skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The chances of finding me hanging out at a juice and/or health bar are directly correlated to media invites. Yes, I'm not much of the health nut and I went into this invite like many others of the same genre - with trepidation. It's not like I don't like juice though, I just don't seek it. The interesting thing about Hangry Health Bar is that not only do they serve up some nutritious eats, Commodity Juicery sets up shop there as well. We got a wide range of items to try including juices, smoothies, rice bowls and smoothie bowls.
Packed with pineapple, mango, cantaloupe, banana, turmeric, ginger, dates, coconut, & apple juice, the Coco Loco smoothie bowl was loaded with flavour. If you can imagine, the combination of fruit added natural sweetness and the topping of goji berries, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes and chia seeds and almonds provided both textures and several more layers of tastes. As much as I'm not into the health food thing, I enjoyed eating this and went back for more helpings.
We then moved onto sampling Commodity juices with the Sunrise, Sweet Greens, Mighty Greens, Orange Roots, Feel the Beet, Matcha Milk and Purple Puppy. For me, my favourites were the lighter juices including the Sunrise sporting the sweetness and tang of grapefruit with a hint of mint. I also enjoyed the Orange Roots where the layers of flavour from the apple, carrot, lemon and turmeric was sweet and aromatic. The one odd duck from this selection was the Matcha Milk which was creamy and milky with cashews, almond and maple syrup.
The other major item on the menu were the Hangry Bowls including the Marley, El Loco, Bangkok, Wild West and Hawaiian. I thought the Bangkok with tofu was the most impactful as the spicy peanut added lots of crunch and lingering heat. There was also a balancing sweetness. Also rather spicy was the Marley with chicken. The jerk sauce had oomph while the crunch from the cucumbers added texture and brightness. I guess spicy was the theme as the El Loco with chicken featured a creamy and spicy chipotle sauce. The freshness of the salsa lightened things up.
We ended off with some Signature Smoothies in the Tropical Storm, Strawburst and Very Berry. Consisting of pineapple, mango, cantaloupe and banana, there were layers of fruit in addition to the aromatic coconut in the Tropical Storm. I thought the Strawburst was similar to many strawberry banana smoothies I've had, but with a twist of cinnamon (just enough though). Again, the Very Berry seemed like a typical offering, yet it was spiked with lemon and ginger which added a touch of bite. These were some refreshing treats to end off the tasting which was a whole lot better than I was expecting. As much as these were fairly healthy bevvies and rice bowls, there was no absence of impactful flavours.
The Good:
- Things tasted good and not in a mild manner
- Lots of choice
- They aren't afraid of adding spice to their rice bowls
The Bad:
- I guess some might find it pricey, but the ingredients aren't cheap
Call it the power of suggestion. Bam Bam mentioned "wontons" and that is what was on my mind for the duration of our Monday softball game. This was probably the reason I caught every ball easily and even made some nice plays. Subconsciously, I was thinking that the softballs were big wontons that needed to be caught, not dropped. Suffice to say, I was hungry for wontons once the game ended, so we made the trek out to Tsim Chai Noodles in Richmond.
We ended up with a selection consisting of larger dishes and the smaller "da lang" items. First to hit the table was the Brisket Lo Mein with the usual side of soup. I found the noodles to be appealingly thin and chewy with a good elasticity and rebound. On top, the brisket was full-flavoured but completely chewy. On that note, the texture was exactly the same in the Curry Beef Brisket. The meat was generally dry and chewy. There was the occasional softer piece, but overall, it was not great texturally. Interestingly, the whole dish did not taste like curry at all (Chinese version or otherwise). In fact, it tasted like the one in the lo mein (not unusual because they braise the brisket for multiple uses). The problem with the curry sauce was it was pretty bland and lack spice
Another large item was the Honey Garlic Chicken, well relatively at least. I say that because it was shockingly small considering it was $14.00. With that being said, it was good though with tender pieces of white meat that was lightly battered. The sauce was definitely pungent from the abundance of garlic. It was also pretty sweet due to the honey. We also got the Scrambled Eggs and Shrimp which for once was pretty bang on in description. You see, usually we get giant shrimp (oxymoron?) or prawns when we ordered this dish. However, these were definitely shrimp figuratively and literally. They were cold-water crunchy though and the egg was silky and well-seasoned. Moreover, there was lots of it, so it somewhat made up for the lack of size (yet still not as impactful).
Bear loves black pepper and suggested we order the Black Pepper Beef Fried Noodles. For once, this was a decent size with crunchy noodles topped with a marginal amount of sauce, beef, peppers and sprouts. This dish was not as spicy and flavourful as it may have sounded. In fact, it was as bland as the curry beef. Despite this, it wasn't a terrible dish as the noodles softened up enough with the sauce provided and the beef was fairly tender. Onto some smaller dishes, we got the Sweet & Sour Pork (in honour of Milhouse, who is on the LTIR for the softball season). This was actually very good with tender and meaty chunks of pork coated in a thin later of crispy batter. We found the sauce to be well-balanced between vinegar and sugar.
Staying with the da lang menu, we got 2 similarly flavoured items being the Garlic and Salt Fried Pork Chops and the Garlic and Salt Fried Tofu. Both were a lot spicier than anticipated especially the pieces touching the red chilis. There was also enough MSG, salt and white pepper for full effect. The tofu was completely crispy while still somewhat moist inside. As for the pork chops, the exterior was crispy and not overly greasy. The meat itself was properly tenderized where it was soft while retaining a meaty chewiness. They were wok-tossed in enough seasoning for the flavours to penetrate the entire pork chops. As you can see, the portion size for these items were rather small (and so they should be), but for nearly $10.00, it was not a great value.
Just because we knew they made good Wontons, we got one order in soup. These were medium-sized and consisted of both shrimp and pork. We found the shrimp to have a buttery snap while the pork had the classic rebound texture. They were nicely seasoned with a balance of sweet and savoury notes including a hint of sesame oil. We also enjoyed the flavourful soup which was more savoury than sweet. Not surprisingly, this was the highlight of our meal and we would come back specifically for them. However, the rest of the food was hit and miss while lacking in terms of overall value.
The Good:
- Solid wontons
- Decent service
- Overall okay food
The Bad:
- Expensive
- Small portion size (even the large dishes)
As much as there are a wide array of Vietnamese restaurants in the GVRD, there are some dead spots of sorts. Referring to Burnaby, I can attest to the lack of choices in the Burnaby North area. Yes, there is the token Pho 101, but that is about it. One would have to travel down Hastings closer to Boundary to find more options. Another black hole of Vietnamese cuisine resides in the Brentwood area where up until recently, there were no choices. Enter Pho D'Lite tucked away in the Whole Foods complex. I think they have the market cornered for the time being!
Of course, Viv and I decided to check it out. I spotted the Butter Garlic Wings on the menu and of course had to do my "is it as good as Phnom Penh routine". Although they were flavourful and nicely spiced with hits of garlic, the skin was soft and fatty. There was no crispiness at all. Furthermore, there was a considerable amount of grease. We found the Pho Dac Biet to be well-portioned with a decent amount of thinly sliced meats. They were tender while the broth was clean and lightly seasoned. The most dominant flavour was the sweetness of daikon.
We also got a Vermicelli Bowl with spring roll, lemongrass chicken and sausage. Considering that one item costs $10.00 whereas 3 costs $13.00, it seemed to us that it was worth the extra $3.00. This was a fairly decent dish where the spring roll was crunchy with a moist filling. The chicken was not succulent per se, but it was hardly dry either. Loved that the skin was well-rendered. There was no absence of seasoning either.
On another visit, I had the Bun Bo Hue and I found the broth to be rather one-note. There was definitely spiciness, but not much in the way of aromatics. I would've liked to have some seafoodiness to add another layer of flavour. Although it was missing both the pork knuckle and blood, the meats were decently tender and well-portioned. We really enjoyed the Pork Belly with rice as the sauce was aromatic from the coconut milk and ever-so-slightly spicy with a background sweetness. The meat was really tender and moist.
The kiddies shared the Lemongrass Chicken, Pork Chop and Sausage on Rice. Texturally, the chicken was still moist despite a slightly dry exterior. We found it drier than the first time. It still tasted quite aromatic though. As much as the pork chop seemed thin and dry, it was fairly tender and once again, well-marinated. The pork sausage had a nice rebound and tasted rather sweet. Overall, the 2 visits to Pho D'Lite were pleasant enough with decent eats. Sure, it won't be confused for the best Vietnamese in town, but there is nothing else like it in the neighbourhood.
The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Decent eats
- Okay service
The Bad:
- Of course there is better, but if you live nearby, this is rather convenient
- Can be rather busy and more than 30 mins free parking is hard to find
Posts
The chances of finding me hanging out at a juice and/or health bar are directly correlated to media invites. Yes, I'm not much of the health nut and I went into this invite like many others of the same genre - with trepidation. It's not like I don't like juice though, I just don't seek it. The interesting thing about Hangry Health Bar is that not only do they serve up some nutritious eats, Commodity Juicery sets up shop there as well. We got a wide range of items to try including juices, smoothies, rice bowls and smoothie bowls.
Packed with pineapple, mango, cantaloupe, banana, turmeric, ginger, dates, coconut, & apple juice, the Coco Loco smoothie bowl was loaded with flavour. If you can imagine, the combination of fruit added natural sweetness and the topping of goji berries, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes and chia seeds and almonds provided both textures and several more layers of tastes. As much as I'm not into the health food thing, I enjoyed eating this and went back for more helpings.
We then moved onto sampling Commodity juices with the Sunrise, Sweet Greens, Mighty Greens, Orange Roots, Feel the Beet, Matcha Milk and Purple Puppy. For me, my favourites were the lighter juices including the Sunrise sporting the sweetness and tang of grapefruit with a hint of mint. I also enjoyed the Orange Roots where the layers of flavour from the apple, carrot, lemon and turmeric was sweet and aromatic. The one odd duck from this selection was the Matcha Milk which was creamy and milky with cashews, almond and maple syrup.
The other major item on the menu were the Hangry Bowls including the Marley, El Loco, Bangkok, Wild West and Hawaiian. I thought the Bangkok with tofu was the most impactful as the spicy peanut added lots of crunch and lingering heat. There was also a balancing sweetness. Also rather spicy was the Marley with chicken. The jerk sauce had oomph while the crunch from the cucumbers added texture and brightness. I guess spicy was the theme as the El Loco with chicken featured a creamy and spicy chipotle sauce. The freshness of the salsa lightened things up.
We ended off with some Signature Smoothies in the Tropical Storm, Strawburst and Very Berry. Consisting of pineapple, mango, cantaloupe and banana, there were layers of fruit in addition to the aromatic coconut in the Tropical Storm. I thought the Strawburst was similar to many strawberry banana smoothies I've had, but with a twist of cinnamon (just enough though). Again, the Very Berry seemed like a typical offering, yet it was spiked with lemon and ginger which added a touch of bite. These were some refreshing treats to end off the tasting which was a whole lot better than I was expecting. As much as these were fairly healthy bevvies and rice bowls, there was no absence of impactful flavours.
