2011-10-18 Dinner @ Sasaya Restaurant 全州豆腐鍋

7538 Royal Oak Avenue, Burnaby, BC

604-433-3652

We met up with CW and MukMuk-D for a quick dinner.  Ten days after our first visit (see post 2011-10-08 Lunch @ Sasaya Restaurant 全州豆腐鍋), we're here again...mainly because MukMuk-D only lives a few blocks away.

Of course, with a satisfying experience last time, Buddha Boy just had to have his Crispy Seasoned Diced Chicken 炸鹽酥雞塊, except this time, presentation was not the prettiest, and the dish had very minimal basil.  Buddha Boy also ordered the Deep Fried Fish Cake 炸甜不辣 to start...nothing special, just stored-bought then cut to deep fry.

CW has been raving about the Deep Fried Squid 炸魷魚鬚 for quite a while so it made sense to give it a try...well, it's good, but it's not the best I've had.  The tentacles were deep-fried to a nice texture, crunchy with a slight chewiness.  CW also ordered the Deep Fried Vegetarian Oyster 素炸蚵仔酥...um...why?  It's not our veggie day!!!  Hahaha!  But honestly, these weren't too bad...think of it as very firm breaded tofu balls seasoned just like crispy chicken...hahahaha!

CW ordered the Seafood Kim-Chi Hot Pot 韓式泡菜鍋 as her main, "bold" spicy, of course.  The soup was very flavorful, but it was not spicy for us at all.  Sorry, didn't pay attention to what types of seafood were in the pot.

MukMuk-D ordered Curry Chicken Meal 咖哩雞燴飯.  CW and I were quite surprised when the dish arrived...it's not common to see this type of creamy curry in Taiwan, or in Taiwanese restaurants.  Don't get us wrong, there's no such thing as "classic curry" in Taiwan, but due to history influence, the common curry style in Taiwan is very similar to Japanese curry.  Anyways, back to the dish.  While the chicken was tender, it lacked flavor, even when drenched in all that curry sauce.  The sauce was bland...it really need salt.

Buddha Boy had the BBQ Pork & Mini Seafood Hot Pot 韓式烤肉鍋.  I thought this was a good deal for $8.95, which also included a bowl of rice.  Buddha Boy thought the seafood soup was very light...almost too light that it was missing something...something like a "broth" fragrance.  The pork was simply marinated and seasoned, nothing spectacular, just something that went well with rice.

I had the Taiwanese Sausage Meal 台式香腸飯.  Okay...the sausage really tasted familiar...could it be from the same supplier where I get my smoked ducks?  I wonder?!?!?  My combo meal came with two sides, a bowl of house soup (in this case, some kind of herbal soup) and a bowl of white rice...not bad for $7.95.

2011-10-08 Lunch @ Sasaya Restaurant 全州豆腐鍋

7538 Royal Oak Avenue, Burnaby, BC

604-433-3652

What to do?!?!  FP's closed for two weeks.  Yup, I am a FP-addict!  Wahahaha!  Anyhow, not exactly sure why we were in the area, but we ended up having lunch at this Taiwanese restaurant.

The restaurant felt more like a school cafeteria/canteen than a BBT hangout.  From the outside look of the restaurant, you would never imagine that the inside would look so...well...um...PINK!  LOL!

Buddha Boy ordered the BBQ Pork on Hot Plate with Rice 韓式燒肉飯.  The meal came with a house soup (in this case, Seaweed Soup 海帶湯) and white rice.  The hot plate came with pork, seasonal vegetables and an egg.  The vegetables were simply stir-fried.  The pork was pan-fried prior to serving it on hot plate.  The pork was a bit too sweet, but was overall good.  Not bad for $7.95.

Buddha Boy and I shared a Taiwanese Pork Thick Soup 台式肉羹湯, or pork nuggets in soup (as I have always called it).  The soup was pretty much how we'd get it on the street of Taiwan, thicken with corn starch with julienne strips of vegetable.  The pork nuggets were probably one of the better tasting ones we've had in 604, however, these did not have that "crunch" texture.

The Crispy Seasoned Diced Chicken 炸鹽酥雞塊 was basically the Salty Crispy Chicken.  Yes, these were crispy and salty, but the chicken itself lacked marination.  The saltiness was only on the outer coat.  Light basil aroma.

I had the Taiwanese Gluten Meatball 台灣肉圓, commonly known as ba-wan.  The wrap was too dense, lacked that Q-texture.  Ample filling with standard varieties...pork, bamboo shoots and shitake mushrooms.  The sauce was weak...too much soy sauce.