ChangAn

Last month, I was fortunate enough to give Chang'an a try, courtesy of the ChineseBites group. The meal was complimentary but all opinions are my own. The restaurant has taken over the scenic location of the old Stone Grill, with a great waterfront view. We started off with some Pita Bread, and it reminded me of an homage to traditional Western restaurants, where they start each meal with bread.It's definitely the first time I've been served bread as a starter in the Chinese restaurant. The Guo Kui Pita 鍋盔 itself was kind of plain but the bean spread, with just a punch of heat, made it much better. And I do like the spun sugar garnish! For the Appetizer Platter, we tried the following: Tossed Cilantro, Scallion & Red Peanut Salad 陕西大拌菜, Marinated Mushroom 迷你小香菇, Crispy Beef Tongue 脆皮牛舌 and Honey Grapefruit Spare Ribs 西柚蜜汁糖醋排. 

Here are my three favourites. I've always loved cilantro and when it's the key ingredient in any dish, I'm sold. The mushrooms were so tiny but packed with flavour. The one thing I couldn't get enough of was the spare ribs. Sweet with a touch of citrus from the grapefruit, the acidity definitely tenderized the meat. What I didn't really enjoy was the tongue, it was too heavily breaded and the texture of the tongue was lost. We then started on the first of our two courses of Chang’an Roasted Duck 長安炙鴨. Our first glance of the Chang’an Roasted Duck 長安炙鴨 - doesn't that look so good? The skin looks crispy and juicy, and I couldn't wait to get my hands and mouth onto this! We then started on the first of our two-course Chang’an Roasted Duck 長安炙鴨. The skin was served with sugar...something new to me. The blend of salty and sweet was interesting.   We also had the Chang’an Roasted Duck 長安炙鴨 meat with the traditional pairing of crepes and hoisin sauce. This was succulent and very satisfying. Another pairing was with pears and a homemade strawberry jam (sorry the pic got cut off on the right). The salty and sweet was again, intriguing, and I was glad to have tried it.   The Imperial Hot & Sour Soup 回坊酸辣湯 was probably named that because of the regal serving apparatus. The soup was definitely more hot than sour, but the consistency was nice and thick...the prawn in the middle of the urn was a pleasant surprise. I don't think I've ever had a Chinese Donut with soup before (congee yes, soup no), and it was unexpected. The donut itself was rather dense, but when you dunk it into the soup, it does soften up. It wasn't needed, but an interesting touch. The presentation of the House Special Fried Chili Lobster 香辣龍蝦 is quite unique. I loved it. It was ornate and unique.   This is the actual House Special Fried Chili Lobster 香辣龍蝦 portion that we ate. There were fried cauliflower, lotus roots and what appears to be McCain's French Fries. The spicy flavours were pronounced and texture was light and tender. However, for a table of 10, the serving size was a bit light. This was the Szechwan Peppercorn Sliced Beef 鮮椒木桶肥牛, served with enoki and tofu noodles. Rhe presentation reminded me of a traditional tofu dessert, but no...this was anything but sweet. We had a few more dishes to go! It was actually tongue numbing...but in a good way. I loved the spice and although the beef wasn't too tender, the enoki and tofu skin present were, and they absorbed the juices wonderfully. This is the Chang’an Gourd Chicken 長安一品葫蘆雞 dish. Battered and deep-fried whole, the bird was super juicy. The carved it for us after presenting the bird as whole. Perhaps it was the batter, but in any case, even the usually drier white meat was tender. The flavour was a bit mild, so the serving of wok salt on the side was much appreciated and enhanced the dish greatly. The Braised Sea Cucumber 長安蔥燒海參 was next. Just remember it by numbers...$50 (cost), 48 hours (braised) and 20 (spices used). The texture is gelatinous but with a slightly tougher outer layer. The sweet and salty blend of flavours works really well since the sea cucumber isn't rich in flavours on its own. However, not everyone is a fan of the texture, so I ended up eating an extra half from someone who didn't quite love it. Thanks, Sean!! 

 

The next dish Sweet & Sour Lychee & Prawns 貴妃荔枝蝦球 were supposed to be sweet and sour but ended up being sweet and sweet. The sweetness of the lychees overpowered the sour flavours, and the crunchy honey-roasted cashews added additional sweetness. 
The next up was the Qin Style Roast Lamb Leg 秦味烤羊腿. The leg was more like pulled pork but was a bit dry. The chunks were generous and since I love playing with my food, this was an easy sell for me. Oh, and take a close look at the crispy pockets! I love sesame seeds and they did not disappoint! The smokienss of the lamb was definitely intensified with the buns.   This is the Pork Belly Mini Sliders 老陝臘汁肉夾饃, the pork is stewed in slow heat in the aged sauce consisting of over 20 spices (20 seems to be a theme here) with clove, ginger and cooking wine. This is another take on "meat and bread". The meaty and fatty pork was shredded nicely and had good depth of flavour. I thought it was good, but the buns were a bit on the dry side. I like fluffly buns and these fell a little flat.  The next course was a Braised Whole Chili & Spring Onion Cod 蔥椒魚 was a nice and spicy! I loved the creaminess of the soup, and the spice of the whole chilies. Further adding to the freshness of the dish was the copious amounts of green onions, sure to brighten any dish. The fish was tender and sweet, and cooked perfectly, not mushy yet flaked easily with a gentle push. 
This King Mushroom Casserole 石板菌菇 was interesting...simple and impactful.  I find that most braised mushrooms are rather bland and watered down, due to the liquid coming out of the mushrooms themselves. However, this was not like that at all. The flavours were intense and the texture had a good chew to it still, no mushiness in the mushrooms!
   This was the last savory dish I had, the 5 Spice Duck Ribs 椒鹽鴨架. The bones were crispy and crunchy, but unfortunately, there just wasn't enough meatiness to them. The spices were good, but I'd probably choose the other option of Noodle in Duck Soup the next time. 

There were two other noodle dishes but there was no way I could eat and enjoy them. Photos and descriptions are posted below for your reference but no commentary from me, because I didn't really try them.  Biang Biang Noodles 油潑辣子麵 Three Sauce Noodle 三合一臊子扯麵 This was the dessert which finished our meal. Yellow Bean Cake, Red Bean Cake 豌豆黃, 紅豆年糕. Both were quite mild in flavour and not at all cake-like in texture...more like a stiff pudding. 
Of all the dishes that we had, I would say that dessert is not the strong suit. Serving sizes are also a hit and miss, but the duck and sea cucumber were definitely highlights. 

Trying the Classics at Longtail in New Westminster

Despite all the hoopla about Longtail, I'm ashamed to say that I haven't made a trip out to New Westminster to give them a try. Well, I finally rectified that recently. Because they are a bit far for me, I made sure I was starving so I could sample as much as I could in one go. I think we made a good dent in the menu...we spent close to $80 in total, since Sherman paid, I guess the next meal overload is on me!   

 

As suggested by everyone, I had to try the Chicken Wings, which has been compared to Phnom Penh's and proclaimed just as amazing. They were delicious but aren't comparable at all. 

The ones from Phnom Penh are garlicky, salty and crispy with a deep-golden fried goodness. These ones are fried with a light crispy coating, but there the similarities end. The ones here are less fried, so lacking a bit of crunch (though they did reheat well the next day in the toaster oven), and there was a lack of garlic flavour. Also, the light sprinkle of sugar gives the wings a whole different flavour profile. 

I didn't really use the sauce since I like to keep my wings crispy but after eating the skin, I did try it with just the wing, and it did have a very pleasant tang. I can see why people say this is a "must-try".       

 

In continuing with the deep fried theme, we decided to get the Crispy Oysters with Nam Jim Sauce. These were juicy, with a nice crunchy exterior. I didn't care much for the sauce but it gave the oyster a tarty perkiness. I prefer to eat oysters raw, but this is probably the only other way I would eat it other than the Giant Oyster Pancake from Phnom Penh.

After the two deep fried starters, we decided that something healthy would be in order...how can you go wrong with Stirfry Gailan (er, with Pork Belly). Truth be told, there wasn't a whole lot of pork belly in the dish, but its contribution was noticeable in the slightly overly oiliness to the dish. The gailan was sparkling with the pork fat, and the pork tucked within was flavourful with a nice briny saltiness. The crispy garlic chips helped too!   Now, onto the carbs! The Chinese Sausage Fried Rice is reminiscent of the Phnom Penh version, but this one had a lot more Chinese sausage. The rice was nice and loose, showcasing the hot fiery wok-styling of the kitchen. Add a fried egg to make everything creamy and you've got a definite winner. The heat from the wok was unmistakeable, even after the few minutes it took for us to take the pics. Despite the Thai cuisine being featured at Longtail, I keep finding myself comparing their dishes to a Vietnamese restaurant...I'll stop now.    Our next carb dish was the Pad Se Ew with Beef. I do love me some flat rice noodles. It's a classic Hong Kong cafe dish, however, there was a different flavour profile here...not as salty as the Chinese version, and less saucy. My biggest complaint about rice noodles usually is that they tend to be overcooked; it was the opposite here. They were slightly undercooked when I actually would have preferred it softer to serve as a complement to the beef. Nevertheless, this dish was good; this was one of the few dishes we polished off.   Let's keep going with the carb fest! We tried Mama Cheung's Laksa. This was really good. I'm not usually a fan of coconut but it was very subtle in this dish was pleasant. There was plenty seafood to make it worth the price and the noodles were a bit more well done than in the Pad Si Ew...probably because it was still cooking in the coconut broth. At $12, I'd say this is a solid lunch choice. You might even have leftovers.  Okay...we're getting to the homestretch now...Our final dish was the Chiang Mai Noodles with Beef. I was so full at this point, I don't know if I had meat sweats or carb overload, but all I could do was to take a few sips of the soup, and a few bites of the noodles, the beef seemed overwhelming. The red curry broth was spicy, but not mindblowing. The noodles were better than the laksa...not sure why? And according to Sherman, the beef was tender, but I didn't actually try it myself...well, there's always next time! 

If you are ever in the area, it's definitely worth a visit. It's a casual food court atmosphere and the staff are very friendly. 

Rangoli...lots of Lamb!

Last month, my sister and I decided to visit Rangoli (deciding for forego a possible wait at Vij's). And to be honest, we couldn't have been happier. We went for lunch and a few dishes to share. First item to arrive was the Lamb, Beef and Lentil Kebabs. The meatiness was plentiful, and the spices were well-balanced. There was heat, but not blow-your-head-off heat. Subtle but definitely packs a punch. 

For me, I am not satisfied with Indian food unless there is naan involved.So our next dish was the Tamarind and Yogurt Marinated Grilled Chicken served with rice and naan. Despite the appearance in the picture, the chicken was surprisingly moist. I think the marinate really did its job, overcoming the high heat used to cook the chicken. The basmati rice was light and fluffy, perfect to soak up some of the curry sauce. And the naan, I could have had three servings of this. It's not heavy, and has a nice chewiness to it.   

The last dish we tried was the Lamb in Cumin and Light Cream Curry. The curry was delicate and sweet, but with a punch of heat that hits your as an afterthought. The veggies are tender with a slight bite. The rice and naan are perfect to soak up the curry sauce. I could do without the salad, but I say that about all my meals. 

Service was fun, casual and very jovial. It's a perfect place to spend an afternoon catching up with friends. Oh, and be sure to give the Mango Lassi a try! 

Get to Pronto...Pronto!

Sometimes the best meals take place when and where you least expect it. I decided to meet up with a fave eating buddy (purely because he has big cameras and an even bigger appetite), Sherman. 

We left my place without a clear idea in mind as to what we wanted to eat...Pho? Dim Sum? Sushi? All bets were off...and then he decided that we should check out a little restaurant he wanted to revisit on Cambie. And that's how we ended up at Pronto.Despite their small size, they have an incredibly diverse menu. There are pastas, sandwiches, various appetizers and pizzas too! Something for everyone, and at fairly reasonable prices.

We ordered four things to share, and allowed the kitchen to serve up whenever each item was ready...so our first course was the Tagliatelle Aglio e Olio. Most of the pastas are handmade, and this one was as well, simply made with garlic and smoked pancetta. The dish was rounded out with some sliced tomatoes, a just a touch of chili flakes, all topped with a showering of Parmesan cheese. The freshness of the pasta was undeniable. The pancetta gave the dish the needed saltiness, and the fresh tomatoes really freshened it up. It's plenty for one person, but it's also a great starter for two people. 

 

We noticed that there was Porchetta on the menu, and it's something we cannot turn down, ever. The bun was warm, but not crunchy, and the pork was mild in flavour...could have used a bit more seasoning or some salsa verde to perk it up a bit. However, no complaints about the skin...I've had chips less crispier than this. It wasn't fatty, just with a great crunch. I had to take some of mine home and it reheated very nicely. Always an important note if you order more than you can eat. 
Two carby dishes down, and more to come. We really wanted to try their pizzas, and decided on the Genoa. A 12" pizza that's more than enough for two to share (even if you didn't have a pasta and sandwich beforehand). How can you go wrong with salami, tomatoes and red peppers. The cheese melted perfectly, and it wasn't overly topped. The crust held up well to the toppings and this was a winner in my books. It's fresh, light and tasty, and for $15, a great deal. Our final dish was actually listed as an Antipasto, but it was okay with us that it came at the end. After all the heavy foods we had, the light Prawns wrapped in Pancetta was actually quite a good way to finish lunch. It is a really good blend of the sweet prawns and the savory saltiness of the pancetta. At $12, I think this is a bit pricey. The sear on the pancetta is solid and this is a fun dish. I guess just adding one more prawn might have made the value a bit better, but that's just a minor complaint.

Osteria Savio Volpe - High hopes...

For the past several weeks, my sister has been in town from HK and we've been eating up a storm throughout the city. Our latest venture was to Osteria Savio Volpe, a little Italian restaurant in Mount Pleasant, which was once a tire shop! It is fairly new, and it's a bustling place just next to Les Faux Bourgeois. Featuring rustic appetizers, housemade pastas and a few mains featuring fish and meats, it's not a complicated menu but there's enough to suit everyone. 

Source: http://www.saviovolpe.com/

We arrived 15 minutes early for our reservation and were told to wait. Perfectly acceptable, until we noticed an empty table set for two right by the door. It took the hostess 10 minutes to place two extra settings at the table so that we could be seated. But, whatever.

A little background information here before we delve into the eats! We were served by a casually dressed guy, can't remember his name. There were only two male servers, he was the shorter one. We started with a bottle of wine while we looked over the menu. For a group of four, we decided on three appetizers, two pastas and a main dish. 

For the main, we wanted the WHOLE roasted fish, and I had inquired if it was truly whole, including head and tail. He quickly responded that "no, it was actually filets". So I asked for a bit of extra time to decide on something else. He returned to the table shortly later after talking to another server, apologized and said he was wrong, it did indeed come with head and tail. (This is what made me think that he might be new and not really knowledgeable about the menu.) With that settled, we decided to go ahead and ordered the fish.

First appy was the Kale Salad, it was tasty with a lemon flavour and lots of crunch from the crispy topping. The finely chopped kale was easy to eat and made it a breeze to share.
We also got the Prosciutto di Parma and that was fantastic. It was thinly sliced and not overly fatty. The accompanying apple and grana were sliced just as thinly. It was a beautiful dish and was as fun to eat as it was delicious.
For a warm appetizer, we decided to try the Garlic Bread, which came swathed in its own little aluminium foil blanket. The aroma was amazing and we appreciated that it wasn't overly smothered with butter. However, it did seem a little Safeway-like.
While we were enjoying this, with half the salad and most of the bread still unconsumed, the server came to the table with our pastas. We asked him to take a look at our table, and it was evident that we weren't ready for our mains yet, actually, there was no room for them! We asked if he could take it back until we were ready. He proceeded to argue with us, saying that is the way Italians have dinner. He reluctantly took it back and said "Well, I'll take it back since you don't understand how dining in an Italian restaurant works, because that's how Italians do it." He also said he'll get us a fresh one when we're ready. I thought this was strange, because on their own website, under Alla Famiglia, it says "bread and antipasti before pasta, then protein followed by dessert."

My past reviews of Cotto, Charlie's Little Italian, Buca and more show that I have indeed dined in many Italian restaurants before. I have never been to Italy but my sister has, and she told me that it is "not" how they do it. I have had pasta as a first course before, but it is clear from our order (which was placed all at the same time), that we intended the three first items to be appies, and the other three to be our mains. 

For the rest of the evening, he did not return to refill our wine or water glasses; thankfully, the other servers stepped in, clearing our plates and cutlery when we were actually done our three appetizers. The pastas came together which was fine with us.

The first was the Tortiglioni, with shortrib braciola, and Sunday sugo. The braciola was really dry, almost like "stirfried beef in a Chinese food court", said my sister. The texture of the pasta was a nice al dente, no complaints there.
Our next pasta was the Creste di Gallo. The little half moon pastas were perfectly cooked and quite cute. I really liked them, and the chicken with mushrooms were perfect for the sauce. The ragu was light, and the dish was well-balanced.
However, as you can see, the cheese sprinkled on at the time of serving did not melt. Can you guess why? The pasta was barely lukewarm. Perhaps that's another Italian tradition I'm unaware of but I have a feeling that all our server did was to put both our pastas under a warming lamp (which might have contributed to the drying out of the braciola) until we were done our appies, and did not fire up a fresh one later, as he said he would. 

We saw pastas arriving at nearby tables and they were piping hot, with steam clearly visible. And no, they didn't get theirs with their salad and bread, there was definitely a pause in the service for them.

Anyways, putting that aside, our server waited until we were done our pastas before bringing on the Whole Roasted Fish. And as it arrived at the table, the new server offered to serve it for us, by removing the bone. We said we were fine doing that ourselves. Can you see what's missing? Yes, the head and the tail and the skin too! When I order a whole roasted fish, I thought the head and tail would be part of a whole fish...again, I must have been mistaken. The flavours were good with the meyer lemon and capers, but I was really looking forward to the crispy skin, and they decided that I should do without that.

We didn't see our server again until he handed us the bill. We reluctantly tipped, but I wished we could have designated the tip to go to all the other servers who actually served us.

I will likely never return to OSV. Despite the amazing appetizers and the possibly fantastic pastas when served fresh, the condescending tone of our server made me feel judged and unwelcomed. It is unfortunate as it's close to home and I had heard great reviews. My sister left very disappointed and I don't blame her.