canucklehead
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Posts posted by canucklehead
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Okay - since we are throwing out dairy wish lists - I would kill (literally - you can contract me for murder) for a Vancouver source or producer of Burrata - the freshest creamiest most insanely delilcous mozz f-king ever!
Lark and Zoe have served it in Seattle - and their sources are in Oregon and California. Is it too much to ask for some in Vancouver? Really - you want some killed - send me some burrata - we can carry this conversation on via PM's
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I went to the most interesting and odd diner today. It sits atop the Northern Building Supplies on Kent St (between Knight St and Victoria St) - which is this crazy rambling lumber land type place that looks like it going to collapse.
The Tim Lucy Cafe (TLC - gettit?) was recommended to me by a couple of teenaged sons of friends on mine. There are no straight lines in the dining room - the floors sag to the point of collapse and the walls are decorated with odd black & white movie photo's. The short order cook/owner has the worst wig on ever - but seems like a super nice guy - he asked me to sign the guest book on the way out. Beside it is this weird junk/second hand/shabby chic store called "Wannabee's" - it looks like some crazy boudoir.
The recommendation was for their burgers. I had the bacon/cheeseburger - the pattty was hand made, the bacon crisp, and the cheddar decent. The fries were pure Sysco - that were very very crispy - too crispy really. The burger was surprisingly good - the bun was this weird rosemary focaccia thing - not good - and the next time I will asked for it to be toasted.
The patty was suprisingly pink - and that end of the meal there was satisfying pool of burger juice on the plate.
Not a burger worth driving across town for - but damned if I wasn't charmed by the place.
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I think I have seen the signs for it in the same mall as Save On Foods and White Spot. Been meaning to check it out - the signage has made be curious. Should have stopped their last week instead of White Spot (which always seem like a bit of a mistake in hind sight).
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There are many places like Indochine in Hong Kong and The Perfume River in London that are doing this with great success.
I've been to Indochine a number of times and have always enjoyed my meals. Slanted Door in SFO gets a lot of raves - but the food always seems a little limp and dull to me there. Did not try Crustacean while I lived there - but heard reasonably good things. YVR does need a good higher end Vietnamese Restaurant. But I still like the homey cooking that is currently on offer.
Despite warnings otherwise (and a lack of other recommendations) - I had another meal at Pho Thai Hoa. Much of the appeal laid with the huge pile of fresh herbs that came with my meal - really lifted the flavors of the grilled meats and vinegary dips. Plus - I had steamed dumplings made with tapioca and stuffed with ground pork. Tapioca - its not just for bubble tea anymore.
I come away still feeling good about this place. Two meals that I thought were pretty darn tasty.
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So much for C being a responsible advocate of sustainable seafood using this farmed "frankenfood."
To be fair - I don't think that 'C' made this decision in a vacuum. It is my understanding that the inland farmed fish has been given the Oceanwise seal of approval. Is it an issue of intensive farming processes or genetic manipulation of the inland fish farms?
The Swift Aqauculture inland fish farm in Agasiz is part of the Circle Farm Tours. Has anyone been on the tours? Here's a quote from the Straight:
"Perhaps the province's most unique encounter with food is at Swift Aqua Culture (2244 Wilson Road, Agassiz; 604-796-3497). Gentleman-scientist Bruce Swift, a refugee from conventional fish-farming, has outfitted the former dairy barn on his property with 20-cubic-metre tanks filled with pure well water and a few thousand coho salmon he's raised from sprat. Swift feeds them a leading-edge organic veggie/soy diet to bulk up to a lean one to one-and-a-half kilos, perfect for the grill or the pan... Swift's operation reclaims its water in an eco-friendly, sustainable system (by all means, ask him about it) that also produces aquaponic wasabi plants. For $3 to $5, grate and discover the complex flavour of real wasabi root and toss its spicy sweet leaves into those mixed salad greens."
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I love you guys! I would spend my $44 on boxes of Church's Fried chicken and watch the UFC Cage Match - Gerald vs Eat Vancouver. I know who my money's on.
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My understanding is that cats are killed by drowning - clearly not a humane way to get protein on the table regardless of your cultural POV.
canucklehead,
You obviously did not catch the HBO show on the topic. They are killed by emersing them in boiling water. I won't tell you the rest. I'm sure if I saw pigs and chickens slaughtered I'd be just as horrified. I doubt I would ever become vegetarian but I can definitely appreciate many of their viewpoints in regards to principles and animals.
I am not sure if we are on opposite sides of an arguement.
I have no problem with people eating all sorts of animals (I have eaten more than my share of Noah's Ark). But I feel they deserve to be treated with respect when the are being raised, killed, and eaten. Pigs, cows, chicken are killed quickly. They are not drowned in boiling water. As the world grows smaller - we all must learn to appreciate cultural differences - but it also okay to learn from other cultures.
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This is funny - because I thought non-akalized cocoa was the standard in North America - so anything that is not labeled dutched process should be 'natural'.
What about the other american brands like Ghiredelli? These should be pretty widely available.
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I heard Don this morning on CBC - intresting story. Apparently - his fish has been all bought out by C and Raincity Grill. I think that I heard that he was raising them to a smaller size for sale. I think Chinese restaurants would go for smaller 'baby' salmon - which would have a finer textured flesh then the big guys.
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My understanding is that cats are killed by drowning - clearly not a humane way to get protein on the table regardless of your cultural POV.
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There are certainly better bets for Vietnamese food.
What about non-Pho? I agree that the pho in Vancouver is not so hot - but it was so nice to a good plate of fresh herbs with the nicely charred pork at Pho Thai Hoa. The lentil pancake was also nice - crispy and grease free.
I have'nt had this kind of Vietnamese food in a long while - any specific pointers for something better (again - non Pho) would be nice to hear about.
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We would have it chopped finely and then stir fried with garlic. Delicous - and the whole plate veggies would turn purple from the purple center.
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Has anyone been to Pho Thai Hoa on Kingsway (right by Famous Foods)? I did not have the pho - but the other offerings were very good. Most impressive were the herbs and veggies that accompanied our meals - a great selection of pickled green papaya, mint, spearmint, purple perilla (or shiso), and rau ram. I had what was called Saigon Style Vermicelli - which came with charbroiled pork and meat balls. You wrapped the hot meat with your selection of herbs in cold lettuce and dipped it into a sweet/sour dipping sauce. Very very good.
My brother ordered a beef and pork noodle that came with thick rice noodles. It was very spicy (just on that edge of being too hot) - came with pork's blood, braised pork, pork pate, and beef flank.
We split a yellow lentil crepe that was stuffed with sprouts, pork and shrimp. Again - it was accompanied by a big plate of greens and herbs. All three items cost about $25 bucks. Very good value for money.
On previous visits - my brother said he had the sweet and sour fish soup - again - the flavors were very bright - with the spiciness being almost too hot. The fish that was came in the soup was pomfret.
The surroundings were that classic non-descript asian restaurant - but I thought the food was excellent and will warrant a second visit. Oddly enough - I have not heard great things about the Pho. They have beef 7 ways on the menu for I think $24 a head. Apparently this place was rated no 1 by Georgia Straight's Golden Plate awards... and odd case where the voters may not be to far off the mark.
The owners have a location in Richmond - Green Lemongrass - that looks perhaps too slick. I have not been - perhaps someone else has.
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The meal sounds exquisite. I wish I could have been there.
How does one glean filets out of pork neck? I'll have to go look at the meat department at Fairways later. I've always pictured pork neck bones to be well more boney than meat.
Not technically the meat right from the neck - but from the top of the butt between the shoulder and neck. I got some from Illichman's in Kelowna - so I think that European butchers carry the cut. It is best quickly cooked just through - as you want to maintain the 'springiness' of the meat. Perhaps grilled on the bbq or smothered in onions.
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As you know - one of the great things about living in BC is Spotted Prawn Season. Sea Harbour is serving them for $13.80 a pound - a steal considering good prawns retail for about $10 a pound. We had them wok fried with a sweet soy sauce ("see yau wong")
We had a pound of them and they were delicous. Sea Harbour does homestyle dishes so nicely - we also had a large watercress soup; half a hand shredded chicken; pork neck filets with abalone mushrooms; water spinach with shallots, shredded ginger, and nam yu (fremented tofu). All this came to $98 before tip and we did not drink. Looked they were quite busy - lots of Mandarin being spoken around the room - so they are attracting more than just the HK crowd.
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Hey Ling - nice glasses!
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I go through phases of craving fried chicken too, and would you believe it, the best I've had in a while was at the Guu on Thurlow a couple of weeks ago? It tastes like they marinate it in some kind of soy/brown sugar combo first, and then just quickly dash it through some batter before hucking it into the fryer.
Now if they could only fix their service issues!
Oh Yeah! The chicken karaage at the west robson location is INSANELY good. My theory is that it is cooked only by virgins who wear blinders so that they cannot see anything impure while they fry the chicken.
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Top Gun does not have cart service. Prices are probably similar to Kirin but if you go before 10:30 on weekends, I think everything is 30% off but it does get crowded and reservations are recommended. They do a char siu (BBQ pork) dish using pork cheeks that is really nice
Alex
Alex - do you have a phone number that works? Nobody picked up or I got a message that the phone was no longer in service. And I did see a posting in the restaurant that the earlier you got there - the cheaper it was. As noted by Alex - no carts - but the english menu was reasonably well written and understandable. I have to concur with Daddy-A, the baked bbq pork buns were soft and had the crackling sweet topping on the bun. Sweet and savory - good!
They were trying to sell alot of sushi and sashimi - but I did not try any.
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Got to Top Gun today for dim sum. They down to one location - on McKim and Garden City - second floor of a small mall.
Over all - it was all good. Some of the dishes were fairly imaginative and quite good (egg whites with salted yolks over pea tips, chicken wings stuffed with sticky rice). Service was a little slow and they tried to do alot of upselling - I was with two Non-Asians and I kept getting advice as to what they would like - but it all good intentioned. It took a good 20-30 minutes to get the fried noodle dish that I ordered (Singapore Style Lai Fun).
It was pretty straightforward getting a table - which was a good thing because I could not for the life of me find a phone number for the restaurant that worked. Just showed up and we were seated immeadiately.
I have to say - that I don't think it was good as Gingeri, Jade, or Kirin - the flavors were not quite as bright and fresh. But really - it was a very good solid lunch.
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y'all should try korean-style fried chicken, available with or without that sweet spicy sauce. very nice stuff! there's one place on 41st in Kerrisdale called "Cco Cco Chicken", sort of across the street from the Oasis bubble tea place. We had the plain undressed 1/2 chicken there and it was very nice and juicy, lightly battered and crispy. Not greasy at all.
i'd also recommend H-Mart (Han Au Reum) on North Rd and Lougheed. They've got a stall in the corner selling fried chicken and red bean-filled fish waffles. Even with sauce added, the fried chicken still has the crunchiness of the batter coming through. Delicious!
You can sample the H-Mart chicken at their downtown location - which is great shopping fun btw. The chicken comes is small bone in pieces - mostly dark meat. It caters to the whole Asian chomping on bones kind of thing. The spicy sauce is like a very sweet bbq sauce - and surprisingly - not alot of heat but with strong cinnamon undertones. If you can get your head around it - the chicken itself is very juicy and the batter is nicely crunchy. 4 small pieces set me back $4.
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Heather should also make Fried Chicken and Waffle's - totally within her realm of expertise too. MMM MMMMMMM
All of you who are curious about Popeye's - I think that they are kaput. Plus the chicken was not so delicous - the oil did not taste fresh - but the sides were nice.
Had LA Chicken on Friday - and I like more each time I go. It is a good mix of KFC seasoning and homestyle frying. That pressure frying that they do at KFC is seriously wrong. Fried chicken should still taste like chicken. No what I mean?
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Had a very good dim sum lunch today at Kirin downtown. The room was very packed and busy. Kirin has a slightly different menu at each location and will have monthly specials.
They had a deep friend salt and pepper fish that was really good (there are two on them on the menu - one is a smaller fish - ask for the larger ones). For $7.80 you got 5 whole fried fish slightly smaller than palm sized (heads and fins removed).
They were really good - succulent and on the bone. They were a salt water fish - and were called "san man yu" or sand fish (- and the 'san man' was not a transleration of salmon).
Give it a try if you find yourself at Kirin Downtown.
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What about trying something really new - Jamie Maw gave the Ocean Club a decent review. Sounds like it may be a little too "sex in the city" for me - but who knows? Could be good.
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...Suitably refueled, I turned to errands, two of which wound up being food-related. First, I headed south on Convoy to Nijiya Market:
Ahhh! Nijiya - God I love that place. There was one nearby when I used to live in Los Altos / Mountain View CA. There cooked and prepared foods totally rock. Chicken karrage, sashimi, tonkastu bento boxes,.... yumba! Guilty pleasure - Spam Sushi. And I don't care who knows it.
Great blog.. you are so Asian, your blood type must be MSG.
Chinese in Vancouver 2002 - 2006
in Western Canada: Dining
Posted
All this talk about Top Shanghai got me very curious - so of course I had to go check it out. As soon as you walk in - you can tell this place is the real deal. Real Shanghainese food in well lit and pleasant surroundings. Shanghai River is clearly HK influenced while Shanghai Wind, though good, the whole crowding around cramped plastic covered tables can be tiring.
The menu is extensive and there looked like a lot of things worth trying out.
Edamame and pickled veggies stirred fried with tofu sheets. Wontons in Hot and Sour Soup.
The tofu sheet dish was excellent - savory and hot from the wok. I wish the table had some black vinegar so I could dabble some on - to really lift the flavors. The Wontons in H/S soup was ordered in error - but it gave us the chance to try the H/S - and it was very nice. Bright flavors, a little bit of smokiness but not over thickened. Again - some vinegar at the table would have been really nice.
Rice Cakes with Pork and Pickled Veggies. Soup Dumplings
I love Rice Cakes - and this had a nice chew - good solid dish - real bright wok flavors. Then came the Soup Dumplings and though good - were not at the same level of SR or SW. Did not have the same porkiness of SW or the consome intensity of SR. The oddest thing was it came with white vinegar - I much prefer the almost balsamic tones and sharper acid of Chinese black vinegar for Soup Dumplings. They were not BAD dumplings by any stretch - but the side dishes were clearly superior.
Got a couple of fried dishes - Onion Pancakes, Daikon Cakes, and the Beignet Red Bean Dessert - they were pretty heavy and a little oily. The wok based stuff was the best in my books. Definitely worth checking for an evening meal. I am still searching for a place that will do the stirred fried crab/shrimp with salted duck eggs yolks. I am pretty sure this place would do it.
Oh - getting a table was a virtual war - checking in on your number constantly - attempts to elbow your way into faster seating - trying to avoid table sharing. They take resos - but they only seem to be useful for larger tables. Groups of 2 or 3 would end up in the small tables crap shoot.