2012-01-28 Dinner @ U-Enjoy 陶醉吧

#1680 - 8260 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC

778-297-1155

After a satisfying visit to this restaurant (see post 2012-01-12 Lunch @ U-Enjoy 陶醉吧), I picked up a voucher for the deal featured on The Red Pocket.  This $8 "Exclusive Dinner Set" (regular $18) includes two choices of skewers (two skewers per choice, a total of four skewers), one entree and one drink.

Buddha Boy and I arrived pretty much right at opening.  Being the first customers, we were quickly greeted and seated.  What bothered us was the owners being a bit too friendly, to the point of being intrusive.  Now, don't get us wrong, they were very nice people, but they kept on coming by to talk to us...grrr...it would be nice if they gave us some space to enjoy our dinner, peacefully.

As part of the deal, we had two choices of skewers from the "Exclusive Dinner Set" menu.  Buddha Boy opted for Japanese Style Chicken Skewers 日式串燒雞 (left) and Korean Style Spicy Pork Skewers 韓式五花肉 (right).  Both were good, but nothing extraordinary.

Also part of the deal, we had a choice of the entrees listed in the set menu, I opted for Singapore Style Fried Vermicelli 星洲炒米.  The plate had ample ingredients with just the right amount of curry flavoring.  However, it did lack wok-hei 鑊氣 (or 火候 in Mandarin).  A drink was also included and Buddha Boy opted for Passion Fruit Calpis Soda 百香果可爾比斯梳打...nothing special.

Knowing my husband, the four skewers included in the set menu would not easily satisfy him.  At $1.50 each, Buddha Boy ordered four more skewers: a Mochi with Bacon Skewer 串燒煙肉麻糬 (left), a Quail Egg with Bacon Skewer 串燒煙肉鵪鶉蛋 (left) and two Korean Style Chicken Skewer 韓式串燒雞 (right).  Just like the ones previously, these were done nicely, but boring.  Buddha Boy thought the skewers were a bit small for the price.

Buddha Boy's favorite dish was the Honey Garlic Chicken 蒜子蜜汁雞球.  No, the chicken pieces were not crispy, but were freshly and nicely deep-fried in clean oil.  And unlike many Chinese restaurants where the "honey" is actually sugar water/syrup, we could actually taste the honey fragrance along with the garlic.  Buddha Boy enjoyed this so much that we ordered a second plate!!!  Hahaha!

Of course, Buddha Boy could not leave this place without trying their Chicken in Three Special Sauce 三杯雞, or simply Three-Cup Chicken.  Commonly speaking, this dish is usually oily and salty, but not the case here.  Each piece of chicken absorbed in the necessary flavors while maintained its tenderness.  We enjoyed it, but thought they could have "fried" the ginger (at the beginning) and the basil (at the end) a bit longer to extract more of the flavors.

The Pan Fried Chicken 生炒走地雞 was suggested by the owners.  This popular dish (as claimed by the owners) was a simple stir-fry of free-ranged chicken, Chinese sausage and Chinese celery.  At $18.95 for a large or $9.95 for a small, this was a lot pricier than most of the dishes on their menu.  Flavor wise, this tasted like the Hakka Stir-Fry 客家小炒.  I enjoyed it, but not so much for Buddha Boy, mainly because it's free-ranged chicken.  Will I order this again?  Most likely not...unless it's chicken meat with no bones...hahahahaha!

Overall, we enjoyed our visit.  The restaurant is small but spacious.  Service was courteous, except with that little intrusive glitch.  Buddha Boy and I plan to visit again to try their clay pot rice.