2012-02-26 Quick Visit @ Caffe Lieto / Biscuit Bitch

1909 - 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA

206-941-4444

Being that it's Sunday, we found free street parking about two blocks away from Pike Place Market.  While walking by Caffe Lieto, I noticed a sign on the window...Biscuit Bitch.  Being a sucker for this marketing, I persuaded Buddha Girl to accompany me in.  Yes, I already had a large NY style sandwich and a large bowl of New English clam chowder, but I just I had to try their biscuit.

Oh, what a mistake it was coming here.  I now understand why this place is so popular with the late night crowd, they're simply drunk and don't know any better.  I had the Cheese Pork n' Bitch, which had a lot of bacon and cheese but very limited gravy.  The biscuit was disappointing.

Starting with the biscuit, it was soggy and dense with no texture.  Was the biscuit microwaved?  The gravy was uneventful and lacked depth.  The gravy actually made the biscuit worse than it already was.  Cheese was not melted.  And finally, the bacon.  You all know how much I love bacon, but the bacon here was extremely salty.  Overall, this was a train wreck.

The only thing that was enjoyable was their Lemonade, very refreshing, but that was about it.  The cafe is small and dark.  Seats are limited and tight.  My hope for a nice biscuit surprise was ruined.  I will not return.

2012-02-26 Quick Visit @ I Love New York Deli

#4 - 93 Pike Street, Seattle, WA

206-381-3354

Yup, we drove down to Pike Place Market...again.  Buddha Girl had a craving for the famous chowder, so I obliged (and no, she's not pregnant).  While Buddha Girl was in line for Pike Place Chowder, I went over to the main building and picked up the Broadway, a corned beef, pastrami and chopped liver sandwich.

This sandwich was a decent size for $11.95, but unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy the sandwich that much.  The meat wasn't dry, but it wasn't moist nor juicy.  The bread wasn't anything too memorable.  Simply speaking, been here, done that, no need to return.

2012-02-24 Dinner @ Tandoori Kona

11700 Cambie Road, Richmond, BC

604-279-9259

My former colleague suggested to try her favorite East Indian restaurant, located on Cambie and No.5 in Richmond...yes, Richmond.  We dragged Mr. & Mrs. Little Lee along for a double date...well, more like we were lazy and didn't feel like driving...hehehe!  Sorry Mr. Little Lee!!!  :p

I started with a Mango Lassi (left) while Mr. Little Lee had a Sweet Lassi (right).  I'm not experience to say if it's good, but at least I enjoyed mine!

We ordered two Combination platters (vegetable samosa, vegetable pakora, chicken pakora and fish pakora and onion bhajia).  I cannot tell you how classic or authentic these were, but I can say that we all enjoyed the platters.

Mr. Little Lee's  Lamb Korma (left), Mrs. Little Lee's Chicken Curry (center) and my Butter Chicken (right).  The butter chicken was creamy, but was a tad bit sweeter than my preference.  The meat was tender and moist.  Again, not an expert in this cuisine but all four of us did enjoyed the three dishes.

Buddha Boy went with a meaty dish, the Mixed Grill, (also known as "Tandoori Dinner").  The hot plate came with tandoori chicken (or BBQ chicken, as stated on their menu), tandoori fish, lamb tikka, fish tikka, Seekh kebab and butter sauce.  Other than the dry fish and the boring kebab (which was nothing extraordinary except sausage chunks that's heavily spiced), the meats were overall tender and moist.  The accompanied sauce was simply butter chicken without the chicken.

Prices were reasonable and each order came with rice, papadum and naan.  While we're not familiar with the cuisine to say if it's the best in town, but it's certainly good enough for us to plan another visit.  Do keep in mind two downsides, slow execution and bad ventilation.

2012-02-17 Heat & Serve @ T&T Supermarket 大統華超級市場

2800 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver, BC

604-254-9668

WW suggested to try the house brand frozen dinners at T&T Supermarket.  Honestly, I'm never a fan of anything produced by this company, but to give face to WW, we chose four to try.

As per package instructions, there are two ways of heating/cooking, steam or microwave.  Buddha Boy and I opted to steam all the dishes.

The Stewed Meat Ball 津白獅子頭 was gross.  The meatball had no texture at all, it was simply too over-grounded!!!  The massive use of baking soda was very apparent.  The stew was tasteless, bland and watery.  My dog wouldn't even touch this.

As long as you're not eating this with an expectation of "Three-Cup Chicken 三杯雞" in mind, this Stewed Chicken with Three Cups Sauce 三杯雞 was actually pretty good.  Considering it's frozen dinner, the chicken still had its texture and the overall flavor was quite gingery and garlicky.  Yes, I saw basil, but the dish had absolutely no basil taste.

Growing up, I was taught that 滷肉 is the made with pork belly and 肉燥 is made with minced pork, but nowadays, in Taiwan, the difference between the two is simply distinguished by what region it's made, either north or south...WTF?  Anyways, just a little rant there.  Okay, I didn't expect much with this Stewed Minced Pork & Mushroom 香菇肉燥, but honestly, this was not too bad.  Not salty enough to accompany any rice or noodles, but it does have an acceptable flavor, just a bit too watery.

The Stewed Pork Belly with Salted Mustard 梅菜扣肉 was an interesting dish.  Don't expect to taste or smell any mui-choy (preserved veggie) here, you won't find any.  The mui-choy tasted like it's been cooked over and over just to extract its flavors.  The pork belly looked fatty, but it was not as I bite into it.  The pork had absorbed enough flavors to call it a "stewed pork" but it needed to be stewed longer to get that right texture.

Simply put, been there, done that.  We've been suckered in once, not gonna waste our money and be suckers again.

2012-02-14 Dinner @ Jubilant Restaurant 恩榮小館

4200 No.3 Road, Richmond, BC

604-278-3555

Buddha Girl and I made all the right excuses to MomJ on this Valentine's day and it was decided that we'd all come here for a quick meal to accommodate MomJ's singing lessons.  After 10+ years, her singing still hasn't improved, but she enjoys it nevertheless.

There are various forms of Shredded Chicken with Jelly Fish 手撕雞 in 604, and in my opinion, the best can still be found at Koon Bo Restaurant 冠寶美食之家 on Fraser and 41st.  This version at Jubilant was weak.  While the jellyfish was crunchy with good texture and flavor, rest of the components didn't marry well together.  It lacked sweetness and sourness, and the limited pieces of spring roll wrappers weren't sufficient.  A bit of disappointment, I say.

The Crab Meat & Fish Maw Thick Soup 蟹肉魚肚羹 was extremely bland.  Other than the requisite red vinegar, we all had to add extra salt and pepper just to give it flavor.  The poor quality fish maw was quite fishy and the texture was a bit off.  This soup is not recommended.

I enjoyed the Deep Fried Pork Chop in BBQ Sauce 京都肉扒.  The pork was well marinated and cooked nicely.  The meat wasn't overloaded with baking soda so the meaty texture was still there.  The sauce had just the right amount of ketchup.  I'd order this again.

The Braised Pork and Dried Vegetable 梅菜扣肉 was a failure.  The sauce was bland and weak.  The meat was fatty and chewy.  The poor quality mui-choy had an undefinable taste.  Buddha Girl was disappointed.

Surprisingly, we all enjoyed the Sauteed Silver Fish & Squid with Chive 銀魚吊片炒韭菜花.  While fresh and tasty, the dish was a bit on the saltier side, but worked well with a bowl of white rice.

Another disappointment was the Jubilant Seafood Hot Pot 恩榮一品窩.  The fish broth was fine, but everything else was boring.  A simple compilation of shrimp, scallops, fish balls, basa and baby bok choy can be called a "supreme pot"?  The ladies were not impressed.

Buddha Girl wanted to try their award-winning fish noodle soup, but instead of fish balls, Buddha Girl asked for a Wonton with Noodle Soup 潮式雲吞湯米粉.  The wontons were good, decent size with crunchy shrimps, better than a lot of congee-noodle joints.  The broth was light and flavorful, but it was one dimensional.  Buddha Girl still prefers the one at The Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒魚翅海鮮酒家.

The complimentary dessert for the day was Taro Tapioca 芋頭西米露, nothing special.  Overall, this meal was just okay.  The food had both hits and misses.  This place is cash only, and the nearest bank machines can be found at Aberdeen Centre or Parker Place.