Triple-O's Peanut Butter Bacon Jalapeno Burger

We've seen this story before.  Slap something strange on a burger and voila, gourmet burger.  From short rib to foie gras, there are an endless array of toppings that can transform a "burger" into something either gourmet or exotic. Then how about a burger with bacon and jalapenos?  *Yawn* Boooring.  Okay, let's slap on some chunky peanut butter...  Huh?  Peanut butter?  On a burger??? But there is lettuce, tomato and beef!  The humanity!  Yah, something as simple as peanut butter suddenly puts a burger in the same league as one with foie.

Well, not quite, but it is different at least.  The good people at White Spot wanted me to try their creation and sent me a voucher to do so.  So I went to see if this combination worked or not.

To complete the peanut butter bacon theme, I decided to throw in some change to substitute the soft drink with a Peanut Butter, Bacon & Banana Milkshake.  No, that is not a typo.  So how does a milkshake with such ingredients taste like?  Well, it was quite rich as expected since the banana and peanut butter only helped make the whole thing

thicker and creamier. It was definitely sweet, yet the bacon helped balance the flavours with its saltiness.  However, the most interesting aspect of this shake was the crunchy bacon bits.  They did not soften in the liquid, hence there was a crispiness to each sip.  I didn't mind the milkshake, it tasted a whole lot better than it sounded.  Now for the main event, the Peanut Butter Bacon Jalapeno Burger.  Again, I honestly thought the peanut butter would get in the way of everything, but in the end, it took somewhat of a backseat to the copious amount of jalapeno slices.  The tang and kick from the peppers really amped up the burger while the crispy bacon offered up some sodium.  I'm not sure about the combination of mayo and peanut butter though.  I did appreciate the use of chunky peanut butter since it added texture and more peanutty goodness. And as per usual, I got a side of Triple-O Sauce for the fries.  A great way to complete this low-fat meal...

The Good:
- At the very least, they dared to be different
- Milkshake with the crunchy bits was not bad

The Bad:
- Low fat it is not

Pop Up Soda Shoppe presented by Swallow Tail

Ever since the disaster otherwise known as the "Summer of Love" presented by Swallow Tail, I was not expecting another invite. After all, I had essentially trashed them. There was no way around it. It was not a satisfying experience. Well, you gotta give them props for not only taking responsibility for the fiasco, but to actually send me another invite shortly after. I really respect that because I've had the complete opposite response before in a different situation. One restaurant (which I will not name) actually pulled my invitation after I had posted on them prior (it was a so-so post) to the "intended" meal. Well, I guess they weren't too confident in their product or they were just plain peeved. Whatever the case, I can't control that. I just have to be true to myself and say what needs to be said.

So the event hosted by Swallow Tail was the Pop Up Soda Shoppe which featured 5 vendors serving up desserts at a cost. To gain entrance into the event (which was being held at The Ridge Theatre), there was a $15.00 fee. In addition to partial proceeds to Growing Chefs, I guess that helped cover for the rental of the facility, logistics, supplies, wages and of course profit. For me, I personally would've liked to see a higher flat fee which would include the food. Give people stamp cards for each vendor so they don't go back 10 times. When I first arrived, I sampled some of their alcoholic beverages which featured Fernet Float, Chocolate Chartreuse Milkshake, Razzle Dazzle Soda and Albino Hemingway Daiquiri. I tried all of them and my favourite was the soda because it was not as strong as the others. Of note, the milkshake was truly herbal as mentioned in its description. These were not cheap ranging from $10.00 - $12.00. Operating from the concession stand was Earnest Ice Cream. Truthfully, I'd never heard of them before, but I'm glad I got the chance to sample their wares. They had 4 flavours to choose from including Cardamom with candied orange peel and corn flowers, Vanilla with hot fudge and buttered salted hazelnuts, Chocolate with hot fudge and maldon salt, and Cheesecake with brandied caramelized peaches & graham cracker. Of the 4, I liked the Cardamom the best because it was a bit different without being overwhelming (such as the Kulfi Ice Cream from Recipes to Riches). I thought the sweetness was under control while there was a welcomed density to the it.

Off to the right was a free sampling of Sayuri Sake with salted watermelon. Due to the dilution of the sweet sake with soda water, it was naturally quite weak. Personally, it wasn't a big deal but I can see some people wanting the sake straight up. Moving into the theatre itself, they were playing Grease on the big screen. That was a nice touch which not only fit with the theme, but one could actually sit down to watch the movie if they so wished (volume was a bit low though to not interfere with the vendors). The good people from Che Baba were there with a one-bite dessert for $1.00. It was an Almond Tart with chocolate ganache and a fresh raspberry. It was pretty good and happened to be the least expensive offering. As for their macarons, they had sold out. That was also the problem with Cartems as they sold out before we had a chance to sample their offering of 3 mini-donuts for $5.00. Well, I've had them before and I like them despite the grease.

Lastly, there was Beta5 with probably my favourite treats of the night. Their table was filled with a mix of free sample items and paid ones. The most memorable were the caramels, in particular, the passionfruit. It was buttery, smooth and the flavour of the passionfruit was unmistakable. I was given a sample box of their wonderful assorted chocolates which included such interesting flavours like Imperial Stout and Olive Oil. I found the sweetness of the chocolates to be just right as well as the velvety texture. Upon leaving, we were presented with a Chinese takeout box containing coupons along with a bottle of Boylan soda. As Bear and I walked away, we debriefed and came to the conclusion that one needs to give Swallow Tail credit for attempting an event such as the Pop Up Soda Shoppe. Vancouver sorely lacks fun activities and this is a step in the right direction. However, with a $15.00 entrance fee (which includes partial proceeds to Growing Chefs) that required patrons to pay extra for food (except for the sake/watermelon) could be refined. Personally, I'd much rather pay a higher flat fee for all of my food included. Just have a stamp card to prevent people from sampling too much from each vendor. Now on the topic of vendors, we thought they were good choices, yet there could've been 1 or 2 more. Yes, the Ridge Theatre (which is an appropriate venue considering the theme) isn't exactly large, but there was room for more. Again, a good concept which needs more refinement and change to an all-inclusive fee.

The Good:
- Neat concept
- Relatively good choices in vendors

The Bad:
- Entrance fee + a la carte pricing needs to be rethought
- Need more vendors/activities
- Several vendors ran out of items an hour before the event was to end

Salade de Fruits

I'll admit it. It is often difficult to do repeat visits to restaurants, even if they are personal favourites. Why? The main reason is that I (and others in my group) often want to try new places. This leaves very little time for return visits. Normally, any repeat visit would involve a certain amount of time passing (because things might've changed like the staff, menu, chef etc...). Sometimes it is to try more dishes beyond the ones on the original meal or it could be lunch vs. dinner service. This time around, our visit to Salade de Fruits was mostly based on the fact I haven't been back in 3 years. Furthermore, with a bigger group, we could try more dishes as well. And the most important reason? My mom really wanted to try the place and I had kept promising her for 3 years! Yah, I didn't want to keep promising her for another 3 years... LOL.

Although I had my sights set on the large pot of mussels (which would be quite filling), the Duck Rillette caught my eye. It arrived in 3 large pieces with gerkins and a caraway papadum. Although the rillette had a moist texture, I found it to be quite wet. That helped water down the flavours which would've been more pronounced if it were more dry. Despite this, we still enjoyed it. As mentioned, I only had my eye on one item, which was the large Moules et Frites. As evidenced in the picture, many of the mussels were large and plump. Only 3 of them were unopened. They sat in a flavourful (a touch salty) broth consisting of white wine, cream, garlic and onions. And when I say large pot, this was a substantial amount of mussels. On the side, the frites were equally substantial. They were crispy while a touch dense. They went well with the aioli on the side.

Viv decided to go for their sandwich special of the day which happened to be Steak Sandwich. It was done a perfect medium-rare where the meat was moist and tender. It came with caramelized onions, tomato and Dijon. I found the bread to be a touch hard, but then again, it needed to be in order to stand up to the ingredients. This was only $9.00! Continuing on the steak theme, my mom had the Steak Frites with a ginger marinade. Once again, it was cooked nicely medium-rare. Due to the cut of the meat, it wasn't super tender, but it wasn't tough either. Visually and tastewise, there was a subtle sweet ginger hit which really complimented the meat. The big mound of frites helped soak up the juices.

When lamb is on the menu, I have a hard time resisting. So... we also got the Souris d'agneau (lamb shank). The meat was mostly fall-off-the-bone tender except for a few spots which were a dry. The sauce had a nice balance of flavours with only a moderate red wine hit. By virtue of opting for rice, the dish looked much less substantial than if we had went for the frites. My dad wanted to eat something healthier, so he went with the Sole au Four. It was a beautifully baked piece of fish which was moist and flaky. It was dressed with a lemon butter caper sauce which was probably defeated the purpose of eating healthy (that's French food for you!). For the kiddies, we got them the Penne Fruits de Mer (or seafood penne). The penne was soft and not al dente, partly because it was swimming a aromatic and creamy saffron sauce. The seafood consisted of shrimp, mussels and fish. Another solid value at $13.00.

As you can probably guess, the big draw at Salade de Fruits are the reasonable prices, especially for French cuisine. It's true that the seating is tight and the service (although friendly) can be a bit sparse at times, but c'mon, look at the reaonable pricing. Furthermore, the food in general is solid, if not quite good. Considering that any of the chain restaurants in town would cost considerably more to dine at (with more generic and less interesting food), Salade de Fruits should be on everyone's list for either lunch or dinner.

The Good:
- Inexpensive French cuisine
- Generally good food
- The staff really do speak French

The Bad:
- Not the most comfortable places to dine at with a larger group
- Service is not bad, yet there could be long stretches without anyone checking on you

Pho Newton

If you've been keeping track or paying attention, this eating adventure would mark the third time in 3 days I've eaten a bowl of Pho. To some, that might seem excessive. To me, I just love Pho. I actually had it 3 times in one day once. One of the reasons I chose to have a steaming hot bowl of soup noodle in some pretty warm weather was to do a comparison with Pho on Chopsticks (which I visited the day before). Paying $11.00 and $9.00 respectively for Pho and Banh Mi was a little unsettling (even if the decor and presentation were nice...). I wanted to experience the "usual" pricing of Vietnamese eats and at a place which was still in Surrey. That would be Pho Newton... in well, Newton.

I went with the usual being the Pho Dac Biet which consisted of most of the meats including brisket, flank, rare steak, meatball, tendon and tripe. There was a significant amount of meat atop the al dente noodles. All of which were sliced thin and tender. The meat was moist and not dry-at-all including the rare steak. As for the broth, I took a sample before adding all the condiments and it was very light, sweet and had a noticeable hint of daikon. When I started eating the bowl of Pho as a whole, the broth was quickly overwhelmed. I would go as far as saying it was pretty bland. Not happy with just a bowl of Pho, I also had the Newton Special Banh Mi. It was an interesting mix of the usual Vietnamese ham, pickled daikon and carrots, pate, butter-mayo and cilantro with a meat that resembled regular ham and shredded lettuce. Not a typical combination, but in the end, it did taste good. I like how the flavour of the pate came through, however, the pickled vegetable could've had more zip. The baguette was light, airy and crunchy.

Now, not long after, I went back to get takeout in the form of the Lemongrass Chicken on Rice. For $10.00, it wasn't cheap, but it was a significant amount of food. There were 2 large deboned chicken legs which were cooked up beautifully. There was both good colour and flavour. Furthermore, the chicken had a texture which I can only describe as "fully-cooked, yet not dry". I struggled to finish the whole thing. This was the best of the 3 dishes I had tried at Pho Newton. Although not my first choice for Vietnamese in Surrey, Pho Newton does the job, especially with the lack of good options nearby.

The Good:
- Friendly staff
- Clean
- Typical inexpensive pricing for this type of food

The Bad:
- Broth is on the blander side

Chopsticks on Pho

Alright. We are pretty familiar with the typical Pho joint right? Usually pretty crappy looking exterior with an equally confusing interior. The decor could resemble a Greek, Italian or Indian restaurant, but it is unmistakably a Vietnamese restaurant. Hey, I ain't complaining. The food usually speaks for itself and the prices are easy on the wallet. However, there seems to be a trend towards "nice-looking" or even upscale Vietnamese dining. Take Broken Rice for instance. The place is designed from the ground up as a Vietnamese restaurant. Furthermore, the food is both refined and no longer "value-priced". With that in mind, I was curious about the latest entry into the "classy" Pho arena - Chopsticks on Pho out in Surrey.

Joining me was Mrs. Spray Bottle, who shared a Tasting Platter at the end of our meal. Yes, we didn't start with it because it took awhile to prepare, but I'll talk about it first anyways. It included skewers of BBQ Nem Pork, Satay Chicken, Grilled Garlic Prawns, Spring Roll and Salad Roll. Although the spring roll was good with a crispy exterior and moist filling, I was dismayed at the use of a wheat wrapper. The salad roll was really good with a nicely textured rice wrapper and fresh ingredients. The pork and chicken skewers were carefully prepared, hence they were moist and tender. I particularly loved the pork skewer as it was quite flavourful. The snappy prawns were more like shrimp and they could've done a better job at deveining them.

Mrs. Spray Bottle ended up with the Banh Mi which was ridiculously priced at $8.95. It was made with lemongrass chicken with the usual condiments including pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, jalapeno and a house aioli (in place of the regular butter mayo). The sandwich was pretty good with a crusty baguette and crisp veggies, however, there could've been a more pronounced lemongrass hit. For myself, I had "The Works" Pho (aka Pho Dac Biet minus the tripe and tendon). I found the broth sweet and somewhat fragrant. It could've used more meat depth and savouriness. The noodles were al dente while the modest amount of meat was tender. In general, we enjoyed the food here, but there was one thing that kept bugging me - the prices. I realize the place is clean and modern while the food is neatly presented. Yet, that comes with a price, which is an average $3.00 premium over regular Vietnamese joints. We'll have to see if people are willing to shell out the extra money in the long run.

The Good:
- Clean and modern room
- Owner that cares about his business and customers
- Food is generally above average

The Bad:
- Prices are too high for this type of food

Hoi An Cafe

I think I underestimated Labour Day Monday. To think everyone was still coming back from out-of-town or doing last minute back-to-school shopping was a mistake. Originally, Viv and I (with the kiddies) were planning to try Lam Hoa Quan on Victoria. No dice. The place was packed. We even tried Western Lake, which was a total fail because of the 2 hour wait (like that was a surprise). So we decided to go across the street to Hoi An Cafe, where we snagged the last table. With all the restaurants closing down as of late, it appears small Asian spots are doing just fine...

So, I ended up with the Bun Bo Hue since Viv had already called dibs on the Pho. I asked for spicy which really didn't come to fruition. The broth was more fragrant than hot. Actually, this was one of the least spicy versions I've had lately. However, I could definitely pick out the lemongrass flavour and the soup itself was quite pleasant. I loved that they kept it traditional with the inclusion of pork knuckle and pig's blood. Moreover, the meats were moist and plentiful. The Pho was pretty typical with a decent amount of al dente noodles and meat. We did find the meat a bit dry and chewy though. The broth was sufficiently flavourful with a sweet finish. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. Apparently, I missed out on their signature item, the Mi Cao Lau. I need to try it next time!

For the kiddies, we got them an order of the Fried Chicken (which resembled Taiwanese fried chicken nuggets). These little nuggets were mostly moist with a few harder pieces due to the deep-frying. The flavour was quite mild with only a minor hint of black pepper. Lastly, we got some Banh Bot Loc in hopes that the kids would have some. Nope. That was a pipe dream. We tried to pass it off as sticky rice, but they didn't buy it. Viv and I enjoyed it though. The tapioca was gelatinous and soft with a piece of shrimp and fatty pork inside. Dipped into the sweet lemongrass fish sauce, it was one of the highlights of the meal.

While we were eating, I was really questioning why we were eating Pho on a hot Summer day. For some reason or another, I seem to do that quite regularly. On the other hand, it is pretty hot in Vietnam... And yes, it was pretty warm in the restaurant. Either the A/C was weak or they didn't have any. Whatever the case, the food was generally pretty good and the prices were pretty typical. Although the service was hurried, the staff were friendly and efficient. I'd return for another meal.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Not sure if it is a bad or not, but the washroom was very interesting...
- Not exclusive to this restaurant, but the seating is tight

City 1 Cafe

I truly think there should be a Chinese-version of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. Think of it, most, if not all non-fine-dining Chinese restaurants are a diner or dive of some sort. The food is generally inexpensive and some real gems are just waiting to be discovered. Instead of the catch-phrase "That's Money", maybe the host can say "Jeng!" ("Excellent" in Chinese). How about a fu-manchu instead of a goatee? And instead of a 67 Camaro, maybe the host could drive a Toyota Corolla courtesy car! Oh the possibilities... Well, on my version of the show (on a blog that is), we found ourselves at City 1 Cafe, tucked inside King Edward Mall in Vancouver.

From the outside, it would be hard to guess it serves up Malaysian cuisine. Indeed it does and the place was pretty full during a weekday lunch hour. After a brief wait, we got a table and quickly ordered. We started 2 of each meat with the Satay. These were rather small, but properly cooked where the meat was moist. There was a slight char that added a nice flavour as well as the curry marinade. The dip was peanutty and sweet with a smooth texture. Personally, I like a chunkier peanut dip. I decided to add a Laksa as well and it was a pretty modest portion. The broth was okay with lots of flavour, yet lacking a bit in depth. I did like the hits of coconut milk and dried shrimp though. There wasn't a whole lot of noodles and there was only the occasional ingredient to be found. An average Laksa in my books.

For the main event, we got a Half Hainanese Chicken with 3 bowls of chicken fat rice. By virtue of using free-range chicken, the meat was naturally chewier. It was sufficiently moist considering this. It was prepared fairly well where there was a layer of gelatin underneath the skin. The grated ginger and onion condiment was on the saltier side as well as the chicken rice. However, the rice had a nice chewy texture and a gingery/nutty quality to it. Lastly, we added an order of the Curry Beef Brisket with a side of Roti. Once again, the portion was small with only 6 pieces of beef mixed in with 4 large chunks of potato. The curry was thin and lacking in depth. It was starch-thickened which made it more of a Chinese curry than anything else. We did like the Roti though as it was crispy and light with good colour. However, it could've been a larger size as it was not enough for the amount of curry.

Okay, as you can ascertain from the post, the food was acceptable, but it definitely was Chinese-inspired. If you are an authenticity snob, then you'd best move along. Furthermore, the portion sizes are quite modest-to-small. Between Viv and I with the 2 kids (who don't eat a whole lot), we dusted off all of the food and could've eaten more. For those who don't really care, City 1 Cafe offers up cuisine that doesn't have a lot of competition nearby. Not my first choice for Malay food in Vancouver, but does the job considering its location.

The Good:
- Decent service
- Clean
- Okay pricing considering the neighbourhood

The Bad:
- Smallish portions
- Not authentic (if that matters to you)