Gamamaru Shokudo

Normally, late night spots dishing up eats that go well with beers and the sort are reserved for Downtown Vancouver or small enclaves of restaurants on Main and Fraser Streets as well as Central Richmond.  So when we found out that Gamamaru Shokudo is doing that very exact thing, but in Fleetwood, it piqued our interest.   In addition to soju and beers, they have a menu that is a mix of Japanese and Korean late night favourites.  We ended up trying a bunch of dishes to go with our soju.

On the topic of Soju, we had a bit of a sampler consisting of peach, grape and mango.  Really dangerous as these went down easy.  I liked the mango the most as it was lightly sweet and tropical.  This went well with the Kushikatsu including baby crab, cuttlefish nugget, snow crab, pork belly, garlic beef, scallop, cheese menchi and teriyaki menchi.  These were really good with the 2 menchi skewers being the most flavourful.  The meat was tender and hey that slice of processed cheese!  Made it taste like a cheeseburger.  Crabs were crispy and briny while the snow crab was delicate.  Scallops were buttery soft despite being fried.

We had 3 different Oshizushi including Saba, Salmon and Unagi.  The one thing that they all had in common was the generous amount of the main component.  They were sliced a bit thicker than usual which resulted in more impact and texture.  The rice itself was a little on the denser side, but it wasn't a deal-breaker.  Nice torching on the top and for me, the salmon was my favourite with smokiness and sweetness.

On the menu, they have a section of share plates that included the LA Galbi.  This was a decent portion of meaty shortribs.  I really liked how they had marinated these so they were tender but still retained a considerable amount of chewiness (in a good way).  Too often, these are over-tenderized and hence, are too soft.  In terms of seasoning, they were a good combination of savoury and sweet with good caramelization from the grilling.

One of my favourite items was the the Clam Nabe.  The broth was so clean and pure tasting with the natural sweetness and brininess of clams.  The clams themselves were plump and buttery.  They were just barely cooked through.  All of them were open and the broth was not sandy.  We also had the Tako Bomb which was colourful with its combination of green onions, octopus, salmon, garlic chips, diced tsukemono and quail's egg yolk.  As expected, there was varied texture and flavours when mixed together.  We ate this with strips of nori.

We got a bunch of carbs to round out the meal including the Mentaiko Yaki Udon.  This was a good version due to the perfect texture of the noodles.  They were prepared properly where each strand was chewy with a nice rebound.  Beyond the great mouth-feel of the noodles, the creaminess of the dish was also on point.  It was creamy without being too heavy.  Of course the cod roe was at its fishy briny best completely flavouring the dish.

So I'm sure you've heard of Omurice before, but how about Omusoba?  Same concept but with noodles instead of rice!  The yakisoba was covered with a soft omelette while aggressively drizzled with yakisoba sauce and kewpie mayo.  As much as it looked like to much sauce, it was actually not that noticeable after mixing everything together.  The soba, much like the udon, was perfectly cooked with a springy chewiness.

We got the Sukiyaki Nabe for good measure and being a nabe, it was not as salty and sweet as the regular version.  Hence, the soup was drinkable and lightly flavoured.  The beef was marbled and hence was tender while the veggies added some relief from the heaviness of the other items.  Last dish was an Unagi Don and yah, they loaded up with so much buttery unagi, that we couldn't see the appealingly chewy rice underneath.  The unagi was evenly seared and drizzled with just enough sauce.  Simple, but well-executed.  As you can see, the food is pretty solid here at Gamamaru.  The prices are also quite reasonable, so you can order lots to share without breaking the bank.  Nice addition to the Fleetwood neighbourhood of Surrey.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Well-prepared eats

- Reasonable-pricing

- Open late and lots of parking

The Bad:

- Sushi rice could've been less compacted in the pressed sushi

Biryani Lounge Restaurant and Bar

It wasn't that long ago that finding good Indian eats in Downtown Vancouver was limited to some tourist traps.  Unless you were willing to travel to Surrey, particularly Scott Road, you would be hard pressed to find anything decent.  Well, those days are gone since Indian restaurants have been popping up all over the place.  In fact, many of them are rather fancy and sport nicely appointed dining rooms.  Recently, Jackie and I visited Biryani Lounge perched on the 2nd floor at the corner of Denman and Davie.  Really awesome location, but how does the food stack up?  Well, we were about to see...

We began with a few appies including the Samosas filled with potato and peas.  Normally, I don't have a lot to say about samosas because many are very similar.  This one had a pretty typical filling with soft potato and peas with the usual spice and earthiness.  However, the pastry was a cut above because it was flaky and almost airy.  Very appealing since it wasn't heavy, yet at the same time was uniformly crispy on the outside.  Really good!

Next, we had the Vada Pav consisting of a fried potato patty (or ball in this case) and chili peanut chutney on a soft roll.  Despite being carb-on-carb, this Indian slider (as described on the menu) was satisfying and delicious.  I've had this many times before and I found this particular version to be extra crispy (the patty that is).  Hence, there was a distinct textural contrast between the soft bun and the patty.  There was good spice and to top it off (literally and figuratively), we found a hot pepper to amp things out even more so.

I know, I know, the Butter Chicken is often seen as a defaultish dish like Sweet & Sour Pork in Cantonese cuisine.  But, I happen to like both of these dishes and am not a food snob.  Good thing that we ordered this as it was quite good.  It was thick and creamy but also had an impactful tanginess.  There was the usual earthiness from the spices with equal parts sweetness and savouriness.  I would say this version was pretty mild though.  The pieces of chicken were tender and a bit smoky.

The best curry I had was the Coconut Goat Curry.  This was rich and creamy but at the same time, wasn't overly heavy.  The aromatics from the coconut milk was at the forefront, but the shredded coconut added some sweetness as well as texture.  There was the usual earthiness from the spices that balanced off the sweetness.  Of course, the best part was the goat.  It was tender, gelatinous and super moist.  So pleasing and delicious!

Now I emphasized that "I" enjoyed the goat curry because Jackie doesn't like goat.  Therefore, we went for the Coconut Prawn Curry as well.  You will notice the difference in colour and that also resulted in different flavours.  The curry featured less fall flavours and was sweeter.  Less depth due to the use of prawns, but brighter too.  The prawns were cooked nicely being meaty with a light snap texture. 

To go with these curries, we were served some Garlic Sesame Naan.  This was well-charred, nutty and the beneficiary of delicious ghee.  It was the thinner variety, so it ate more like a cracker-type bread rather than a fluffy and chewy interior.  We also had a few drinks including the Indian Coffee and Mango Lassi.  I found the coffee aromatic and sweet while the lassi to be thick, sweet and creamy.  Nice compliments to the curries we were enjoying.

Naturally, we were going to order some biryanis too in the Tandoori Chicken Biryani as well as the Prawn Biryani.  Predictably, the tandoori chicken biryani was much more rich and impactful due to the flavours imparted by the charred and marinated tandoori chicken.  I liked how the rice was fairly dry and not overly wet.  It was nutty and nicely spiced.  The prawn biryani was even drier due to the main protein and also lighter tasting as well.  This would be good to go with some curry (despite Biryani not generally eaten with curry, that is where plain basmati rice comes in).

Speaking of Tandoori Chicken, we got an order since we were so impressed with the chicken in our biryani.  Since it was served on a sizzling platter and not cooked into the rice, it was more smoky, more flavourful and more moist.  Very nice render on the skin which was nutty and earthy.  The chicken was super tender and well-marinated.  Overall, the food at Biryani Lounge was really good and well-priced.  Considering its prime location at English Bay, you might think it would be a tourist trap.  It is clearly not.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Delicious

- Well-priced

- Prime location

The Bad:

- Parking, of course, is not the best down here

Stackhouse Steak Sandwich

One of the most convenient quick take-out lunches (or dinner) is the classic sandwich.  Even though they have been on the downturn as of late, Subway has been the go to spot for decades if someone wanted a sandwich.  However, with prices creeping up, there are other options and that would also be one of the contributing factors into Subway's struggles.  Consider the new Stackhouse Steak Sandwich on Davie offers up their signature Steak Sandwich for only $12.00, you can see why people are not flocking to Subway as they did before.  We dropped by Stackhouse to try their wares recently.

Before we got to the sandwiches, we had some of their accompaniments including the surprisingly delicious French Onion Soup.  For a sandwich shop, this was a pretty solid soup with the sweetness of slow-cooked onions coming through.  Unlike many other versions, this was not overloaded with salt either.  This was topped with the usual toasted baguette as well as a slice of gruyere.  With all of the usual components, this was a classic French onion soup!  Even the Caesar Salad was elevated with house-made dressing and anchovies on top.  That added the salty fishiness that was noticeable and provided impact to the salad.

The Stackhouse Steak Sandwich is their signature menu item.  It features medium-thick slices of medium-rare flat iron with a chimichurri sauce and crispy onions.  This was a really good sandwich!  The beef was tender but still had a natural texture while the sauce was bright and tangy which kept things light.  Loved the crispy onions as they added aroma and more texture.  The bread itself had a crusty exterior with a soft and almost fluffy interior.  Really good value at only $12.00.

Something a bit more fancy, the Steak Tartare Open Sandwich was also well-priced at $12.00.  It featured a considerable amount of fresh beef that was tender with a slight chew.  It was dressed with the usual components such as dijon, cornichons, capers, parsley and red onion.  A sous-vide egg yolk topped the whole thing.  When mixed together, we had a silky custardy texture from the egg yolk.  The sturdy bread was a good compliment to the tartare but secretly, I liked putting it on top of the chips! 

Yes, the previous 2 sandwiches were good, but it was all about the French Dip for me.  This featured the same sliced flat iron with Swiss cheese, horseradish cream and fried onion chips.  I really enjoyed the horseradish as it a slight bite, but the biggest thing was the aromatic creaminess it provided.  The au jus on the side was flavourful without being salty.  When dipped into the au jus, the bread soaked it up well without going completely soggy.  It added the last bit of flavour that put this sandwich over the top.

They also had a featured sandwich which was the Pulled Pork.  There was no shortage of fully sauced and tender pulled pork.  It was on the sweeter side, but I appreciated the impactful flavours.  Sometimes, people forget that the bread is pretty neutral-tasting and the filling needs to compensate for that.  That it did and it was delicious with each bite.  There was some crispy onions for crunch while a bit of slaw provided a creaminess to the sandwich.

Dessert came in the form of a jarred Cheesecake with strawberry topping.  I found the no-bake cheesecake pretty creamy as there was whipped cream mixed with the cream cheese.  Possibly too much whipped cream as it took away from the cream cheese.  It was lightly sweet, but the strawberries on top were quite sweet.  I really enjoyed the crispy crumbs on the bottom.  Added so much texture to the dessert.  Overall, I was pretty impressed with Stackhouse since their stuff is pretty good quality but their prices are low (especially for Downtown).  I would totally come back, especially for the beef dip!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Quality ingredients

- Reasonable prices

- Surprisingly elevated food

The Bad:

- Limited seating, but it is a sandwich shop

- Cheesecake could use less whipped cream

Goldies Langley

Over the last couple of decades, we've seen a considerable amount of development in Langley.  Once seen as a place that was "too far" is now a desirable destination for people to move to.   I have some friends who are out in Walnut Grove and that area was already built-up a while ago.  Another spot that has seen rapid growth is around Willoughby Town Centre.  Once lined with trees, there are multi-unit complexes sprouting up all over the place.  I've been out to Moku a few times last year, where it is nestled within one of these developments.  Sandwiched in between that and Willoughby, we find the newest location of Goldie's Donuts & Bakery.  It too is also at the ground level of another complex.  Love the concept of these little communities within a community.  We witnessed that as many families came in during our visit to Goldie's.

For those who aren't familiar, Goldie's is a brioche donut shop that also offers a selection of baked goods.  The name is inspired by their golden retriever and in fact, they have a plushie of one at both locations.  Their original opened in Horseshoe Bay in March 2024.  The new Langley spot is bigger with more seating.  They offer the same fluffy filled brioche donuts including Tiramisu, Oreo, Matcha and Strawberries & Cream.  Maybe it is recency bias, but I found these to be so light with a pleasant ending chewiness.  They were only mildly sweet with the fillings to be natural-tasting.  The fresh cream was light with only the right amount of sweetness.  I particularly enjoyed the strawberries and cream since it was light and fruity.

They also feature some donuts that are both filled and glazed.  We tried the Pistachio Cream & Raspberry Puree, Triple Berry Cream and Hazelnut Praline.  Although these appeared to be super sweet, they were only mildly so.  I particularly enjoyed the triple berry as it was fruity, with a light berry cream with a sweet glaze on top.  The hazelnut featured a nutty cream and chocolate glaze.  The pistachio was good too with an aromatic nuttiness balanced off by the fruity raspberry puree.

In addition to donuts, they have baked products as well.  We tried the viral Korean Salt Bread, Ham & Cheese Croissant, Blueberry Scone and Double Baked Almond Croissant.  The first time I tried the salt bread, I didn't think much of it.  This time around, I really enjoyed the textural contrast of the crispy exterior compared to the chewy interior.  The salt level was just right.  The scone was a little too flat for my liking but it was moist and full of blueberries though.  Ham and cheese croissant had enough filling for each bite to be fulfilling and the pastry itself was flaky and shattered.  It was a little on the dense side though.  Really enjoyed the double-baked croissant as it was crunchy with lots of slivered almonds.  The filling was buttery and nutty.  There was also a single Old Fashioned Vanilla Glazed Donut with these baked items and it was cakey with a pretty sweet glaze.

We also had some of their drinks and beyond looking rather appealing, they were also great to drink too!  We had the Matcha Cream Latte, Almond Cream Mocha, Matcha Cream Latte with Stawberries and the Nutty Cloud.  Yah, don't sleep on these because they are just as good as the donuts!  My favourite of the bunch was the Nutty Cloud.  There was some crunch on the top and the whole thing was indeed nutty, creamy and just a bit sweet.  The Matcha Cream Latte with strawberries appealed to me too as it was sweet in a good way and had the nice balance between bitter and fruitiness.  Overall, the stuff at Goldie's is quite diverse and ultimately tasty.  Great place to stop by for a drink and a donut/pastry or to grab a box and impress your friends.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Fluffy brioche donuts

- Just sweet enough

- Lots of space at this location

The Bad:

- The way the counter is orientated, it becomes quite the bottleneck when there is a large lineup

- Due to the light flavour of some of the fillings, it might not be sweet enough for some (but I like it)

Lobsterfest @ Vancouver Fish Company

We all like a deal right?  Especially in this economy, more people are being very discreet with their spending.  Hence, for restaurants that usually serve more elevated cuisine, something has to stand out in order to attract potential customers.  Enter the classic 3-course meal that comes complete with an appetizer, main and dessert for one comprehensive price.  This is the case at the Vancouver Fish Company on Granville Island.  For a limited time, they have their Lobsterfest menu for $65.00 until October 31st.

As a bonus, even before the actual 3-course meal began, we were served an Amuse Bouche.  It consisted of a Honey Walnut Prawn with togarashi.  This recipe has been around since Chef and Managing Co-Owner Stephen Duyzer has been at the helm.  It featured a large lightly-battered and fried prawn that was glazed in honey mayo.  We found roasted walnuts, sesame and some togarashi.  Hence we had sweet nuttiness with just a smidge of spice.  Delicious bite to start.

Our first actual course was the Seafood Chowder with fresh seafood & clams, bacon, thyme and cream.  Compared to other cream chowders, this one was fairly light.  Not a bad thing as it was easy to eat and did not bog us down for the next course.  It was also mild in flavour as it wasn't salty.  I did get a bit of the bacon though and there was a good amount of fish.  It could've used a bit more clams to increase the brininess.

Now onto the main event, the 1lb Whole Nova Scotia Lobster!  Eye-balling it, I found it to be bigger than 1lb and Jackie's was even larger.  I would estimate mine as around 1.1lbs and the other closer to 1.4lbs.  It sat atop garlic roast potatoes and broccolini.  Things were cooked right with the lobster being bouncy and sweet while the broccolini having a crunch.  Instead of clarified butter, we found herb beurre blanc.  This was great as it provided more flavour than plain butter.

For dessert, we were served 2 of the available options (depending on the night).  First was the Berry Crumble and the second was a Tiramisu.  I thought the berries could've used a bit more starch to thicken the moisture, but it did taste great being just sweet enough and natural tasting.  The crumble on top was crunchy while the ice cream was creamy and not icy.  As for the tiramisu, it was an airy version with creamy marscapone and lightly-kissed lady-fingers.  It was not heavy and easy on the sugar.  It could've used a bit more espresso though.  Overall, the meal was solid and a good deal at $65.00, especially given the awesome location on Granville Island.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Solid deal with all things considered
- Lobster is bigger than one pound
- Great location

The Bad:
- Chowder could've used a bit more clam

Kozak Ukraїnian Restaurant

If you can believe it, this would be my first visit to any of the Kozak locations in the GVRD.  Yep, I've literally walked by the original Victoria Street location countless times and have driven past the Gastown one even more.  I've even passed by the New West store a few times on foot and in my car as well.  Now they've opened their newest spot in Langley right near Colossus.  They are featuring some of their best classic dishes on the menu including lunch combos.  So I finally made it out, to their 4th location!

Before I get to those combos, I'll focus on the individual dishes first starting with the both the Beef and the Pork Borsch.  They both came with a large slice of sourdough bread but for the 2nd beef borscht, it came with solo canapé (which was cold smoked pork on rye with horseradish).  For me, I loved both soups, but the pork just had a bit more meatiness and body. Both had the classic sweet and sour notes and with the addition of sour cream, some tangy creaminess.  After adding the sour cream, it is typical to take a bite of the chewy sourdough, then dip the garlic into the salt and take a bite before having any soup.  We did just that and it was great, lots of flavours activated.  Their grand opening is on October 4th & 5th, 2025 and the 1st 1000 customers receive free borsh!

Next, we sampled a variety of their Handmade Varenyky (Pierogies) starting with the Bacon & Potato.   Now if you are still slogging through those frozen ones you get at the grocery store, then you haven't had authentic pierogies before.  Fortunately, I've had the real thing many times and these were really good.  The dumpling skin was tender and thin while retaining a slight chew.  Inside, the russet potatoes were soft and nicely seasoned.  The plethora of housemade candied bacon provided that salty, smoky sweetness as well as a crispy texture.  Add in some brown butter, and we had some nuttiness as well.

Next we tried the Potato & Cheese Varenyky topped with a housemade cheese sauce.  You know how some cheese sauces taste salty and not much else?  Well this one was full on cheddar cheese with the unmistakable tanginess and pungency.  Furthermore, it as silky and cheesy without being greasy.  It also didn't separate.  The addition of sunflower seeds provided a nutty crunch while the chili flakes gave a bit of variation in flavours.

Those two pierogies were excellent, but my favourite was the Duck & Basil Varenyky.  These were packed with Brome Lake duck that was super tender and moist.  It had the appealingly gaminess of duck while also exhibiting sweetness from the onions.  The basil provided a bit of sweetness and herbaceousness.  Completing the plate was a base of tarragon cream, crispy shallots and peppercorns.  We got aroma, pepperiness and the sweet anise flavour of the tarragon.

In addition to the Borsch, we also tried the Bograch Carpathian Goulyash made with beef, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, jalapeños and smoked paprika.  The key ingredient here was the smoked paprika as it added so much depth and smokiness.  Combined with the natural sweetness of the root veggies and tomatoes, this was a hearty and punchy Goulyash.  We also got some spice from the peppers.  Of course we couldn't forget about the smoked pork rib sitting in the soup.  It was smoky, meaty and tender.

The showstopper had to be the Chicken Kyiv.  It was neatly presented on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes.  These mashed potatoes were rich and especially more so after we cut into the beautifully prepared chicken cutlet.  The copious amount of melted butter helped made the potatoes even more sinful.  As for the chicken, it was tender and benefitted from the buttery nuttiness inside.  Outside, it was uniformly crispy.

Of course we had to have the Cabbage Rolls as well.  We had this with beef and yes, the filling was loaded with a good mix of that and rice.  Texturally, it was on point with a slight bounce with meatiness while being fairly light.  The cabbage itself was tender and not mushy.  Nicely balanced, the tomato sauce was neither too acidic nor salty.  It was mild with a tang.  Add in the side of sour cream and that provided a bright creaminess.

If you wanted a bit of everything without needing to order full versions of every dish, you could opt for Mama's Combo for $22.00.  This plate has all the goodies including cabbage roll, 3 pierogies, a fried Ukraїnian Kovbasa sausage on stewed sauerkraut, sour cream, horseradish and mustard.  For this plate, we had the Potato and Dill Pierogies and they were the most mild-tasting of the bunch, but the fried onions really helped with the aroma.

As much as Mama's Combo had it all, the Kozak Lunch for $28.00 was ever more so.  It included a choice of Borsch, Cabbage Rolls and Varenyky.  However, to change things up a bit, we had the Nalysnyky instead of the Cabbage Roll.  Essentially the crepe version of a cabbage roll, it was quite flavourful due to the use of a thin crispy crepe rather than cabbage.  The flavours were more concentrated.  It sat atop the same delicious cheese sauce that came with the Varenyky.

For dessert pastries in their display case, you could add a variety of things including Pletenka Cinnamon Roll, Cherry Fluff, Pistachio Butter Croissant, Apricot Fluff and Dark Chocolate Babka.  Pretty good stuff here with the fluffs being my favourite.  Essentially a Danish with riocotta and fruit, these were flaky and just sweet enough.  That Babka was really good with crunchy portions and a softer centre.  The dark chocolate had the perfect sweetness level and plenty of appealing bitterness.

As for the available desserts on the main menu, the Napoleon Cake would be the most impressive-looking.  In terms of taste and texture, it was pretty darn good.  I loved the light flakiness of the puff pastry intertwined with the sweet custard.  It was a rather large slice but ate pretty light.  Overall, the food at Kozak is fantastic.  From the borsch to the varenyky as well as their baked goods, I seriously enjoyed them all.  Definitely something different than your regular fare at most other restaurants.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Food just tastes good

- On point textures

- Something different than all of the same everywhere else

The Bad:

- Sourdough was a little on the dry side

- Seating is limited at this location