Wally's Burgers

Oh here is a blast from the past - Wally's Burgers.  I remember hitting up the original location on Kingsway near Earles back in the day.  That closed quite awhile back and I had the taste of Wally's again when they opened up a seasonal operation at Cates Park.  The current location in the same complex as the 88 Supermarket opened in 2010 and I did visit it once, but never blogged about it.  This time around, I decided why not, let's do a post!

To get things started, we had the Deep Fried Pickles with a chipotle dip.  These were some pretty large wedges that were juicy and salty-briny.  The breading was crunchy and not greasy while adhering to each wedge until the last bite.  I found the dip to be a good compliment to the salty pickle as it provided spice, cooling creaminess as well as the smokiness from the paprika.

I ended up having the Deluxe Bacon Cheese which probably had far too much romaine lettuce.  If I could redo this order, I would've added an extra patty.  The single within this burger was somewhat lost due to the amount of produce (the tomato was rather thick) as well as the bun.  I actually didn't mind the bun as it was soft (somewhat similar to White Spot), but the diameter of the bun was larger than the patty.  Bacon was nice and crispy while the fresh cut fries were fantastic being crispy and light.

For our other burger, it was much more appealing in the Hot Shot with crispy bacon, melted cheese, sauteed jalapenos, grilled onions and Wally's sauce. Due to the amount of ingredients, including the juicy and tangy jalapenos, this burger ate much more moist.  Furthermore, there was considerably more impact as it also helped there wasn't so much lettuce and tomato to dilute the flavours.

Just for kicks, I also ordered the Deluxe Spicy Chicken Burger which was nothing that memorable.  Once again, the amount of lettuce, onion and tomato watered down any spiciness there was in the first place.  The chicken was crispy, but inside, the meat was a bit dry.  I found the bun to be a little too heavy for the chicken and it was overwhelmed.  Overall, this visit to Wally's was indeed nostalgic, but other than the Hot Shot, the other burgers were "okay".  I guess if you remove the veggies (or get a burger without them) and also add another patty, the burgers would be significantly better.  I did think the patties were well-charred and tasted good.

The Good:
- It has got nostalgia
- Service was very good
- Fries are fantastic

The Bad:
- Combination of bun, the amount of veggies and the smallish burger patty means the actually meat gets lost

 

Britannia Brewing Ladner

Although there are 2 locations of Britannia Brewing in the Lower Mainland, I've never had a chance to visit either spot.  It finally took the Dine Around Delta to get me out to the Ladner store.  For those who don't know, Dine Around Delta is their version of Dine Out Vancouver.  It is running until March 19th and Britannia Brewing is offering a 3-course meal for only $40.00.  We came out here to try all of the options for that as well as adding in a few extra dishes.

There are 2 choices for appetizers including the Brant Lake Wagyu Beef Carpaccio with Dijon shallot aioli, fried capers, arugula and parmesan.  This was a large portion of thinly-sliced beef that was tender, yet retaining a meatiness.  It tasted great by itself where the creaminess of the aioli provided moisture while the fried capers and parm added saltiness (personally I could've done with even more saltiness though).  Even by itself on the regular menu, it is only $14.00!

The other option was the Beet & Goat Cheese Salad with pickled red and golden beets, whipped goat cheese, pistachio granola, gremolata and extra virgin olive oil.  This was another winner where the beets were tender, earthy and full of tanginess.  There was a considerable amount of creamy goat cheese accented by the gremolata.  To add texture, the crunch from the granola was welcomed.

We added an appie from the regular menu with the KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower) with spicy gochujang sauce, sesame seeds and lime.  Loved how the cauliflower was cooked through without becoming mushy.  The exterior was lightly crispy, but softened by the sauce.  There was just enough of it where it clung onto each piece without being saucy.  It was tangy, spicy and sweet.

Onto the mains, we had a choice of 2 including 1 lbs of Salt Spring Island Mussels in a Adrift blonde ale broth with double-smoked bacon, tomato, garlic, cream and fries.  The mussels were cooked beautifully being plump and tender.  The broth prepared well where the ale had been cooked down enough and the plethora of garlic and bacon added aroma and flavour.  The side of fries were starch-covered and crunchy. 

The other main offered in the Dine Around Delta menu was the Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank atop Mediterranean pearl barley, winter carrots and rosemary & garlic jus.  That lamb shank was perfectly braised where it fell off the bone.  Gelatinous and moist, the lamb was not too gamy.  At first, I thought it could've used more salt, but the olives and tomatoes in the barley helped add bursts of flavour.  Loved the roasted carrots as they were crunchy with a smoky char.

We added the Truffle Mushroom Fettuccine from the main menu just for kicks and it was a good decision.  First of all, the pasta was perfectly al dente.  Secondly, there was enough crimini and portobello mushrooms for woodiness as well as texture.  Lastly, there was the right amount of cream to cling onto each noodle without being too saucy.  The amount of truffle oil was restrained, which was a good thing.

Onto dessert, we were given 2 choices including Cinnamon Sugar Churros (with chocolate ganache) and Sticky Toffee Pudding with caramel sauce.  The 2 churros were crunchy and naturally sweet due to the dusting of sugar.  We found the sticky toffee pudding to be surprisingly not too sweet.  That is what we prefer as most versions are far too sweet.  This one had nice smoky sweetness while being moist.

Of course we couldn't forget the drinks where we had a Flight consisting of Peach Witbier, Adrift Blonde Ale, Amber Lager and Stout.  Really loved the stout as it was smoky with a coffee caramel finish.  For our cocktail, we tried the Westham Sour consisting of Empress gin, egg white, lemon juice and cranberry bitters.  Naturally, this was fruity and light.  It went down really smooth even though it was a sour.  So overall, this was a solid meal and considering the reasonable prices, it is somewhat of a rarity these days with such high food costs.  I would definitely come back.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Reasonable pricing
- Nice vibe

The Bad:
- Some dishes could use more salt  

Galbi Korean BBQ

So back-to-back posts on Korean BBQ eh?  Well, never enough of a good thing right???  Well, finally made it out to Galbi Korean BBQ located in Pinetree Village in Coquitlam.  Spotted this when I went to Chapters a few months ago.  This little restaurant doesn't sport an extensive menu.  In fact, there are only beef and pork options as well as cold noodle and that's about it.  Prices are reasonable and hey, with food costs these days, this is an important factor.

So we essentially ordered the whole menu, which isn't hard considering the limited choices.  That could also be said about the Banchan as we only had kimchi, pickled radish, pickled onion and jalapeno, house salad and romaine for wrapping.  Regardless of the selection, they were good including that well-dressed and fresh salad.  Kimchi was not sour, but was light on spice.  Radish was crunchy with plenty of tang and sweetness.  The meal also included Bean Paste Stew which was quite good.  Lots of flavour and spice as well as ingredients.  Can't complain as it was included with our meal.

To supplement our meat-filled meal, we got the Cold Buckwheat Noodle.  We would've ordered the spicy one if we weren't sharing it with the kids.  This was refreshing as always and helped cool things down from the hot meats from the BBQ.  The addition of pickled radish made the whole thing on the more sour side, but we still enjoyed the chewy noodles and crunchy cucumbers.

As for the meats, the best one was the Marinated Short Ribs.  Well-priced at $33.00, these were prepped properly and also decent in size.  The marinade helped the meat caramelize and become smoky on the grill.  There was enough inherent flavour that we didn't need to dip this into the sesame oil with salt and pepper.  The meat was tender with classic short rib chew.

We also had the Fresh Outside Skirt that was sliced medium-thick and as you can tell from the picture, it was indeed fresh with a nice sheen.  This was decently marbled and when grilled, it came out surprisingly tender.  Since this was not marinated, it was best with the sesame oil dip, as well as the spicy bean paste.  This was reasonably priced at $32.00.

Our last beef selection was the Fresh Rib Finger for $28.00.  For those who are not familiar, rib finger meat is the meat you find in between beef ribs.  It is generally well-marbled and can be on the chewier side.  This cooked up well due to the fat content (also crisped up on the outside) and was tender enough for me.  When I make a prime rib roast, this is the meat I most look forward to.   

For our pork selections, we started off with the Marinated Short Rib.  Yes, same as the beef, but not.  This cooked up like a pork steak, yet with a meaty and robust texture.  Due to the fat content, it also crisped up well on the grill and of course, caramelized due to the fat and the marinade.  Again, it was sweet with balancing saltiness.  No need to dip it into anything.  Wished they included rice in the meal (you have to order it separately).

One of my favourite meats in general is Pork Jowl. If you are unfamiliar with this cut of meat, it is from the pork cheek.  It is generally fatty with a bouncy chewy texture.  With that being said, I find it tender despite being somewhat chewy.  This cut of meat is usually quite expensive, so it was reasonable at $23.00.  When we put it on the grill, once again the fat helped add charring and caramelization. 

Of the three pork belly choices on the menu, we went for the Fresh Skin Off Pork Belly.  It was equal in meat-to-fat ratio and therefore was super flavourful and tender.  This also crisped up and charred-up well.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Galbi Korean BBQ.  With high food prices these days, we felt the menu wasn't overly expensive considering the quality of the meats.  Service was also good.  We'll be back.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Quality meats
- Nice people

The Bad:
- Limited menu
- Limited Banchan selection  

 

Sura Korean BBQ (Richmond)

Believe it or not, I've never visited the Richmond location of Sura before.  I've been to the Robson location for their amazing lunch set quite a long time ago.  To me, it is one of the best values in the city.  Too bad they do not currently offer it in Richmond.  When we had the hankering for Korean BBQ one night, it looked like as good of a time to actually hit up Sura in Aberdeen Centre.  Love how spacious it is compared to the Downtown Vancouver spot.

Of course before we got to the actual food we ordered, they served us a selection of Banchan.  This included 3 types of salad, fried yellow croaker, stewed potatoes, kimchi and marinated bean curd skin.  This was a solid selection that was a meal in itself.  As much as the meals at Sura aren't exactly cheap, they are actually good value considering the portion size, quality and included side dishes.  With that being said, the potatoes were a touch underdone.  Kimchi was very mild, but wasn't too sour.  Loved the fish, we heated it up on the grill.  Flesh was very moist.

Onto the Korean BBQ, we selected the Royal Marinated Galbi.  At first glance, one would be a little troubled at the $55.00 for one serving.  However, it was a substantial amount of tender short rib.  Furthermore, it was good quality as the meat was tender with only a bit of classic short rib chew.  It was well marinated where the flavour was there without being too salty nor sweet.  It cooked up nicely on the evenly heated grill.  It was well-ventilated as well.

Although we were already served bowls of rice, we ended up ordering the Dolset Bulgogi Bibimbap as well.  This sported a plethora of tender thin slices of beef that was surprisingly buttery.  It was marinated enough that it tasted good on its own, however, the addition of gochujang was still needed for overall impact.  The stone bowl was hot enough to form somewhat of a socarrat.  Rice was chewy and wasn't too wet.

For our soup, we chose the Spicy Beef Soup that had plenty of ingredients (despite not appearing to be).  It would've helped if I actually scooped up the ingredients for the picture, but I was too busy eating...  Anyways, the soup itself was flavourful and spicy.  There was a wealth of shredded beef which was tender.  There was also a good amount of sweet potato starch noodles and green onion.  This is one of the better versions I've had lately.

Lastly, we went for the Seafood Pancake, which was not only large in diameter, but super thick as well.  This was actually not a good thing as the middle of the pancake was rather doughy.  It was great that they loaded this thing with seafood, but it didn't end up to be crispy enough either.  On the other hand, the edges were still good.  Overall, we enjoyed the food at Sura and thought it was a good value.  Prices seem high, but you do get a lot for your money.  The short rib was a real highlight too.  

The Good:
- Good portions for the money
- Quality eats
- Spacious location

The Bad:
- Seafood pancake was a doughy 

 

Double East Cuisine

Interestingly, I've never been to Double East Cuisine, even though I've been in that plaza many times to visit other establishments.  It really was happenstance that we ended up here for late night eats.  You see, we were looking for Deep Fried Silverfish and originally thought we could get some at #9.  Okay, don't freak out, we aren't talking about those critters on your washroom floor.  Rather, they are little fish that are fried and then tossed in chili pepper salt.  It is a staple of "da lang" or late night eats (smaller portions) at Chinese restaurants.  Alas, #9 didn't have any and we ended up searching Richmond for the dish.  We ended up at Double East Cuisine for that very reason.

Behold, here is the famed "Bak Fan Yue" or Deep Fried Silverfish with Chili Pepper Salt.  As mentioned, this is a late night staple that usually goes with plain congee.  Despite there being a shortage of silverfish at many places, this particular plate was not a desperation situation.  Rather, it was excellent with crispy silverfish that was light.  It was tossed in enough seasoning that it was a bit spicy and plenty salty.

We also had the Clams in Black Bean Sauce, which incidentally, is also a late night classic.  Once again, this was prepared properly with mostly opened clams (I think only one or two weren't open).  The clams were fresh and not full of sand.  They were buttery and cooked just enough.  Although there was definite black bean saltiness, we could've used a bit more of it.  We liked how the sauce was starch-thickened so that it clung onto each clam.

Next, we had something a bit different in the Sizzling Yam Leaves in a hot pot.  In terms of the overall cook on the yam leaves, they were a touch overdone where the stems lost their crunchiness.  This was further exacerbated by the scorching hot pot.  Hence, the yam leaves continued to cook and got rather soft.  In fact, the leaves became slimy.  In terms of seasoning, it was mild where I could still taste the vegetable.

On a subsequent visit, we had the Pan Fried Pomfret with Soy Sauce. Although, this was a small pomfret, there was a decent amount of meat despite not appearing so.  The fish was fried up perfectly where the skin was slightly crispy while the meat was flaky and moist.  The meat separated from the bone easily and in one piece.  Wok-fried with green onions, cilantro and shallots, the soy/oil mixture was flavourful and aromatic.

We ordered the full-sized Sweet & Sour Pork which was indeed a large portion.  Generally, the chunks of pork were medium-sized, which meant that the texture of the meat-to-crunchy-batter-ratio was perfect.  We did find some larger pieces and they were much more meaty and soft.  As for the sauce, it was delicious being a good balance between tangy and sweet.  It was also the right viscosity adhering to each piece.

For our veggie dish, we tried the A-Choy with Canned Dace in Black Bean Sauce.  I quite enjoyed this dish as the vegetable was wok-fried enough that it was cooked-through while still having a crunch.  As expected, the dish was on the greasier side due to the dace, as it fried and packed in oil.  On the flipside, this also ensured there was plenty of flavour too as the black beans added plenty of saltiness.

We came back for a third time and had the Deep Fried Egg Tofu with Chili Pepper Salt.  This was in addition to the silverfish (that we had in all 3 visits).  It was prepared expertly with delicate egg tofu that was still in one piece despite being deep fried and wok tossed (they are quite fragile).  The exterior was crispy while giving way to a silky interior.  This tasted exactly like the silverfish due to the same seasoning.

For our meat selection, we had the Honey Garlic Spareribs.  I would say that this was much more maltose spareribs than actual honey, but it still tasted great.  It was just sweet enough with some garlickiness.  The spareribs were meaty and had a properly tenderized texture where there was an appealing rebound.  However, with so much maltose, the sauce solidified quickly and hence, the ribs were glued to the plate.

Of course, we got a veggie dish in the form of Sauteed Preserve Meat with Taiwanese Cauliflower.  Another perfectly wok-fried dish where the cauliflower was crunchy and vibrant with aromatic caramelization.  It was a bit greasy though due to the fatty cured sausage and pork belly.  It did add umaminess though.  After these 3 late night visits to Double East Cuisine, it will be added to our late night rotation of restaurants.  Food is above average and prices are reasonable for the portion size.  The people there are pretty nice too.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Reasonable prices for the portion size
- Open late

The Bad:
- Not really their fault, but the clientele can be a bit rowdy due to it being late night
- Typical Richmond parking lot, narrow and often full

Dhaliwal's Lounge

For the longest time, Asian cuisine, in particular Southern, has been seen as "inexpensive" and not worthy of fine-dining.  Slowly but surely, the tide is turning as we see more and more higher-end restaurants.  One of the newest is Dhaliwal's Lounge in the York Centre in Surrey.  Formerly Dhoom, Dhaliwal's Lounge is part of the Dhaliwal Group.  This new restaurant blends traditional Indian eats with fusion plates.  They also feature signature cocktails from their full-service bar.  I recently was invited to visit the place with Mijune.

Dining with Mijune always entails that we will destroy the menu and that we did starting with the Raj Kachori featuring a crispy fried shell, filled with potatoes, boiled moong dal, yogurts, spices, and chutneys.  I've had the smaller version of this before and for this one, there was just much more of everything.  Lots of textures at play with both crunchy and soft.  Due to the combination of chutneys and yogurt, we found tangy, sweet, spice, herbaceous and creamy.

Next, we had one of the more fusion offerings in the Barwa Paneer Arancini with crispy fried stuffed balls of paneer and dried fruit.  I wouldn't say this was exactly an arancini as there was no arboiro rice inside.  Rather it was more of a fried cheese ball.  With that being said, it was good though being crispy outside while the soft paneer was crumbled and soft.  There was a bit of sweetness provided by the dried fruit.

Staying with fried ball-like things, we were served the Brie and Chili-Stuffed Mushrooms.  These were firmly crunchy with a semi-thick outer breading.  Inside, the medium-sized mushrooms were juicy and with a slight bite.  They were stuffed with creamy brie as well as green chilis.  Hence, there was a bit of spice as well as that unmistakable flavour of barely cooked-through green chili pepper.  A drizzle of butter chicken sauce added creaminess.

One of the more under-the-radar dishes was the Angoori Tikki featuring royal cumin seed, almond, grape sauce, fresh herbs, chutneys, yogurt and chickpeas.  Naturally, this had some common flavours with the Raj Kachori but texturally it was quite different.  The soft potato had good mouth feel while the grapes were a surprise with bursts of sweetness.  Once again, we had the tang of the tamarind chutney to with the cooling of the yogurt and spice of the mint cilantro chutney.

Another successful fusion dish was the Mustard Scallops atop a potato cake and cucumber with dhaba curry sauce.  Nicely-plated, these large scallops were seared beautifully with good caramelization.  They were properly seasoned and tasted great on their own with natural sweetness.  The curry sauce offered up some spice as well as sweetness from the onions and tomatoes.  Only thing I would've liked to see was a thinner slice of cucumber.

One of my favourite appies in general is the Palak Patta Chaat.  It consists of individually battered and fried spinach leaves (yes, patience is needed when frying many leaves one-by-one!), onion, potato, peas, yogurt, green and red chutneys.  As with the Raj Kachori and Angoori Tikki, the flavours are somewhat along the same lines with tang, creaminess, sweetness and spice.  The star of the show has to be the crunchy spinach leaves.  Good texture to go with the other ingredients.

One of the best items we had, if not the best, was the Signature Chops.  These lamb rack chops were absolutely delicious.  They were moist and super tender due to the marinade.  Furthermore, the spices penetrated the meat with spice and the unmistakable aroma of toasted cumin seeds.  This was accompanied by methi aloo as well as some almond sauce on top.

Although it might sound a bit defaultish as an appie, both the Paneer and Chicken Lettuce Wraps were quite good.  Naturally, the chicken version was meatier and exhibited more depth, but the paneer still had texture and appealing spiciness.  Other than the filling, the most important item is the iceberg lettuce.  This was indeed fresh and properly dried.  I thought that possibly, they could've been cut into bigger cups though.

We also had another standard dish at most restaurants in the Chicken Wings.  These were oven-roasted where the meat was still tender and moist.  Even though they were not fried, the skin was fairly rendered albeit not crispy.  We decided to try two flavours including honey garlic and buffalo.  Aggressively-sauced, the honey garlic was intensely sweet and garlicky.  We found the buffalo wings to have noticeable heat while the amount of sauce was just right.

Another fusion dish of sorts was the Pista and Coconut Crusted Salmon with malabar sauce.  I found the preparation of this dish to be quite good where the fish featured crispy seasoned skin.  The fish itself was flaky and moist.  Naturally, the sauce was a very important component of this dish and it came through with the creaminess of coconut milk, spice, earthiness and a touch of acidity.

The most grandoise thing we had was the Cornish Murg Musallam consisting of a whole Cornish game hen marinated in ginger-garlic paste, stuffed with mince chicken and rich cashew curry.  The hen was super tender including the breast.  It was also flavourful from the marinade as well as the creamy curry.  This was so much food, it would be hard for even two people to finish it if there were more dishes.

Onto some more main dishes, we were served the Goat Razala featuring a yogurt and masala curry.  I really enjoyed this as there was a plethora of meaty and tender goat.  For those who haven't had goat before, think of it as a bonier and slightly more lean form of lamb.  Hence, some pieces have that gelatinous texture you find with lamb.  In terms of flavour, this was on the spicier side which was fine by me.

Next up, we had the Kukkad Makhni aka Delhi-style butter chicken.  This was really rich and creamy with a nice balancing tomato tang.  It was muted though due to the richness of the curry due to the addition of cashews.  The big chunks of dark meat chicken was tender and meaty where it was flavourful from the original marinade.  Really enjoyed this as it also had a minor kick to it.

So possibly the richest dish we had was the Dal Bukhara where we could taste the copious amounts of ghee and cream used. It went well the naan we had, but yah, best to share this.  Also rather creamy, the Methi Malai Paneer featured crumbled paneer in a cashew cream sauce.  This was rather aromatic and had quite a bit of body and depth for a vegetarian dish.  I would say this would go well with some basmati rice. 

Continuing on with the vegetarian items, we had the Vegetable Manchurian as well as the Soya Bhuna Masala.  Sporting Chinese-type flavours, the Veg Manchurian featured carrot, cauliflower and bell peppers.  The combination of ginger, garlic, soya sauce and tomato sauce elicited a tangy saltiness.  As for the soya chaap, it was typical with a chewy meatiness while being smoky and bathed in a flavourful masala curry.

As mentioned, we had some starch in the form of the Bread Basket that included Garlic Naan, Tandoori Roti, Butter Naan, Choor Choor Naan and Missi Roti.  Loved the naan, in particular the Choor Choor.  It was chewy with elasticity while having a nicely blistered exterior.  We also had the Kulcha stuffed with potato and spices.  It was soft had the creaminess of potatoes.  As you can see, we had a tonne of food.  We enjoyed the presentation as well as the flavours and preparation.  Loved the dining room as well as the overall atmosphere.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Modern and inviting
- Solid eats
- Lots of beverages available including signature cocktails

The Bad:
- Can be viewed as pricey compared to typical Indian restaurants, but is more comparable to places like Tasty and Yellow Chili