2012-12-07 Take-Out @ Sun Cheong Loong BBQ House 新昌隆燒臘名店

#150 - 8191 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC

604-273-7071

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Growing up in Coquitlam (Town Centre), Richmond, to me, at that time, was a annoying place located on the other side of the globe.  Bad driving.  Bad parking.  Bad everything.  Now, married and live only fifteen minutes from the closest bridge to Richmond, I'm practically there once or twice every two or three days.  Yup, slapping myself right now...

While waiting for some specialty items at Wheat Garden Bakery 小麥田餅屋, I decided to go next door and pick up some BBQ meats for dinner.  Every time Buddha Boy and I visit the bakery, we've noticed the constant traffic flow to this barbeque shop next door.  Honestly, the meats didn't look that great, but hey, can't judge until we try it, right?

The Ginger Marinated Steamed Free Range Chicken 沙薑龍岡雞 is one of their specialty.  Strong aroma of sand ginger (also known as capoor cutch or resurrection lily).  The chicken was moist but the meat was a bit too firm. 

Now, for the Honey BBQ Pork 蜜汁叉燒, I asked for half fat and half lean.  Instead of getting a marbled mix of 50/50, the pork was, literally, half fat on one side and half lean on the other.  Yes, very significant.  Other than being sweet (too sweet for my liking), the taste was pretty boring.

I may return to try their other barbeque items, but when?  I really don't know.  So far, our choices for Chinese barbeque meats are:
 Datang BBQ Express 大塘燒臘 - Roasted Pork 燒肉 
Yu Kee BBQ Kitchen 裕記燒臘小廚 - BBQ Duck 燒鴨  
Dollar Meat Store 元昌燒臘肉食公司 - Salty Baked Chicken 鹽焗雞 
Top Gun J&C Restaurant 尖東新派食館 - Sand Ginger Chicken 沙薑雞 
Lian Hong 永香美食菜館 - BBQ Pork 叉燒 / Soy Sauce Chicken Leg 豉油雞脾

2012-12-01 Lunch @ Bonchaz Bakery Café

189 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC

604-875-1128

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Another visit to Bonchaz Bakery Café on East Broadway and Main Street in Vancouver.  This time, I purchased four dining passes from VANEATS.ca and dragged Buddha Boy, Octopus and HoCloud along for the experience.

Vegan Chili was the only soup selection available.  With ample amounts of corn, beans, peas and peppers, this bowl was more like a tomato soup than a chili stew.  While it's not bad, it's not something we'd order again.

Buddha Boy and Octopus each had a Pulled Pork sandwich, in which they regret as soon as they took their bites.  Well..."I TOLD YOU SO!"  (Please see post 2012-11-29 "SUPER Bonchaz" @ Bonchaz Bakery Café.)

I had the Avocado & Brie sandwich.  Double-creamy cheese plus a ripe and creamy fruit resulted in a deliciously rich and creamy sub.  Compliments of tomatoes and cucumber gave the sandwich a refreshing coolness.  The balsalmic added a nice contrasting sweetness.  Unfortunately, the bun didn't quite do the charm.  Perhaps the brioche bun would work better.

HoCloud opted for a Garlic Tuna sandwich.  Other than the bun being a bit dry, HoCloud enjoyed it.  Buddha Boy and I did not try the sandwich.

The Chocolate Truffle bonchaz (top left) was not a chocolate bun, instead, it's a bun with limited and overly sweet chocolate truffle filling.  With ample amounts of mashed banana and crushed walnuts, the Banana Walnut bonchaz (top right) was my favorite.  While the Original bonchaz (bottom) was simple, it was buttery and light with a balanced sweetness from the icing sugar. 

With tips, I only paid $30 and fed four hungry hippos...pretty good deal, I say.  This SUPER Bonchaz dining pass will end on March 4th, 2013.  Please visit VANEATS.ca for more information.

2012-11-30 Dinner @ Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen 岸本

2054 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC

604-255-5550

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Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen 岸本 came recommended from a Japanese friend of Little Lee.  Every time we drove along Commercial Drive, we've tried to locate this restaurant.  It's not that easy to find unless you have the address.  And, if you do plan on visiting, get here early.  We were lucky to snap the last table at 5:30pm, and right after we were seated, dinner lineup started.

First came the Tuna & Salmon Sashimi, served on an ice block.  The fish were fresh and had quality.  While the salmon was good, the tuna was better.  As I cut the tuna with chopsticks, it was a smooth cut without any fibre.  The tuna was tenderly smooth and melted easily.  This has got to be one of the better, if not, the best, tuna sashimi I have ever had, locally.

The Black Cod Misozuke was cooked perfectly tender and moist.  The sweet miso was subtle and did not overpower the natural flavors of the fish.  

The Salmon Oshi Sushi was quite delicious.  There were two layers of rice and two layers of salmon, topped with a thin layer of mayo that was torched and garnished with fresh ground pepper and jalepeno.  The mayo added a smooth creaminess to the sushi.  While not as good as Miku Restaurant, this was good enough to order again

Served in a stone bowl, the Unagi Ishinabe was a bit different than the common unagi-don.  First, the eel was sliced, not served as a filet.  Unlike Seto Japanese Restaurant 瀨戶壽司 (Buddha Girl's favorite restaurant for unagi-don) where the eel was plump and fatty, the fish here was lean and dry.

The most disappointing dish was the Assorted Tempura.  The batter was thick and was only lukewarm when served.  Buddha Girl was not pleased.

My first try of this dish and I was pleasantly surprised.  The Pork Okonomiyaki came out piping hot, and, to my surprise, it wasn't oily.  The pancake looked thick and heavy, but it's really not.  Instead, it was filled with ample amounts of cabbage and pork.  The bonito flakes and sauces complimented the dish well.  We'd definitely order this dish again.

Buddha Girl saw another table with a fancy presentation and cried that we must have one too.  To get the fancy plate, we must order two or more rolls...not hard for us.  I have to admit, the presentation was impressive, even down to the little mushroom-like radish that reminded me of Super Mario Bros.  The rolls were snug and firm, holding all ingredients nicely together.

The Mamenoki Roll (edamame, avocado, cornflakes, carrot, mayo, asparagus) was a miss for me.  I thought it was bland and boring.  The Spider Roll (avocado, soft shell crab tempura, tobiko, cucumber, lettuce, mayo, unagi sauce, seaweed, daikon) was wrapped in a thin layer of daikon, which I didn't quite enjoy, mainly because of the daikon skin.  The soft shell crab was done well with a good texture.  The Dragon Roll (tobiko, prawn tempura, mayo, unagi, avocado, unagi sauce) was my favorite.  The texture of the fried tempura prawn, the creaminess of the avocado, the sweetness of unagi sauce...everything just came together so well.

We really enjoyed our experience at Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen 岸本.  Yes, there were a couple of misses, but we were please with the overall quality.  This has now become my favorite Japanese restaurant.

2012-11-29 "SUPER Bonchaz" @ Bonchaz Bakery Café

189 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC

604-875-1128

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Another VANEATS.ca dining pass.  This time, it was for Bonchaz Bakery Cafe on the corner of East Broadway and Main Street in Vancouver.  This was not a complimentary pass.

 Each $6.50 (tax included) SUPER Bonchaz dining pass comes with a bowl of soup, a sandwich and, of course, a bonchaz.  This package runs from November 8th, 2012 to March 4th. 2013 and is only valid at the East Broadway location. 

Chicken Curry was the featured soup of the day.  Huh?  Curry?  Of course not.  This was more like a chicken noodle soup with hints of curry powder.  Was it good?  Not really.  Was it bad?  Better than Campell's.

This SUPER Bonchaz dining pass offers three choices of sandwiches: Avocado & Brie, The Vegan or Beef Bulgogi.  Of course, being a non-beef eater, I really only had two choices, but I really wanted meat!!!  Luckily, they were accommodating and substituted a Pulled Pork sandwich instead (same price as an Avocado & Brie sandwich).

Pull pork was too wet.  BBQ sauce was too sweet.  Bacon was not crisp.  Bun was cold.  Nothing but disappointment.

So...what is a bonchaz?  The bun was airy, light and buttery.  It kind of reminded me of a Chinese pineapple bun 菠蘿包 but without the golden sugar top and filling.  I first came across a bonchaz at a farmer's market where Buddha Boy picked up an original bun for $2.  At that time, I instantly fell in love with that freshly baked delight.  Soon after, we visited their downtown location on West Hastings Street.  Our second experience ended in disappointment.  The buns were dry and doughy, not to mention the limited and minimal fillings.

This dining pass offers three choices of bonchaz: Original, Banana Walnut or Matcha.  I opted for a Banana Walnut bonchaz as my third visit to Bonchaz Bakery Cafe.  The bun was warm and soft with a slight cirspy top.  Inside was deliciously filled with mashed banana and crushed California walnuts.

Was this package a worthy buy? Yes, considering you get a soup, a sandwich and a dessert...all for just $6.50, tax included!!!  Yes, there were misses, but it's not a place to avoid.  I will visit again with Buddha Boy to try their featured Avocado & Brie sandwich.

2012-11-28 "GIVE ME MAU" @ DD Mau

1239 Pacific Boulevard, Vancouver, BC

604-684-4446

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After a light dinner, Buddha Boy and I dropped by DD Mau to experience another featured dining pass on VANEATS.ca, "GIVE ME MAU".  While the pass at Kingyo Izakaya was complimentary (because I won the #NAMEItToWinIt contest), this pass was not complimentary.

This package was a pretty good bang-for-the-buck.  Each pass is $9.50 (tax included) and it includes two half sandwiches and a smoothie.  The deal runs from October 29th, 2012 to February 28th, 2013.

Honeydew or avocado?  We opted for an Avocado Smoothie.  The use of almond milk gave it a nice almond fragrance that lingered in the throat.  The sweetening agent was condensed milk, which added more creaminess to the drink.  A simple drink done well.

The two half banh-mi sandwiches were wrapped together to form a foot-long.  We started with the Crispy Roasted Pork, or Thit Heo Quay.  This sandwich reminded us of Meat & Bread.  While Meat & Bread really showcased their signature in their porchetta sandwich, DD Mau didn't quite do the same.  Don't get us wrong, this sandwich was delicious.  The combination of garlic aioli, sauteed scallions, cilantro and jalapeno added a nice kick to the sandwich.  The cucumber slices gave it a refreshing taste.  The baguette was amazingly light with a crunchy coat and a soft middle.  The pickled vegetables were neither too sour nor acidic and balanced well with the roasted pork.  But (yes, the big "BUT"), the crispy skin, which was very crispy, was a bit lost in all that meat and vegetables.

Next banh-mi was the Grilled Lemongrass Chicken.  The thigh meat was very moist and full of lemongrass fragrance.  However, because the lemongrass taste was too strong, the vegetables (cilantro, cucumber, pickled vegetables) didn't quite do the charm.  While the jalapeno peppers gave it a kick, the pepper fragrance was lost.

Unlike Kingyo Izakaya, where I was requested to present a photo identification to redeem the dining pass (and they illegally recorded information from the identification), DD Mau only asked for a name for record purposes.