sweet and a hint of spiciness. Now, this is where I would usually be talking about rice noodle rolls since my kiddies love them so much. However, they somehow got turned onto sticky rice. Then of course, we had to get the Lo Mei Gai (sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves). The rice itself was a little dry, yet it was moistened by the abundance of filling (which included ground pork, shiitake mushroom and dried shrimp). With no lack of ingredients, this made the entire thing flavourful while not salty either. Now just because we got the lo mei gai, that didn't mean we couldn't get the Soy-Fried Rice Noodle Rolls. Well, in the end, we were glad that we got both because the portion size of the rice noodle rolls had to be one of the smallest we've ever seen. I guess they made it up with quality as the noodles were soft and properly caramelized by a good pan-fry. They weren't that greasy and there was plenty of flavour.

Continuing on kiddie favourites, we got the Shrimp Spring Rolls as well. These arrived hot with very little to no grease at the bottom of the plate. These were obviously fried at the right temperature. The result was a crisp exterior which revealed lots of whole, crunchy shrimp. The only negative thing about the spring rolls was the overuse of salt, which completely masked the sweetness of the shrimp. Although this was not the end of the meal, it seems fitting to talk about the Mah Lai Goh or steamed sponge cake here since it is a kiddie favourite too. This came out steaming hot and very moist. Texture-wise, this was bang on. In terms of flavour, that was another story as they used far too much sugar. The kiddies loved it (duh... sugar), but I could barely eat a piece since it was so sweet.

Moving away from kid favourites, we had the Phoenix Talons (or chicken feet). Yah, that will be the day when my son would eat this... Anyways, despite the appearance of sauce atop the chicken feet, there wasn't really all that much on the plate. Hence, they were slightly dry. That didn't mean it was a total loss. Rather, they were fried nicely where the skin and gelatin underneath stayed intact. The dish was not devoid of flavour either as there was plenty of black bean, garlic and chili flakes. Onto another adult-only item was the Steamed Beef Tripe. Normally, these need to be rinse vigorously over an extended period of time. Otherwise, the gaminess of the tripe cannot be masked by any form of seasoning. In this case, we could definitely taste the gaminess. Despite this, the dish was predominantly sweet where it could've used more salt and some spice. Flavour issues aside, the texture of the tripe was perfect though. It straddled the fine line of being tender while retaining a chew.

Lastly, we had the Stuffed Eggplant with shrimp mousse. It came out hot and crisp with moist eggplant and "bouncy" shrimp filling. Again, the oil must've been the right temp because the eggplant was not greasy. The little sauce that was provided was flavourful enough for the amount of eggplant on the plate. Hey, it ain't the best Dim Sum we've ever had, but it was not bad considering it is a Szechuan joint. Prices are not as cheap as they used to be, yet it isn't incredibly unreasonable either. The place does the job considering there are only a few other Dim Sum joints nearby.

The Good:
- Okay eats considering everything
- Service is pretty decent
- Free parking at the back (only a few though)

The Bad:
- Prices have crept up over the years
- Limited selection of items