Sud Soi

I've always wondered why Vancouver's Thai food game has been so weak all these years.  Yes, there have always been some good Thai spots in town, but as a whole, it doesn't hold a candle to cities like Portland, New York and LA.  However, we are seeing an upward trajectory as of late with the opening of spots like Song and smaller joints such as Silom, Sip Song, Zab Bite, Zab Zaab, Soi Ram and Siam Le Bien.  Of those, some specialize in Northern Thai or E-Sarn cuisine.  One of the more recent openings is Sud Soi in the former location of Lombardo's in El Mercato on Commercial Drive.

We had a few small plates to start including the Grilled Pork Jowl and the Grilled Wings.  These were good with some charring and well-marinated meats.  As you can see, the pork jowl was still juicy and fatty while the wings had somewhat rendered skin.  The meat inside was also juicy and tender.  Although both dips seemed to be the same, the one for the pork jowl had more brininess.

One of the more interesting dishes was the Fried Chicken with Midnight Sticky Rice.  The deep fried chicken thigh was really crunchy on the outside.  Inside, the meat was fairly juicy with some drier portions.  There was some chili sauce on the side which added a bit of tangy heat.  As for the sticky rice, it was in a beautiful shade of purple and black.  A nice chewy and sticky accompaniment to the chicken.

We ended up ordering the Khao Soi with soft shell crab.  Unlike many versions of the this dish, the curry broth in this one was much more earthy and rich.  They really went hard with the spices and extracted the maximum amount of flavour from it.  Hence, the noodles really absorbed the flavours.  Soft shell crab was fairly large and crispy on the outside.  Of course, the inside was soft and almost creamy.

As a default of sorts, we got the Pad Thai, but not the regular one.  Instead, we had the Pad Thai Korat which is supposed to be bolder and spicier.  That it was with plenty of tang from the tamarind and a balancing amount of heat.  We also got some caramelized brininess.  Noodles were chewy and veggies were crisp.  Loved the addition of pork cracklings.

Their Pad See Ew with chicken was the beneficiary of proper wok hei, which ensured smokiness and caramelization of flavours.  We got heightened sweetness to go with the saltiness of the soy and really liked the fried shallots on top.  The chicken itself was fairly moist despite being white meat and the gai lan was vibrant and crunchy.  A real solid version of this dish.

We wanted to like the Pad Ka Prow but they really skimped on the amount of meat in this dish.  There was 5 times the amount of rice compared to the meat.  Hence, we ended up with a bunch of rice with nothing to eat it with at the end.  In terms of taste, it was good though, since it was also full of wok hei with strong aroma.  The fried egg was great being fluffy with crispy parts.

After all this food, we needed something sweet to end off the meal.  We got the classic Mango Sticky Rice which came in a decent portion.  The first thing that struck me was how cold the sticky rice was.  It wasn't hard per se, but the temperature did make it more chewy than I would've liked.  Nice sweet coconut cream on top though.  Mango was fresh and as good as it could be considering the time of year.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Sud Soi where the wok hei was good and the flavours were impactful.  Possibly a few things could be better, but nothing major that couldn't be rectified.

The Good:

- Impactful flavours

- Good wok hei

- Nice people

The Bad:

- Too much rice, not enough meat for the Pad Ka Prow

- Sticky rice for the dessert was too cold

Osetra

One of the newest restaurants in Downtown Vancouver has opened up on Georgia Street at Homer.  Osetra (yes, the same name as the caviar) now occupies the former location of Bar Haifa.  It has a focus on coastal cuisine that features fresh seafood.  Now with a name like Osetra, you might have guessed they have a love for caviar as well.  That they do and we even got some randomly during our meal!

Before we got to the caviar, we had the Scallop Crudo.  This was doused in an apple and coconut nage.  This was plenty creamy and aromatic.  There was also an avocado vinaigrette which added even more richness as well as some acidity.  I wasn't completely sold on the serranos on top, but it did make things pop.  As for the chopped scallop, it was buttery soft, fresh and clean-tasting.  I enjoyed eating this with less of the sauce, since it was rather heavy.  Flavours were good though and the seasoned crisps were perfect vessels for the scallops.

For our Caviar appie, it featured a crispy buttermilk and chive waffle that was lightly sweet and a bit nutty.  We found some smoked crème fraîche and chives occupying 2 squares on the waffle while there was a toasted pepper and egg yolk gel settling in 2 of the other squares.  However, the most important ingredient was the dollops of caviar in the remaining squares.  I thought when everything was combined into one bite, there was a good balance.  If you are familiar, you'll notice that they re-imagined the typical condiments served with a tin of caviar, such as the egg yolk, crème fraîche and chives.  Quite clever really and in general it worked.  Possibly the only thing I would've changed was the waffle itself.  Something thinner would've helped highlight the brininess of the caviar more so.

It was suggested we order the Grilled Sourdough to accompany the Squid Plancha.  Great call on that as the nutty, smoky and crunchy sourdough mopped up that delicious sauce beautifully.  There was a nice dousing of single origin olive oil on the bread itself, where it ate well without sauce too.  The little bites of squid nestled in the n'duja & confit tomato sugo were tender and buttery.  I found the sugo to have a mild tomato flavour while exhibiting some spice.  Some preserved lemon provided the acidity and a balanced saltiness came from the manchego espuma.

Two of our vegetable sides came out next in the form of the Oyster Mushrooms in a rendang sauce and the Potato Pavé with pecorino and kimchi powder.  Really enjoyed the mushrooms as they were seared nicely.  The rendang was creamy and earthy with the usual coconut aromatics.  As for the pavé, it was not pan-fried.  Rather, it was deep fried which created a uniformly crunchy exterior that was also buttery and nutty.  Inside, it was still tender and revealed the multiple layers of potato.  I didn't notice the kimchi powder as much as I wanted, but it did provide a slight bite.

My favourite item of the night was the Dungeness Crab served in its own carapace (or head shell).  They de-shelled the whole crab and mixed it with a ginger & scallion emulsion.  I found the crab meat to be excellent being fluffy with a slight bounce.  It was naturally sweet and a bit briny with the emulsion complimenting rather than dominating.  We had some acidity in the form of lemon and the whole thing contained a good amount of crab.

Now we had crab, so the next would be Lobster right?  This was a half-lobster with diced meat that was mixed with a motoyaki mayo sauce and baked.  It was also topped with chives and ikura.  The result was tender morsels of sweet lobster that were lightly bathed in a mild-tasting sauce.  Underneath, we found some watercress gomae that added some freshness and texture.  The pops of brininess from the ikura was a nice break from the creamy sauce.

I thought the Carrots was probably the best veggie side dish we had.  They were aggressively charred which made them smoky and heightened the sweetness.  That honey mustard toffee on the bottom of the plate was richly sweet and buttery with a slight sharpness from the mustard.  Adding texture and nuttiness, there was puffed rice  was strewn across the plate.

Had to end the meal with caviar right?  So we had the Fior di Latte & Lemon Gelato topped with Osetra caviar and drizzled with single origin olive oil.  Creamy and sweet, the gelato benefited from olive oil with extra silkiness and of course the flavour of the oil.  Of course the caviar on top provided a "je ne sais" quality to the dessert that was only in the background.  Overall, the food we tried at Osetra was good.  There might've been a few things that could've been refined a bit more (such as the scallop crudo) and possibly the plating on the squid was a bit flat, but nothing outrageously deficient.  Atmosphere and decor fit the Downtown theme and pricing was okay, especially compared to Aquafarina across the street.

*All food was complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Good Downtown vibes and atmosphere

- Food was generally well-prepared

- Fresh seafood

The Bad:

- Some dishes could use further refinement

Oishinoya Broadway

Boy, this location along the Broadway corridor at Cambie has changed hands a few times!  First, it was Ramen One, where it emulated Ichiran's lonesome dining within your own cubby with minimal human interaction.  Then we found 404 Coffee Lab taking over the entire space (they were only a small window attached to Ramen One at first) offering up beverages with some food options.  Now the place is an outpost of the Oishinoya chain dishing up various version of Gyudon as well as some other rice bowls.  They didn't do much in altering the layout of the restaurant, so introverts rejoice!

So after ordering from the kiosks in front, we merely took our receipt, picked a cubby and sat down.  We placed our receipt by the service window and after a short wait, presto!  We got our rice bowl sets.  Before I get to those, the cubby itself is more than just 3 walls.  Rather, you have your personal water station (so you don't need to ask for water) as well as chopsticks, spoons and napkins.  If you needed condiments, they have it all including shoyu, garlic ra-yu, togarashi, furikake and fried garlic.  Believe me, that garlic ra-yu or chili crunch, is fantastic.  You can put that on anything and it will taste better!

Since the basic bowl wasn't interesting enough for a picture, we went for the Ontama Gyudon featuring an onsen egg.  This was placed atop a good amount of thinly sliced fatty beef.  We found green onion, onion and pickled ginger rounding out the ingredients in the bowl.  With the silkiness of the runny egg, the chewy rice took on a different texture being more moist but still having a bite.  The beef was buttery and tender while conservatively sauced.  This was intentional because we could customize the flavours with the aforementioned condiments.   We got this in a set which added 3 small side dishes including edamame, kimchi and wakame as well as a Miso Soup.

My favourite of the bunch was the Cheese Gyudon as they did not skimp on the torched cheese on top.  I could really taste the cheesiness, but it wasn't overwhelming.  There was a bit of smokiness and nuttiness.  Again, the fatty beef was tender and the stringy cheese on top added another layer of texture.  I've already gone over how the garlic ra-yu could enhance even shoe leather, but it really went well with this bowl since it was relatively neutral-tasting.  Just a bit of spice (the chili crunch itself was more nutty than spicy) and some crunch really enhanced the rice bowl.  Moreover, to give it even more boost, we sprinkled in some togarashi.  For this set, I opted for the Chicken Karaage and a Miso Soup.  The karaage featured a crispy thin batter while the chicken itself could've been juicier.

Our last version of the beef rice bowl was the Kimchi Gyudon.  This was essentially the basic gyudon with a bunch of kimchi on top.  If you were expecting some briny and spicy version of Korean kimchi here, that is not what we got.  Rather, it was plenty tangy with some sweetness and mild spiciness.  By itself, it needed a bit more for it to be tasty kimchi.  However, when combined with the fatty beef and chewy rice, it was not bad.  The tanginess and crunch brought some life into the bowl and even the slightest of spice did help provide more impact.  Instead of the chili crunch, adding some shoyu and fried garlic did the trick.

Onto a couple of non-beef rice bowls, we went for the Unagi Don.  This was a pretty standard version where we found 3 big fillets of buttery unagi.  It was lightly glazed so it wasn't too sweet.  It sat on a bed of chewy rice which accepted the sweetness of the unagi well.  Since this was also a set, we were able to try the Ebi Tempura as well.  I found the batter to be a bit thick, yet it was still uniformly crunchy.  The ebi inside was still moist and buttery.

The last thing we tried was the Bara Chirashi consisting of salmon and tuna mixed with cucumber and green onion.  Seeing that this was not a sushi joint, the sashimi was decently fresh and vibrant.  With a bit of shoyu and mixed together with the rice, this was rather pleasant and light.  Overall, the rice bowls at Oishinoya were well-portioned and did the trick.  Nothing particularly fancy here, but the pricing is fair and you can get full, even with the small size.  Great for people on the go or ones who'd rather not converse much with anyone.

*All food and beverages were complimentary except for the cost of one of the sets*

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Well-portioned, even for the small size

- Great for those who want to be left alone

The Bad:

- Obviously, not great for groups

- Currently with the Skytrain construction, it can affect you, depending how you get there

ANA Lounge, Haneda Airport Terminal 3

Well, there we were...  At Haneda on our flight back to Vancouver, 20 days earlier than expected.  We were on a cruise around Japan, with a land portion of our trip afterwards.  However, on our stop in Busan, Korea, Viv broke her leg and that began the hectic and stressful journey to this point.  After being taken by ambulance to the hospital, where her leg was stabilized, we had to hightail it back to the cruise ship so we could pack and get off.  We stayed overnight in Busan and took a flight back to Tokyo via Fukuoka.  If it weren't for the outstanding support from airport staff and airline crew at Gimhae Airport, Fukuoka Airport, Korean Airlines and Japan Airlines, it would've been much more difficult.  Thankfully, I was able to change our original flight home on ANA and maintain the business class seats we had booked.  Little did we know that it would come in handy given Viv's broken leg.  We were well-taken care of and yes, we still made it to the ANA Lounge at Haneda before we departed.  Despite this ordeal, it truly was first-world problems and we are grateful.

Now back to the ANA Lounge at Haneda.  Even though it was large and seemed to stretch from miles, it was plenty full.  There were 2 separate food stations, one at the front and one at the back.  The one at the front was much more busy since it had the made-to-order food window.   As for the food at the buffet station, there was Vegetarian Mapo Tofu and Seafood Paella.  I would say the tofu was decent but a bit bland.  The paella was subpar, being a bit soft and also not seasoned enough.  We found a bunch of pastries and buns as well as Tuna Onigiri, Pearl Barley & Seaweed Rice Ball and Inarizushi.  Nothing wrong with these other than being heavy on the carbs and taking away your appetite from the good stuff!

Now for a little bit of protein in the Fried Chicken with a sweet soy glaze.  These were quite good being crispy while plenty juicy in the middle.  There was enough glaze for impact.  Next to it, we found some Siu Mai which were pretty generic.  Comprised of all pork, it was juicy enough, but it did taste quite "porky".  I think this would've tasted better with hot sauce than eating it plain.

I saved my appetite for the best things in my opinion.  We could help ourselves to the Chicken Curry and accompanying pickles.  Loved the rice machine as it dished up a serving of rice with a push of a button.  This was good where it was more curry-tasting than the usual Japanese sweet curries.  Rice was perfectly textured.  I ordered a Ramen and it was pretty decent for an airport lounge.  The broth was silky and mild-tasting.  Noodles were chewy while the chashu was fairly tender.

There was also a cooled station with some Finger Sandwiches, Fruit and Salad.  Nothing particularly exciting with these, but it was something light for those who didn't need a whole meal.  In general, the food at the ANA Lounge at Haneda Terminal 3 was good.  Lots of space, clean washrooms and a good assortment of food.  Made-to-order dishes were available and all types of beverages as well.  I think I might be revisiting this in July as we are heading back to Japan to complete our trip!

 

The Good:

- Decent selection of food

- Made-to-order dishes

- Large and enough capacity to handle a many passengers

 

The Bad:

- Most of the good seats will be taken during peak hours

- The front buffet station is rather cramped

 

Sushitei Hondoriten

Walking around the Hiroshima Hondori, we were debating where to eat for lunch.  We briefly considered one of the lineups for Okonomiyaki but we didn't have that much time.  Ichiran was another option, but been there, done that.  Finally, we settled on a local chain in Sushitei Hondoriten.  Sure, it isn't the most premier sushi in town, but with limited time, we were not being too picky.  After walking upstairs, we were quickly seated and after perusing the menu, it was pretty simple with a few sushi combos available. 

My daughter decided to go for her usual in the Seafood Chirashi.  This was fully-loaded with tamago, unagi, hamachi, salmon, shima aji, hotate, akami, snow crab, ebi, tako and ikura.  Yes, this was filling and plenty satisfying.  As you can see from the picture, things were fresh with a nice sheen.  Indeed it was as the flavours were clean and sweet.   Tamago on the lighter side and not as layered as we would've liked though.

My son ended up with the Ikura Kobore while I had the Variety Set.  Both were somewhat similar except for a few minor differences.  They both had unagi, ebi, mirugai, tamago, akami, shima aji, chutoro, ika, uni and ikura.  The difference was that the Variety Set had hamachi and salmon while the Ikura Kobore had more ikura.  Again, nicely constructed nigiri featuring clean flavours and textures.

For Viv, she had the Sushi & Tempura Set which included a Clam Red Miso Soup.  This was a rather large bowl and in fact, we all had one.  Nice rich and fermented flavours with plenty of umami without actually being salty.  Didn't get a lot of brininess, but the clams themselves were buttery.  As for the Tempura, the batter was super light and crispy.  Things were cooked just right.

For her sushi plate, she had tamago, ebi, salmon, ikura, unagi, ika, akami and hamachi.   What has said about the nigiri has already been said, but I thought this set was a good value consider it included the soup, tempura and sushi.  Overall, we were satisfied with the sushi we had at Sushitei and it was well-priced too.  Service was a bit hit and miss as we had a hard time getting more tea and water.  Otherwise, this is a good option for those who aren't too picky about their sushi restaurants.

The Good:

- Fresh

- Not expensive

- Easy to get a table

The Bad:

- Service was a bit hit and miss

Mister Donut

When we were in Kochi, we had noticed a lineup at Mister Donut.  If we had a bit more time, we would've gotten into that line for sure.  However, we needed to get back to the cruise ship.  Now on our stop in Hiroshima, we were passing by a Mister Donut location on our way to lunch.  Well, that was as good as anytime to get in line for some donuts!  The line moved fast and we ended up with 6 donuts.

To get a baseline for their mochi donuts, we had the Glazed Mochi Donut.  This was lightly coated, so it wasn't super sweet, yet at the same time, it was not flavourless either.  I found the donut itself to be aromatic and the texture was lightly chewy.  We got the Chocolate Glazed as well and since it was only partially coated, it wasn't very sweet and it allowed for the fried mochi donut essence to be more prominent. 

Their strawberry glazed donuts were pretty dominant in the display case.  We got the Mochi Strawberry Glazed as well as the Strawberry Glazed Yeast Donut.  In terms of the glaze, it was actually not as "Pocky"-tasting as I thought it would be.  Sure, it was sweet, but it also genuinely had some strawberry flavour to it, albeit on the creamier side.  The yeast donut was light but still had structure.

Yet, the best of them all was the Strawberry Cruller.  Due to the egginess, it was light with a crispy exterior.  With only half of the donut dipped in the glaze, it was also balanced in terms of sweetness.  Our last donut was the Chocolate with coconut.  This cake donut was fluffy and fairly light.  It was only mildly sweet and had the aromatics of coconut on the outside.  I would've liked toasted coconut, but it was still tasty with natural sweetness.  Overall, the donuts at Mister Donut weren't mind-blowing, but they did the trick and were not expensive.  Try at least one of their strawberry donuts.

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Solid

- Just sweet enough

The Bad:

- Nothing mind-blowing

- Sometimes a lineup