Pigging out at PNE

Yes, I know the PNE is over, and this won't do any of you any good, but boy, did it do me good when I went on the last weekend they were open. I went last year too, and ate, but nowhere near this sort of eating. It was as if I was going there JUST to eat...Actually, that was exactly it!

First order of business...a corn dog. I have NEVER had one, but have been told by various people that it is a life changing experience. Watching them dip it into that vat of oil changed my life...actually, it made relive all the precious memories of my life...I felt sure I was going to die.

I took one bite, and whoa...the reason for the fuzziness is due to the shock of corn dog goodness travelling to my extremities. Doughy bread that is semi-sweet, the sausage that is super salty...how have I never had this before!?

After devouring the corn dog, we proceeded to Henry's Chicken BBQ. Sigh...a lineup. Good thing I saw my friend (Mr. 2nd in line).

Whoa...all these chickies...but I only want...

a half chicken. Oh my goodness. I don't even like white meat, but I ripped that thing apart so badly, I couldn't take photos until I washed my hands. This is the pristine before photo. The after shot ain't so pretty.

If you are reading this, then you're probably a certifiable foodie, which means you probably know about the new food carts that Vancouver has approved 17 food carts. The pulled pork sammy you see is from @roamingdragon. It is Chinese braised pork-belly sliders with pickled cucumbers, hoisin sauce, and scallions, served in a sweet white steamed bun. SOOOOOO good..

Here is the lemonade we bought for $3...normally, lemons are 3 for a $1. Can you imagine how much profit these people are making?

So, after the corn dog, the half chicken and the pulled pork sandwich, I decided to call it a night. I played betting games, and made $6 from $2. That's why I can afford these...two dozen for $5. YUM. No visit to PNE is complete without them.

I really wanted the burger with the fried onions, but I just couldn't do it. So I settled for a picture of the fried onions. Next time I have a burger, I'm going to be staring at this picture, I guarantee you.

As we were making our getaway, we spied this sign. uh-oh, trouble!

Here are the deep fried Oreos. I was a little surprised that they breaded it, I mean, couldn't you just dunk an Oreo into oil? What, did it just disintegrate? The breading made it a little donut like...but too rich for me.

Um...deep fried butter...more like a really really rich donut...butter mixed with cream cheese. Then rolled into a batter and then fried and sprinkled with sugar.
I heard they have deep fried Coke and Guinness at the Texas State Fair...SO tempted!

Family Dinner at HYK

Last month, when my sister was here, we had a huge family dinner at Ho Yuen Kee on Fraser. I've only ever been here for lunch, but I had heard that their seafood is pretty good...let's see.

We started off with a classic mixed appetizer, loaded with spring rolls, vegetarian soy skin rolls, surf clams, soy sauce marinate pork knuckle, vinegar chicken feet and jellyfish. Everything was so good...even if it's all cold, it's delicious. It's called their House Special Cold Meat combination.

The next dish was cashew chicken...or I think it was...honestly, I don't remember. (*note to self, bring your sexy red notebook with you from now on) 

The next dish is pretty obvious...stir-fried shrimp and scallops with veggies. Most places make this way too oily, but here, it was stir-fried with some mushrooms and veggies...very light and easy on the palate. 

Our next dish was Beef with deep-fried something...i think it was milk...I didn't partake of this...but my niece did and wasn't impressed. But she doesn't like sweet stuff, that's why I think it was milk. 

The prerequisite soup...a sweet chicken slow-cooked broth, loaded with chicken. That's Asian comfort food, right there. 

Ok, I don't need any notes here. We have two whole lobsters, served in a steamer basket. 

I know...seems weird right? I love how they break the shells down for you so well, you barely need those nut crackers they give you! 

I've been to tons of family dinners and never have been served lobster in a steamer! Why...why? 

After a little bit of digging (hey, I was with family, it's acceptable), I discovered the true reason for the steamer. It's one of their specials, listed first in Chinese on their takeout menu. It's corn and rice steamed in leaf, similar to the sticky rice you get at dimsum, and but with lobster juices. O-MY. The rice was perfectly cooked...sweetened with corn and lobster juice! Oh my goodness. If I could eat a whole lobster myself, I would get this, and only this the next time I come. 

After overloading on chicken and seafood, it behooved us to have some veggies, so that next dish was baby bok choy with shitake mushrooms and sliced geoduck (i think). 

This is a strange dish...the salmon seems secondary to the broccoli and other veggies, but it was actually the best part. The fish was sweet, the sauce was salty...what a good balance!   

One of the things that they are known for is their spare ribs in honey and black pepper sauce...my stepdad loved this. Deep fried pork...yeah, I was happy. 

The next dish that came was the deep fried chicken...crispy skin and juicy meat...with a generous portion of prawn chips. As full as I was, I think I polished off most of the dark meat. 

As with all Chinese meals...it ended with carbs...noodles and rice. We got the shredded pork yee mein and the dried scallop and scrambled egg fried rice. I like how they give you chives in your noodles (instead of the cheaper green onion some places do), and how the green in the fried rice is from chopped up gailan (not the frozen peas some other places do). For me, that is a sign of quality. 

Here was our dessert...fresh tofu served in the wooden bucket it was made in. The little silver teapot holds sugar syrup...I didn't get to try this...I'm allergic to soy done this way. :(
I would totally come back here for dinner, for the food. Not sure if I could recommend the service though. It's decent, but not on par with the food. 

100 Days - Round 1

I love to try new places, nothing more appealing than that except when it's a new place with an expiration date! The concept of 100 Days is that they are only open for a 100 days. They feature ever changing decor and an evolving menu.

Every month, I lose my virginity to something new...this time, it's the Dungeness Crab and Artichoke Dip, served with toasted baguette. At at glance, this almost looks like a bowl of French Onion soup, doesn't it? I've been back a few times, but this was a "daily special" and hasn't been on the menu since. Boo. 

This dip is so thick that you need to spoon it up, dipping just doesn't work! Look how gooey it is! It's a good thing that the bread is toasted, because soft bread wouldn't be able to stand up to that gooey-ness.

And it's loaded with crab...so fresh and so sweet. I think if they didn't give me bread, I would have just ate the whole thing, one spoonful at a time.  

Deep fried WHOLE mozzarella balls with tomato fondue and basil...$19. I know it seems a bit much, but it's a WHOLE ball of cheese, times two! Totally worth it in my books, especially if you are a cheese fan.

Yes, the cheese is ooozing out onto the plate. Eat this the minute it comes, the cheese is so stretchy.

I lifted this easily four inches off the plate and it was still oozing. And when you twirl it around your fork, it's like smooth creamy pasta smothered in cheese, except without the pasta.

The proscuitto and burrata cheese bruschetta, topped with a bit of basil pesto. Served on freshly toasted crostini. Not too crunchy, but seasoned nicely.

Lamb wellington kicks salmon wellington's ass every time. I've never been a huge fan of fish wrapped in pastry, but meat in pastry? You've got me!

Check out the perfect way they have done the lamb here from @100Days. Well done, but not "well-done"...Pink and tender on the inside, and juicy too!

When I read this on the menu, and noticed that it came with a white bean cassoulet...I asked the kitchen if they could substitute it with something different, since I don't really like white beans. They were very accommodating, but in the end, I decided to rely on the chef's instinct and have the dish the way it was supposed to be. I am really glad I did, because I ended up loving it, probably because once you add pancetta to anything, I'm game!

Hm. Duck pot pie...not exactly what I expected, since there isn't a puff pastry here. Instead, it's topped with cheese! I'm not complaining. The bottom is loaded with scalloped potatoes...nice but very rich!

And they sure didn't skimp on the duck...loaded to the brim with moist chunks of duck, it's well worth the $17!

Tweetup at Charm

In early August, there was a tweetup hosted by Charm Modern Thai. Lots of foodies, social media gurus and fun tweeters showed up. There was tons of bevvies being drunk...and at some point, food was sorely needed.

No being able to decide on just ONE thing...we got the APpy platter and tried a little bit of everything! There were the infamous Duck Sticks, in the upper left hand corner...beef short ribs next to that, coming down to the Thai spring rolls...all balanced out with a Thai style Beef salad...
Just the thing to order when you can't decide what to order, and perfect for sharing with a loved one. 

Brunch at Glowbal

I haven't eaten at Glowbal Grill since my YYC BFF was in town, so with my sister in town, I thought we would all head there for brunch. Poor girl has been craving brunch since she arrived about 3 weeks ago. I've taken my mom there before for Mother's day, and we all enjoyed it. Time for a repeat!

It was a rather breezy day, so I was in the mood for soup...ooey gooey French Onion Soup. Sure looks like I got what I wanted, eh? I'd always thought that The Keg had the best FOS, but I think I'm going to have to go back and do a comparison taste test. The broth was definitely better here, but the cheese factor is higher at The Keg...but who can complain when there is melted gruyere and croutons. A bit pricier than The Keg's at $8.

I also ordered a Spinach Salad, and it was really well done. The vinaigrette had a hint of hazelnut in it, but it wasn't overpowering. It was topped with buffalo mozzarella, and the best bacon bits ever! Well, it wasn't pork...it was wild boar bacon, done really crispy, and full of intense flavour. Pretty good for $10.

My sister ordered the Steak Sandwich with came on a cutting board (just like their steaks do). A bucket of fries sat next to the meatiest sandwich I'd seen in a long time. It was sliced grilled striploin, with a hot mustard spread, topped with tomatoes, asiago cheese and a smattering of arugula. If you love steak sandwiches, this one is a steal at $15.

From the first picture of this dish, you can't really see the stuff inside, so here is a side view for you food porn voyeurs...

My niece ordered the Rigatoni Pomodoro. It's a pile of fresh rigatoni, tossed with a tomato, garlic and basil sauce. And although it was only 1pm, that sauce tasted like it was cooking all day. She wasn't sure about the burrata cheese you see there on the side, but after poking her fork at it and taking a small chunk to taste, her eyes lit up and we have ourselves another burrata lover in the family! At only $12, this dish is really worth it.

So on to brunch...Glowbal has four kinds of Benedicts...our table had three of them. The first one you see here is their Smoke Salmon Benedict. It's served on a cheddar biscuit, topped with a dill cream cheese sauce, and perfectly poached eggs. Some baby greens and potato hash complete the dish. $12 only...

The next one is the Dungeness Crab Benedict. This is served on a traditional English muffin, capped by poached eggs, bathed in traditional hollandaise sauce, and topped with a bit of citrus aioli. Really decadent for brunch, but still, only $18!

And of course, we have to try the traditional glowbal Benedict too! The art was drawn by my 8 year old nephew and isn't standard table linen. His was also on an English muffin, but they used crispy pancetta as the base, hollandaise only as the sauce, and simple poached eggs. It was so good he wanted to order another one! And this is only $12 too!

For those craving a less saucy and complicated dish, try the Yaletown Breakfast. The menu says it comes with scrambled eggs, but the good folks at Glowbal will do your eggs up anyway you like, just ask nicely. To accompany the eggs, you get a few slices of smoked bacon, which were really crispy, and some Italian sausage, and the potato hash that comes with almost everything. Soak up the runny yolk of your eggs with their cheddar biscuit and you'd be all good. Another great plate at only $12.
And one good thing about coming for brunch? You can find parking in Yaletown!