Victory Seafood Restaurant – ChineseBites Media Event

June 5, 2016Leave a comment

Note: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions were based on my own personal experience.

I think the last time I visited Crystal Mall has got to be over 10 years ago. Driving in the parkade is the worst experience ever so I avoid this mall at all cost. But when ChineseBites invited me to do a dim sum tour at Victory Seafood Restaurant, I ventured my way out and luckily around 2pm on a Saturday, the parking lot wasn’t as busy (the parking was still pretty bad though!).

We were seated in more of a private room, but outside, the decor is similar with gold being the focus. I could see this as a decent restaurant to host Chinese banquets.

As this was a ChineseBites dim sum tour, we ordered literally almost everything off the dim sum menu – a total of 37 dishes! Dishes range from $4.49-$7.49 depend on size and specialty.

Baked BBQ Pork Buns with Crust Topping looked just like a pineapple bun but was filled with savoury BBQ pork filling. The top was sweet and the bun itself was fluffy.

One of my favourite fried items was the Deep Fried Shrimp Spring Rolls with Garlic. The wrapper was light and crispy and the inside was packed with shrimp and garlic filling.

The Deep Fried Dumplings with Pork & Dried Shrimp were also quite delicious with the outside crispy and interior like a mochi chewy texture. The inside was filled with a savoury pork and dried shrimp filling.

We tried a variety of rice rolls, with my favourite being the Steamed Rice Rolls with Crispy Deep Fried Fish Paste. The rice rolls here are quite silky smooth. The rice rolls with the chinese donuts were also popular.

I like how they give you both the Pan Fried Radish & Shredded Taro Cakes when you order this dish, so you can sample both. The taro cakes are harder as expected, so I do enjoy the softer radish cake personally.

A dish I did not try, but was told by others to skip was the Smoked Salmon with Fruit Salad Sauce Tarts. I guess it’s more a westernized dish, so you can’t expect much at a Chinese restaurant. Apparently, the ingredients just didn’t mesh well.

A new item on their menu was the Steamed Red Rice Rolls with Shrimp. We were all curious about the red colour, but turns out there is no flavour to it. More of a gimmick so I would just stick with the regular rice rolls.

Onto the steamers! Suddenly, everything came out all at once. The Steamed Meat Balls were packed full of flavour and remained moist.

Dim sum isn’t the same without an order of the Steamed Pork Dumplings (Siu Mai). These were topped with flying fish roe and packed full of minced pork.

One of my favourite dim sum items to order is the Steamed Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf. Packed tightly in the lotus leaf, the filling to rice proportion was pretty good.

Other than your steamers and fried food, the dim sum menu also features some clay pot rice, including the Steamed Rice with Chicken & Black Fungus. These were decent, but lacked the crispy rice at the bottom.

Overall, some hits and misses, but overall, a decent spot to have dim sum with a large variety and reasonable prices.

John 3:16 Malaysian Delights – North Van (Media Tasting)

June 1, 2016Leave a comment

Note: All food and beverages were complimentary.

John 3:16 Malaysian Delights was a hidden gem in Richmond, so when the complex they were located in sold to developers, all the stores in the strip mall had to close down. John 3:16 then opened up a restaurant in North Van and Sharon invited me along with some other food bloggers to get a media tasting of their menu. The location is far for me, but the good news is they have secured a new spot in Richmond and will re-open this summer!

Iced Lychee Soya Milk

First up was one of their new drinks – Iced Lychee Soya Milk. If you like soya milk, this is for you. However, I felt bloated after drinking too much of this and the lychee juice is not strong enough. I ended up eating the lychees themselves to get more flavour. G ordered the Iced Lychee Juice which she found to be a better option.

Roti Canai

My favourite appetizer from John 3:16 arrived and these Roti Canai have got to be one of the most flaky roti I’ve had. Warm and flaky, with a nice crunch on the outside but still soft on the inside. This was paired with a side of curry which was light and mild in spice.

Chicken Skewers

The Chicken Skewers were marinated in a sweet savoury sauce and cooked to a nice char. The meat was tender and moist and I enjoyed dipping it in the side of peanut sauce.

Pulut Panggang

The last time I had Pulut Panggang was when I was at a hawker centre in Singapore. The rice is wrapped in banana leaf giving it a fragrant flavour and is cooked to more of a chewy texture. The rice is filled with a sweet coconut filling which I really enjoyed.

Malay Spicy Seafood Soup

Onto some hot food was the Malay Spicy Seafood Soup. At first, we wondered if we should be dipping something into this, but the more we drank it, the more we enjoyed it. Turns out, it is actually a soup so we were doing the right thing! An abundance of seafood is cooked with vegetable, Malay spices and coconut milk to create this aromatic soup. Not overly spicy, but more of a sweet undertone from the seafood with a slight tang.

Char Koay Teow

The Char Koay Teow was an item I had tried previously at the Richmond location, and once again, this did not disappoint. The stir fried flat rice noodle was mixed with beef, shrimp, egg, bean sprouts, Chinese sausage and fish cake. I like how it had “wok hay” and was not overly greasy, which is often the case for this dish.

Ipoh Char Hor Fun

Next was the Ipoh Char Hor Fun, which is stir fried flat rice noodle with fish, shrimp, fish cake and vegetable. This comes in a light egg-starch gravy, and I found the flavours to be rather mild. This was just average for me.

Sambal Okra, Green Beans & Eggplants

Of course we had to have some veggies, so we sampled the Sambal Okra, Green Beans & Eggplants. This was in a spicy sauce with the eggplants being cooked to a nice texture (not over cooked).

Kari Laksa

Onto more noodles, we had the Kari Laksa, which featured egg noodle in curry soup served with curry chicken, tofu puffs, green beans, egg, fish cakes, shrimp and bean sprouts. Rich in coconut flavours with a nice spice. I found that most of their items are not too spicy in general.

Hainanese Chicken

The Hainanese Chicken is a winner for me with the tender boiled boneless chicken being served with a special sauce, ginger, cucumber slices and chili sauce. I like how they top it with fried garlic so it gives a nice flavour. Extremely tender and moist chicken!

Kam Hiong Prawns

Another one of my favourites was the Kam Hiong Prawns. These prawns are huge but they kept a great bouncy texture without being overcooked. The sauce is absolutely delicious as it is sweet with a hint of spice.

Beef Rendang

The Beef Rendang is a dried curry beef stew cooked with Malaysian spices and coconut milk. I thought these looked quite dry, but they were actually quite moist! This would be great paired with rice.

Nasi Goreng

Last but not least, another favourite was the Nasi Goreng. This stir fried rice came with egg, shrimp, squid, corn, carrot, green peas and was served with cucumber slices, anchovies and sambal on the side. I liked how the sambal was put on the side so you can determine how spicy you want your rice. This again had a very nice “wok hay” and char and I could easily eat bowls of this rice!

Overall, John 3:16 at the North Vancouver location did not disappoint. Once again, the flavours were on point and executed well. This location also is much bigger than their original location in Richmond. Downside is it’s quite far for me, so I will have to wait for the new Richmond location to open up!

Sof Peaks: Ice Milk Bars Media Tasting

May 31, 2016May 31, 2016Leave a comment

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Note: All items were complimentary.

The last time I was at Soft Peaks was when they first opened. Fast forward a year later, they have revamped their menu and earlier this month, they launched their new Ice Milk Bars. Thanks to Jacqueline, a few other food bloggers and I were invited to get a taste of their new menu.

There aren’t too many seats on the first floor, but upstairs has more seating. Plus, on a sunny day, Soft Peaks is perfect to indulge in while exploring Gastown.

The soft serves are still on the menu with many additions since they first opened. They now have milkshakes as well. Our event was focused on the Ice Milk Bars which are $4 without any toppings or syrups. PS. Ice Milk Sandwiches are supposed to be launching in June!!

The new Milk Ice Bars currently feature four flavours: mango, milk & honey, and matcha.

Milk and Honey Ice Milk Bar, Matcha Ice Milk Bar

The Milk and Honey flavour is quite like their original honey soft serve. I liked the subtle sweetness along with the creamy milkiness. The Matcha flavour was your typical strong tea flavour, so I didn’t find that flavour too special. Their ice milk bars are made with organic Avalon milk and have no preservatives added, and therefore they melt quicker than off-the-shelf bars. A good excuse to eat them quickly!

Mango Ice Milk Bar, Blueberry Ice Milk Bar

My favourites were actually their fruit flavoured bars. Both the Mango and Blueberry were not overly sweet. Again, no preservatives, so you can really taste the natural ingredients!

Mango Mango Milk Ice Bar

Other than the original flavours, you can also add various toppings and syrups to customize your bars. You can also ask the servers to replicate a similar topping to their soft serves. For example, the Mango Mango Milk Ice Bar comes loaded with mango cubes and drizzled with honey. You’ll need a spoon to eat this though.

We ended up trying a wide variety of their toppings and syrups. The toppings really make the bars much more fancy looking, but I think I prefer the bars on their own so you can really taste the original flavour itself. Plus, you need two hands to eat these when they have toppings! Nevertheless, one of my favouties was the yuzu marmalade (in the center) as I’m a sucker for anything yuzu and I liked how the sweetness of the marmalade paired really well with the milky flavour.

North Pole Breakfast

Although we were here for the launch of the ice milk bars, we couldn’t leave without trying some of their soft serves. Perfect since I had only tried two flavours back when they opened. First up was the North Pole Breakfast, which featured cereal flakes and a caramel syrup. Simple so you can still taste the original milk flavour, but the cereal gives it some texture.

Blue Mountain, Honeycomb Peak

Onto the Blue Mountain on the left which was loaded with blueberries and a homemade blueberry puree. I liked how the puree wasn’t overly sweet again. And on the right was their famous Honeycomb Peak, which features a piece of local honeycomb on top and cereal flakes at the bottom.

Green Forest

The Green Forest on the right features organic premium matcha powder, sweet red beans and condensed milk. This was definitely an improvement from when they first opened. I remember complaining how the toppings and syrups were not distributed throughout the cup so you only got the flavours at the top. They have clearly taken that into consideration and you get a bite of everything throughout now.

Rocky Mountain

Lastly, we tried the Rocky Mountain which features toasted coconut and your choice of syrup, which in this case we got the chocolate sauce. Again, the toasted coconut gives a light crunch for some texture.

Soft Peaks has stepped it up with an alternative to their soft serve ice cream. Same quality ingredients, but a different form and way of eating. Overall, I quite enjoyed the bars, but would prefer them on their own. I would prefer getting the toppings on the soft serve ice cream instead. Soft Peak ice cream isn’t cheap, but great when you want to give yourself a treat! Looking forward to the launch of their ice cream sandwiches!

The Keg (Alberni)

May 28, 2016Leave a comment

I always tell S to skip the chain restaurants, because there are just too many new and more exciting restaurants to try in Vancouver. Not that I don’t like chain restaurants, but you sort of know what you’re going to get. But since I had a $100 gift card to The Keg, I might as well use it, right? I suggested we try the somewhat new location at Alberni in Downtown and was blown away by both the beautiful interior and amazing food.

Complimentary Bread

Dinner started off with Complimentary Bread and whipped butter. The bread was served warm and super fluffy. We loved this!

Filet Mignon

I decided to choose the Filet Mignon with a side of mashed potatoes and vegetables. Served medium rare, the tenderloin was wrapped in applewood smoked bacon and was literally what they describe it on the menu as “ultimate in tenderness”. This was served with Béarnaise but I found the meat itself was already very well flavoured. One of the best cuts you can get and didn’t disappoint!

Prime Rib with side of Lobster Tail

S chose the Prime Rib and went all out by adding a side of a 6oz Atlantic Lobster Tail. Best choice ever, because the lobster tail was cooked absolutely perfect! Buttery and tender, this was delicious dipped in the lobster oil. A must order! The prime rib was also very tender although there were some fatty parts which were difficult to chew. The prime rib was rubbed with Keg’s unique blend of spices and hand-carved. It is served with horseradish and red wine herb jus which further enhances the flavours.

Billy Miner Pie

For dessert, I suggested we skip the other choices and stick to Keg’s top dessert, the Billy Miner Pie. Perfect for sharing because one slice is huge but I could probably have it all to myself… Does mocha ice cream on a chocolate crust with hot fudge, caramel and almonds not sound delicious or what?

Overall, I have to say I was impressed with The Keg and would happily come back here for a great steak. I guess they have been doing this for so many years, that they clearly know how to cook steak. Plus, you know the service is going to be great here.

Pros:
– They know how to cook steak perfectly
– Portions are great

Cons:
– Dishes are more traditional, you won’t see much fancy stuff going on
– Some of their cuts can get pretty pricey (this location appears more expensive as well)

Price Range: $30-50/person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4 Service: 4 Ambiance: 4 Parking: 3 Overall: 4

Ramen Gojiro

May 8, 2016May 9, 2016Leave a comment

Seeing all the pictures of fried chicken on ramen on social media, I told S that this was a must try. Ramen Gojiro is part of the Menya Kouji group which also owns Ramen Butcher and Taishoken. Their newest ramen shop is located in the core of downtown featuring jiro-style ramen which means thick noodles and lots of toppings.

The interior is actually quite spacious and can fit quite a lot of diners. The kitchen is pretty much open so you can watch the action of the ramen chefs. Even though the space can fit around 20-30 people, there is always a line up! We arrived at around 5:30 and luckily were in the front of the line. By the time it was around 6pm, the line up was already very long.

The menu is quite simple. You can choose between fried chicken or chashu on your ramen. You can then choose to have their classic chicken and pork broth or the same broth with a spicy sauce. In addition, you can get the bakamori, which means you get more of everything. They also now offer tsukemen which are cold noodles in a separate hot broth you dip in.

Original Karaage

We were worried that having fried chicken on a hot broth would ruin the crispiness of the chicken, so we decided to order the Karaage on the side instead. You can choose to have this with a dipping sauce for $0.40 more, but we just got the original. These are big chunks of meat and are lightly battered so very crispy! They sure know how to make good fried chicken here.

Basic Chashu

S got the Basic Chashu and added an ajitama (soft boiled marinated egg). They will ask you if you want a fatty or lean broth, of which S chose the former. They will also ask you if you want garlic on top, which S got. The ramen noodles are quite thick (the size of spaghetti) and come loaded with bean sprouts. We were disappointed with the broth as we found it lacked flavour and depth. The chashu was also a miss for us as I found the meat very dry and the fatty parts did not have the melt in your mouth texture.

Spicy Chashu

For myself, I got the Spicy Chashu of which I found the broth to be slightly more rich and flavourful. I asked for mild spicy so this was the perfect amount of spice for me personally. The egg was decent, although I still prefer Marutama’s.

Overall, S and I were both not a fan of the thick noodles and all the bean sprouts but I know many enjoy this style of ramen. I don’t think we will be returning any time soon although we did enjoy their chicken karaage. Worth a try if you are interested in trying a new style of ramen or if you prefer thicker styles of ramen. Oh, and they offer you bibs to wear to avoid any splashing on your clothes!

Pros:
– Chicken karaage is moist inside and crispy on the outside
– Portions are pretty big, especially if you get the bakamori

Cons:
– Personally did not enjoy all the bean sprouts and thicker noodles
– Chashu was too dry and had too much fat

Price Range: $10-15/person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 3 Service: 3.5 Ambiance: 3 Parking: 2.5 Overall: 3

Bubble Tea Shop

May 5, 2016May 5, 2016Leave a comment

The Bubble Tea Shop is tucked away underneath the Superstore parking lot in Richmond and opened up over a year ago. Since then, they have opened up a new location on Robson as well. Trying to get a spot at Snowy Village on a Friday night was pretty much impossible, so we decided to come here instead.

Parking is easy here (when people aren’t out and about doing groceries) and the shop itself is quite spacious. However, the decor is quite cheap and they were playing the most vulgar music even though there were children dining here… They also have a consignment area although I wonder how many people purchase items here.

Ferrero Rocher

S and I decided to share a drink and a dessert. We chose the Ferrero Rocher drink which was more like a slush and topped with whipped cream and a ferrero rocher ball. Frankly, we both found this to be just average as it was more icy than hazelnut flavour.

Super Matcha Bubble Waffle

I also wanted to try their bubble waffles which makes up most of their menu. We got the Super Matcha Bubble Waffle which comes with strawberries, a scoop of green tea ice cream, red bean, and icing sugar. The bubble waffle itself is also matcha flavoured but it was not very strong. With the heavy moist toppings on top, it really made the bubble waffle soggy and their bubble waffle in general isn’t very good. It tasted more like straight batter rather than having a chewy center. Strawberries were also sour so honestly the overall execution was underwhelming.

Overall, we were not too impressed with the desserts we tried at the Bubble Tea Shop. The drink was around $6 and the bubble waffle was almost $9. I much rather go to Bubble Queen for similar items which are more executed much better.

Pros:
– Large selection of deluxe bubble waffles and drinks
– Usually easy parking in the evenings

Cons:
– Items we tried were just average and not well-executed
– Ambiance and service is not that great

Price Range: $10/person

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 2.5 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: 2.5 Parking: 3 Overall: 2.5

Bubble Waffle Cafe – ChineseBites Media Event

May 1, 2016May 1, 2016Leave a comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Bubble Waffle opened a sit-in location in Kerrisdale and ChineseBites invited us to a media tasting.

The interior is rustic and the owner said he wanted to give a HK style feel to it. The prices here are a little higher than the food court stalls, but they are still affordable.

They even have a mural painted on the wall showcasing Hong Kong.

I sat with Instagrammers, Tina, Sharon, and Elaine. First up, we got to sample all the different soup bases. This was great since there are a few soups that I wouldn’t normally order, like the really spicy ones.

We then got to sample a selection of their Bubble Waffles.

They have a variety of flavours here, including original, chocolate, Oreo, cheesecake, matcha and cinnamon. These were okay, but not crispy enough.

My favourite was still the original although I found the cheesecake flavour surprisingly quite good. The cinnamon flavour was probably my least favourite.

Next up were some Taiwanese snacks. The Taiwanese Sausages were quite a hit at our table. They are a mix of sweet and savoury and have a firm texture.

My favourite snack was the Deep Fried Stinky Tofu. The outside was very crispy and the inside was piping hot. Along with the sweet and spicy sauce, this was delicious. A miss for some because of the fermented smell.

The Fish Siu Mai was quite typical and I found that it was soaked in too much soy sauce. I kind of wished it had a chili sauce on the side.

I enjoyed the Takoyaki quite a lot as these were filled with a generous amount of octopus bits and the inside wasn’t doughy like some I’ve tried.

The Taiwanese Chicken Nuggets were a hit as they were crispy with the chicken itself very moist. I loved the salt and pepper flavouring.

The Fried Shrimp Balls were a beautiful orange colour but I found them to be slightly bland. It needed a sauce to go with it.

Overall, Bubble Waffle Cafe has a great variety of snacks which you can order on its own or pay extra to add on as a side with your noodles.

The drinks came along and I got the HK Style Iced Milk Tea. Their milk teas are actually made with a blend of 5 different Sri Lankan teas. The tea also goes through a filter and is pulled, a common way of making milk teas in Hong Kong. Very silky smooth as a result.

Finally our noodles which we got to customize arrived! E got the Laksa soup base which is one of my usual orders. The soup is flavourful without being too spicy.

T got the Satay soup base which again is very flavourful. It almost tastes like you’re having hot pot!

For myself, I chose the Chiu Chow Style Minced Pork Fish Soup along with rice noodle, sliced beef, sliced beef brisket, fried shrimp ball and fish ball with shrimp. All noodles come with cabbage and bean curd. For some reason, my soup also came with corn.

Overall, Bubble Waffle is great when you’re craving hot noodles in soup on a rainy day. I also love the ability to customize everything from the soup to the toppings. You’ll be very full by the end of your meal for sure with the large portion sizes and affordable prices. A nice option to be able to eat at a location with a nicer ambiance compared to the food court now.

Ken’s Chinese Restaurant – ChineseBites Media Event

April 20, 2016Leave a comment

NOTE: As part of the ChineseBites media event, all food was free, but all opinions are based on my own personal experience.

Last month, I was invited by ChineseBites to do a tasting at Ken’s Chinese Restaurant. The restaurant has been around for many years and serves traditional Chinese dishes as well as some HK style cafe dishes.

Fish Soup with Winter Melon & Dried Scallop 瑤柱冬瓜粒魚湯

Chinese dinners always start with soup, and we got to sample the Fish Soup with Winter Melon & Dried Scallop. Flavourful with lots of ingredients and great for a cold rainy night.

Ken’s Specialty Chicken 南軒走地雞

Ken’s Specialty Chicken was tender with a nice layer of jelly under the skin.

Lobster with Konnyaku in Hot Pot 芋絲龍蝦煲

One of their signature dishes is the Lobster with Konnyaku in Hot Pot. This was very flavourful with the lobster cooked just right and the konnyaku noodles soaking up the delicious broth. A must order!

Crab with Garlic & Spicy XO Sauce XO 金蒜炒蟹

We got to sample two of their signature crab dishes. The first was the Crab with Garlic & Spicy XO Sauce. The sauce is more of a dry sauce and great if you love spicy flavours. I could eat the whole dish if I didn’t have to share!

Golden Dungeness Crab 金沙蟹

The Golden Dungeness Crab was one of my favourites as I love crab or lobster that is coated with a salty egg yolk batter. Very flavourful but some found it to be too filling because of the egg yolk. I loved it though!

Braised Fatty Layer Pork 杭州東玻肉

The Braised Fatty Layer Pork seems like a must order at ChineseBites events, and this one didn’t disappoint. A good layer of fat to meat ratio but I did find that this one felt more oily than others I’ve had.

Pan Fried Chicken Fillet with Spicy Thai Sauce 泰汁煎雞扒

The Pan Fried Chicken Fillet with Spicy Thai Sauce was quite average for me as I didn’t find it too special. The chicken was quite tenderized, but nothing too special with the sauce as it tasted like store bought Thai sweet chili sauce.

Malaysian Style Fried Rice 馬拉臘味炒飯

I actually quite enjoyed the Malaysian Style Fried Rice as it had a bit of a kick to it. Good amount of ingredients in the rice.

Black Pepper Diced Beef Tenderloin 七彩黑椒牛柳粒

I was pleasantly surprised with the Black Pepper Diced Beef Tenderloin as I find that this dish can be easily overdone. This was however delicious with the beef extremely tender and cooked to a nice medium to medium rare. The colourful peppers also made the dish visually appetizing and tasted great.

Baked Seafood on Rice 焗海鮮飯

Lastly, we had the Baked Seafood on Rice. This was quite average with a nice layer of white cream sauce and melted cheese. Nothing too special compared to your typical HK style cafes.

Overall, there were some hits and misses, but I would highly recommend trying their crab and lobster dishes. A great casual Chinese restaurant for families but ambiance is rather dated. Reasonable prices and some great dishes though.