Shanghai Elan (ChineseBites Dinner)

Ever since we started this bi-weekly ChineseBites dinners (highlighting the very best dishes at local Chinese Restaurants), there has been a constant theme - Cantonese food.  Okay, I'm not complaining...  Alright, yes I am...  And yes it definitely qualifies as #firstworldproblems or #foodblogger- problems.  But the repetition of eating the same stuff over and over again, despite the joy of it all, gets a little boring.  Therefore, Raymond decided to change things up a little for this meal as we headed to Shanghai Elan for a change of pace.  Located in the former location of Pittsburg Restaurant (ew...), Shanghai Elan intends to offer up a cuisine that has very little in the way of competition out in Burnaby.  Of course I was overjoyed with the change in cuisine, but not-so-much about my arch nemesis - the Crystal Mall parking lot (cue the Psycho shower scene music here).  Since it was a Monday night, it was almost bearable to park there.  Finally.  A good experience.  Was it an omen of things to come???

Joining myself and of course Raymond, the usual crew of Rick, Janice, Alvin, Queenie, Kevin, Grace, Diana, Sean and Amy helped devour 14 courses of food...  We were able to order whatever we wanted, which was a brave thing for the restaurant to do.  We started with the Spicy Chicken which was somewhat spicy where the chicken was firm, yet cooked nicely.  The flesh was tender while the skin was gelatinous.  Next up was the Jellied Pork which was nicely arranged on a long plate.  I found the meat to be firm as well, but still moist.  It was flavourful with a meaty taste while the gelatin on top was soft and jiggly. Coming fast and furious (these are not hidden messages I swear!), we had the Jellyfish which was served with sliced cucumber and vinegar dressing.  I found the jellyfish to be crunchy and firm which was much like the cucumber.  The dressing was a bit understated though.  What is a visit to a Shanghainese restaurant without Xiao Long Bao?  It would be like going to the washroom and not witnessing the aftermath of poor aim.  Wait..  Bad analogy...  Well, we got 2 steamers worth and they were decent.  The dumpling skin was relatively thin except for the twist at the top (which is quite normal).  The amount of soup was alright, but it could've stood for more.  It was flavourful though, yet on the sweet side in need of more ginger. The meat was slightly gritty while still moist and tender.

I'm sure everyone has ordered a dish before because they saw a picture of it in the menu or at another table.  Well, the award for the "it looked better in the picture than it tasted" award went to the Wild Greens with Bean Curd and Pine Nuts. It wasn't like the dish was terrible, it was just underwhelming.  The predominant flavour was of sesame oil with a touch of saltiness.  The texture was slightly crunchy along with the softness of the crumbled bean curd. A dish that I love to eat, but rarely see anymore is the Moo Shoo Pork.  This dish usually consists of julienned pork wok-fried with hoisin and bean paste, then wrapped in steamed flour crepes.  Although they were heavy on the hoisin, hence rendering the dish sweet, the pork was flavourful enough to stand on its own within the crepe.  The pork itself was super moist and had a nice bounce texture.  The crepes were a little thick, but were far from chewy.  They worked nicely with the pork filling and didn't fall apart or dry out.  

Seeing how we only had one veggie dish so far (and it was a small one), we decided to try the Stir-Fried Potato and Eggplant.  It exhibited good wok heat visually and tastewise. None of the veggies were overcooked where the peppers had a snap while the eggplant retained its shape.  I guess the oil-blanching helped in that regard.  The potato was obviously fried too, but that helped it from becoming mush while being soft on the inside.  The flavours were mild and didn't overwhelm the ingredients. A Shanghainese Dim Sum classic is the Beef Pancake Roll and we certainly couldn't go without it.  For me, I endear myself to the panfried version, so when it came out deep fried, I was a little dismayed.  You see, when it is deep fried, the pancake gets quite greasy albeit being really crispy.  With that being said, the filling was really good.  The slices of beef shank were plentiful and moist with just enough hoisin and crunchy cucumber.  I could've done without the large amount of scallions, but it was easily removed.

Normally, I would avoid Sweet & Sour Fish as much as a lineup at the checkout at T&T, but something was different about this one...  Yes, it was good.  No joke.  I normally hate this dish, but they did something right.  The fish was fried really crispy but the flesh was still fish-like and relatively moist.  Furthermore the sweet & sour sauce was balanced and impactful with a nice consistency.  And I was not the only one to go for seconds either. With any Shanghainese meal, carbs are a must, so we had the Stir-Fried Rice Cake with spinach and julliened pork. Much like the other stir-fried dishes, there was good caramelization and wok heat.  Pleasing in appearance and taste, the sliced rice cake was moist yet still slightly chewy.  The spinach was still vibrant while the pork was tender.  This was followed by more carbs prepared in a similar manner being the Shanghai Fried Noodles also with spinach and jullienned pork (and some cabbage).  As usual, the dish was greasy (so the noodles don't stick to the wok) with good wok heat and caramelized flavours.  The noodles were al dente while the other ingredients were on point.


Lastly, we were served the Duck and Taro Soup with fried wontons.  Although a bit salty from the duck, the soup was full of flavour and had a certain smoothness from the soft taro (with edamame and chinese herbs).  The duck itself was really moist and flavourful (from the salt marinade).  To counteract the saltiness, our dessert was pretty sweet being the Glutinous Rice Balls filled with black sesame in a sweetened soup (with added mochi). I didn't really eat the soup as it was stingingly sweet but I loved the small morsels of soft mochi.  The rice balls were also soft and filled with aromatic black sesame.  Okay, I realize this was another hosted dinner by ChineseBites, but we were allowed to order whatever we wanted on a busy night.  Hence, this was a pretty good indication of what they are capable of.  On average, the food was pretty decent with very few slip-ups.  Sure, the big boys in Richmond have a word to say too, but if we look at Burnaby only, there is no competition for Shanghai Elan.

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

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- A bit greasy
- Tight seating

Sushi Village

Boy, I hadn't made a trip up to Whistler in quite some time. In fact, it was before this blog existed! That last visit was with Chill and Bubbly. We remember it vividly because we had invested in some stock during the trip which required us to fax important documentation. Huh? Why am I mentioning this? Well, we eventually lost over $10,000 each on it. Yes, we will probably remember it for as long as we live. Or until the next time we lose even more money... So as we arrived in Whistler Village, we met up with Bubbly and Chill for eats at the highly-rated Sushi Village. Similarly to most of the other restaurants in the village, the prices are pretty high.

We actually started with the Edamame which we didn't order, rather were "offered".  Hence, we had a surprise on the bill at the end.  Whatever, it didn't make or break the meal since we were a group of 16 and half were kids.  The edamame kept them busy... Viv and I ended up ordering a bunch of things to share amongst ourselves because it was just impractical to share with 16 people.  We started with the Mixed Poke consisting of red tuna, albacore tuna, toro and salmon.  This was a delicately constructed dish where the fish was fresh (as much as frozen fish can be fresh) while the sesame ponzu sauce was impactful, in particular, the sesame oil. As always, we went for the Assorted Tempura, which was neatly plated. The batter was relatively thin which meant it was light and crispy.  It was served hot from the fryer which was nice.  The oil must've been the right temperature as the tempura was not greasy, as you cannot see much oil on the bottom of the plate. The enoki mushroom was a welcomed addition to the plate, but was pretty hard to eat though.  

We also go an order of the Pork Gyoza which were fluffy with a crispy bottom.  The pork filling was moist and flavourful while the dipping sauce had a good balance between tartness and spiciness.  Even though we weren't sharing dishes at the table, we did still trade some items.  Chill's cousin had ordered the Hot Volcano Roll. It consisted of seared Hawaiian tuna, mango, jalapeños and topped with tobiko.  This was quite expensive at $14.95. Price withstanding, the roll itself was quite good.  From the nicely seared fish to the spicy kick, the mayo-ladened roll was a pleasure to eat.  The roll that we traded was the Double Hawaiian which consisted of Hawaiian tuna, crunchy tempura bits, cucumber and spicy-mayo wrapped with thinly sliced Hawaiian tuna. We found this roll kinda plain, yet there was plenty of fish and the sushi rice was pretty good leaning towards the dry side (flavours were good though).  The roll on the left was the SASSs which stood for shrimp tempura, avocado, scallop and salmon rolled with a soya bean sheet. Again, not the most exciting of rolls, yet again, there were some good components at play.

Our last dish was the Chicken Teriyaki which featured 2 whole chicken breasts lightly dressed in sauce.  The chicken was not as dry as we feared but the lack of sauce made it rather bland. However, Japanese cuisine is based on balance and nothing should really be too extreme.  One thing we do know is that the food at Village Sushi is solid.  Naturally, one would be paying village prices (and more so).  So it would really depend on the an individual's cost threshold.

The Good:
- Quality eats
- Careful preparation
- Good service

The Bad:
- Expensive

Cindys Palace (ChineseBites Dinner)

For those unfamiliar with the story of Cindy's Palace, let me give your the Spark's notes version...  Cindy used to operate Golden Phoenix on Nanaimo right next to Bon's.  But when their lease was up, the owners decided to run their own restaurant called Phoenix Garden.  That meant that Cindy had to relocate, which happened to be just up the street near 1st Ave.  I've been to Cindy's Palace for Dim Sum in the past year and it was definitely a good value with large portions (although some items needed work).  I was planning to do a revisit for dinner, but why do I even need to consider that anymore ever since I joined the eating crew at ChineseBites?  Yes, there was a scheduled dinner here right on cue...

The usual crew of Rick, Janice, Alvin, Queenie, Kevin, Grace, Diana, Sean and Amy were armed (with camera) and ready to be stuffed full of food once again.  We actually began the meal with Dim Sum items, but since I've already blogged about it, I'll skip to the Lamb & Fish Hot Pot.  More of a soup than a typical hot pot, the broth was sweet with only a touch of gaminess.  Whole garlic and ginger rounded out the flavours.  Naturally, with a whole fish in the soup, there would be bones and this was no exception.  Next up was the Steamed Chicken on Rice in Lotus Leaf.  In this application, the free-range chicken had actually been wok-fried first with shiitake, enoki, green & white onion, Chinese sausage and ginger before being placed atop the egg-fried rice base.  This way, there was much more flavour and caramelization than merely steaming it from raw.  A byproduct of wok-frying it first was the inherent greasiness of the product.  But then again, I'd take that over bland wet chicken.  Being free-range, the chicken was a bit chewy, but the flavours were good, especially the sweet onions and shiitake.  Loved the rice as it was chewy and not wet.

Presented in an edible Wintermelon "nest" was Stir-Fried Vegetables which consisted of water chestnuts, snow peas, button mushrooms, white fungus, wood ear mushrooms, ginko nuts and baby corn.  This vegetarian dish was all about the textures as the crunch from the snow peas and water chestnuts contrasted nicely with the soft watery Wintermelon.  The flavours were mild, yet the ginger really stood out.  Continuing on the serve-the-food-in-a-vegetable theme was the Stewed Pork Spareribs in a whole pumpkin.  Essentially, this was a larger version of the black bean spareribs found during Dim Sum.  The meat had a nice bounce and was tender.  There was a sweet garlicky flavour which was pretty strong.  Arriving in a lattice basket (of sorts) was the Stir-Fried Prawns with Special Tea Leaves.  Although I could clearly see a lot of tea leaves, it really didn't come through with flavour.  The prawns were slightly overdone, but were naturally sweet.

Another hybrid dish (could be Dim Sum or dinner item) was the Deep Fried Squid with salt & pepper (garlic and chilis too).  Although fairly crispy, I found the squid to be slightly overtenderized, hence there was no bite.  The flavours were also quite muted as there was little in the way of spice, but there was a decent garlic hit.  This was the only dish so far served on an actual plate.  But that trend bit the dust as the Stir-Fried Pork Cheek with vegetables was served in a fried wonton wrapper "nest".  The dish was glistening with oil as it was literally wok-fried.  Naturally, it did produce good caramelization of flavours and there was a noted level of spice.  The veggies were crunchy and vibrant while the pork cheek was moist with a slight chew.

Then we had a dish that was reminiscent of a dish associated with post-partum women - Brasied Pork Hock with Special Preserved Plum Sauce.  While not exactly the same dish, there was this sweet tart vinegary ginger flavour going on.  The pork hock skin was soft and gelatinous with equally soft tendon and meat underneath.  I happen to like pork hock and in particular, the actual "gewn cho" where the sauce is sweet vinegar-based (the post-partum dish).  Yes, I am not afraid to admit it - I ate most of Viv's portion when our parents made a big pot of it...  Shame shame...  Anyways, the next dish was a curious one.  It was the Panfried Vermicelli with Beef in Black Pepper Sauce.  I've had this dish countless times in the past, but not quite like this.  They literally panfried the vermicelli in one piece so it became a pancake of sorts, then the cut it up into wedges and placed it on top of the rest of the noodles and ingredients. The flavour of the dish was fine as well as the tender beef, but I think  the crunchy (and chewy) noodles were more of a hindrance to the dish as opposed to an addition. 

For our last savoury dish, we had Cindy's Special Fried Rice with egg, green onion, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp and gai lan stalks.  This was a well-prepared fried rice which was nutty, chewy and with enough flavour. To celebrate Halloween, the first dessert was made to look like miniature pumpkins.  These were actually made with pumpkins being the Baked Pumpkin Pastries.  These semi-sweet morsels were soft and really greasy.  Squeezing them was not a good idea.  Lastly, we had the Glutinous Rice Balls with Sesame Paste.  These were visually appealing with both black and regular sesame seeds adorning the exterior.  They balls were crunchy and the sesame paste was not overly sweet.  I liked this dessert for its texture.  Naturally, as this was a hosted dinner, the chef's tried their best to be creative and original.  Kudos to them for that even though not everything worked as planned.  Yet, the bottom line is that the dinner as a whole was decent enough.

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

Jong Ga

With so many choices for Korean eats along North Road, it can get a little confusing for some.  Actually, the "some" includes myself.  That would probably explain my puny collection of Korean restaurants - from that area - on my blog.  Half of them, I can't even pronounce their names, let alone remember them!  Okay, avoid no more.  Time to tackle North Road starting now. And it always helps if there are eating companions, so I enlisted the help of Big D and Slick who are always good for a good amount of food.  We ended up going to Jong Ga which has one of the better ratings on Urbanspoon.

Of course we started with the Banchan consisting of spinach, kimchi, sprouts, daikon and black beans.  These were pretty good with nothing amiss although we really liked the black beans.  They had a firm texture while being nicely seasoned with soy and sesame oil. The kimchi was quite mild and could've been spicer though. Our first dish was a modest portion of Japchae.  Since it was only $13.00, we were not expecting a huge plate, yet it wasn't a whole lot either.  It was prepared well though with tender shaved beef while the veggies were not overcooked.  The noodles were on the softer side and a bit wet.  We found the flavours to be sweet (which Japchae is usually) and beefy.  

As per usual, we had to get the Dolset Bibimbap which was very good in our opinion.  The stone bowl was super hot where the rice formed a beautiful golden brown crust.  It was crispy and nutty.  We would've preferred that they served the gochujang on the side instead of putting it on top of the rice. Big D really likes the Beef Rib Soup at Jong Ga and insisted we order it.  Well, I could see why.  The soup was full of tender pieces of rib where the meat practically melted in our mouths.  The soup itself was a bit thin where the flavours were not that that strong.  However, it was far from being bland either.  

Lastly, we had the Seafood Pancake which arrived sizzling on a hot plate.  It was oily, as usual, yet not that oily.  The exterior was crispy while the inside was filled with a decent amount of seafood which included squid, shrimp, mussels and crab stick.  There was quite a lot of green onion as well.  Overall, we thought the food was executed quite well.  Of course not everything was perfect, but as I always say, nothing ever is.  We were really impressed with the rice crust on the dolset bibimbap since many places don't even come remotely close.  As usual, service was sparse, but not unfriendly.  Only issue was the parking.  There are not enough spots for the plaza and if you dare park somewhere else, you run the risk of being towed.

The Good:
- Solid food
- Reasonably-priced
- Friendly, if not sparse service

The Bad:
- Sparse, if not friendly service
- Lack of parking
- Portion sizes are on the smaller side

Ravenswood Winery Dinner @ The Flying Pig

As much as blogging has been a money-losing proposition (because food is so darn expensive!), there are perks - like being invited to various dinners.  This was the case with a recent soiree at the Flying Pig hosted by Ravenswood Winery. Viv and I were treated to a 4-course formal meal with wine pairings (naturally from Ravenswood).  There were a few familiar faces, including Kevin and Terry David Mulligan (who is quite the wine connoisseur).  Now, I'm not going to pass myself off as any wine expert, because I'm not.  However, I do enjoy wine, knowing what I like and do not like.  Having been to the Flying Pig for lunch, I was excited to see what was in store for dinner.

Before the food arrived, the wine was already flowing with the Ravenswood VB Chardonnay 2010 and the VB Zinfandel 2009.  I think I might've only sampled one of them as I was a bit late arriving.  In terms of the food, we started with the Quadra Island Honey Mussels with tomzito corn and speck broth and a side of matchstick frites.  The mussels were sweet and plump with saltiness provided by the pancetta.  An extra burst of sweetness from the corn niblets was a nice surprise.  The accompanying frites were crispy and light, yet very salty.  Fortunately, our wine pairing, the Sangiacomo Chardonnay, was fruity and strong which help offset the saltiness.  Our second course started off with 2 wine pairings which included the Lodi Zinfandel 2009 and the Sonoma Zinfandel County Series 2008.  Viv and I disagreed as to which one worked better with our second course - the Bromme Lake Duck Duo consisting of braised leg and sweet pea garganelli with crispy duck breast cases in a red wine reduction.  Regardless of wine, I think we disagree in general on a lot of things!  LOL...I liked the Lodi Zinfindal since it went down smooth with some berry notes. Viv preferred the other wine indicating it had more pronounced tannins.  As for the duck, the silky reduction was rich and balanced.  We found the braised duck a touch stringy, yet meaty in flavour without being salty.  The breast was moist while the skin being a bit chewy.  Soaking up the delicious sauce was the al dente garganelli.
 
Onto our 3rd course, we had the Duo of Vension consisting of bacon wrapped venison striploin and a skillet roasted chop with parsnip puree and wild cherries.  Served with this dish was the Barricia Zinfandel 2008 and Old Hill Zinfandel 2008. Again, Viv and I did not agree where I thought the Old Hill was more balanced than the really strong Barricia. Moving onto the venison, the chop was tender and cooked beautifully.  The sauce had a considerable impact in terms of depth and consistency.  The cherries definitely added a welcomed level of sweetness.  We were surprised to find the striploin to be equally tender since venison is quite lean (being cooked rare didn't hurt either).  Also, I loved the fried brussels sprouts on the side.  With the onset of a meat coma, we were presented with the Braised Organic Beef Short Rib with aged Canadian cheddar mashed potatoes and Dry Creek Valley bone marrow jus. The best part of this dish was the bone marrow as it was fatty, roasted in flavour and just downright tasty.  We found the mash to be a touch dry while the short rib was meaty, mostly tender and dry in some spots.  The au jus was flavourful where we could definitely taste the wine (in a good way).  This was served with Teldeschi Zinfandel 2009 which definitely was full-bodied with strong tannins.

Lastly, we were presented with the Chevrot Cheese Brulee with candied pecans and fresh fruit.  Personally, I've never been a fan of cheese for dessert, but this was okay, although Viv didn't like the gaminess of the Chevrot. The wine pairing of the Late Harvest Gewurztraminer was sweet as expected.  I won't deny that this was definitely a treat where there was good food to go along with the many different glasses of wine.

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