Fried Chicken Friday at Fuel

From Fuel

Fuel is turning Fridays into a special occasion by offering their interpretation of the Southern style fried chicken. They are having this lunch special all summer long...so just go. Now.

They first marinade the chicken in buttermilk - then they place it into their sous-vide set up to tenderize prior to flash frying it. This method results in a tender chicken that is flavourful and just greasy enough to taste authentically southern. Having experienced other meats that have been done sous-vide, I had actually expected the chicken to be much more tender. The meat still had a good chew and didn't have that cut with a butter knife almost livery texture that often results post-sous-vide.

The chicken was served with a gravy (did I taste a hint of white wine?), "coleslaw" and chive biscuits. It was well worth the $18 I paid. For $18 you can get and entire bucket of KFC....but oh well.

I also had the Foie Gras Torchon (an object of controversy - as anti-Foie protesters had been picketing Fuel and neighbouring Gastropod for weeks prior to this meal). It was done to perfection - well seared on the outside and rare on the inside. It was garnished with sauteed rhubarb, croutons and what seemed to be cubes of proseco gelatin(?).

My companions had a slew of other dishes - many of which I had stolen a sampling or two. The pork schnitzel was a hit - the breading had excellent crunch and the pork was for tender. The scallops, served on a vegetable puree, were also a hit - one was seared and the other was tartare. The salmon was excellent.

Fuel kept delivering right into the dessert course. I had the Tahititan Vanilla Brule which I paired with a Batasiolo Moscato d'Asti. They paired very well together owing to the shared citrus notes. The Dulce de Leche pound cake was amazing - with the tart rhubarb contrasting well with the sweet caramel dulce. The Manjari chocolate mousse was the most elaborate of the bunch - darkly sweet and well presented with a confiture and pistachio brown butter ice cream. I didn't have a taste of the rice pudding - which was really more of a croquette. My colleague assured me it was delicious.

It's Spot Prawn Season!

Aberdeen's Food Court

From Aberdeen Mall...

My daughters and their friend had a 'PD Day" last Wednesday (which means they have a day off school). I took the day off work to do some errands in Richmond and I took them with me. For lunch we headed to Aberdeen Mall's Food Court. Aberdeen Mall - as many denizens of the GVA know - is an Asian Shopping Mall. The anchor store is the Japanese $1000Y (Toonie) store, Daiso.

The Food Court, in direct contrast to the cramped, dingy Food Court in Burnaby's Crystal Mall, is a architectural beauty - soaring ceilings, clean, bright, and well detailed. The food, however, is another story...the food at Aberdeen was definitely not in the same league as the food at Crystal Mall. There are some hits - Beard Papa's Cream Puffs, and the takoyaki at the Japanese stall are just fine...actually they have some pretty interesting sandwiches and dishes at that particular stall...the service was quite incompetent on that particular day - long story. My kids had the tempura which was "OK" - a little greasy for my liking.

I also had dishes from the Shanghai stall and the Hainan Chicken stall.

I had of beef roll (a la Peaceful's) from the Shanghai stll. It was wrapped, incredulously, in a flour tortilla. Terrible. Pass on this. I could not finish it...actually I had one bite and put it down.

The XLB: The skin was a thick and not very supple. There was not a lot of soup and it didn't come out as hot inside as I like it. The meatball was dense - not light as at Wang's (and definitely not as light as at Shanghai River, Chen's, or The Place, and other restaurants that serve an exemplary version. It was served with black vinegar instead of the requisite red vinegar. I say, pass, or drive to Chen's or Shanghai River instead.

The Hainan Chicken Rice: Also poorly executed. It tasted and felt more like Cantonese steamed chicken. It was dry, tough, yellow and had no gelatin. The chili sauce was sweet thai chili sauce. It also didn't come with the sweet soya. The rice was terrible: coconut rice....not rice cooked in chicken broth.

If you are traveling out of your way to eat well executed, authentic tasting Chinese regional Food Court fare....Crystal Mall should be your destination instead of Aberdeen. Visit Aberdeen' Food Court and get the Cream Puffs...but pass on the rest.

La Casa Gelato

From La Casa Gelato

La Casa Gelato is a Vancouver institution. It has been the most popular Gelateria in Vancouver for quite a number of years. The draw for most is the sheer number of flavours...currently at 508...though their sign indicates 218. It's not the "best" gelato in town...but it is definitely hard to beat....Bliss.

The Xiang Cuisine - A Rare Authentic Hunan Find

From The Xiang

Authentic Hunan is very hard to come by on this continent. Many restaurants that purport to serve Hunan cuisine in the States actually serve Westernized Chinese food of dubious pedigree.... not many serve the real deal.

Hunan is known to be the "hottest" of the Chinese cuisines...hotter than Sichuan from all accounts due the the liberal use of chili pepper. Hunan is often compared to Sichuan cuisine because of certain culinary similarities and its liberal use of chiles - a big difference is the liberal use of Sichuan peppercorn in Sichuan cuisine which gives it a numbing citrusy note.

Hunan cuisine is typically vinegary, garlicky, onion-y, chili-hot, and deep in colour through braises and similar techniques. The cuisine often utilizes smoked and cured meats and vegetables which imparts a very rustic quality.

The Xiang Cuisine is probably the last remaining authentic Hunan restaurant in the Greater Vancouver Area. (I was saddened to find out recently that Hu Hu Nan on Main St had closed its doors.) Here you will get an uncompromising menu. All the dishes are true Hunan fare. (The restaurant does serve a couple of bread-and-butter Cantonese dishes in its lunch specials.)

Today, I dined alone, so I only had the Braised Pork and the Seaweed appetizer and a bowl of rice. Great stuff.

Salsa and Agave

From Salsa and Agave

It is near impossible to find decent "authentic" Mexican food in Vancouver. We just don't have the Mexican population to support such the vibrant scene that you might see in California. Mexican food is a regional cuisine. Here at Salsa and Agave, the food is from Central Mexico. I wanted to order their tripe soup - but they only served it on weekends. Instead we shared a plate of tacos al pastor (red cooked pork) and a carne asada (grilled beef flank.)

The spicing and preparation tasted authentic. The dishes are lighter that how you would typically experience them in Mexico. The prices are very good too, considering they are located in Yaletown.

A Special Day at Chambar

From Chambar

Went to Chambar last night to celebrate my wife's birthday. Our young daughters came and they were treated graciously and with a great deal of respect. I wish more restaurants recognize that kids are their future customers.

Once again, the service was impeccable, transparent and seamless. We never had to ask for anything....it is as if they anticipated our every move. The food and cocktails were, as always, amazing. We ordered only from the appetizer section of the menu (our preferred way of eating these days). The appetizer menu here is not an afterthought like at most places. I can comfortably eat nothing but appetizers here without feeling like I am missing anything at the end.

Angel Seafoods - My Source for Sashimi Grade Fish

From Angel Seafoods

I was stocking up on fish up for this weekend at Angel Seafoods early this afternoon. Angel Seafoods is a spartan storefront for a big frozen seafood operation that is known to be the source of much for Vancouver's sushi fish. Tojo and many other sushi chefs are known to source much of their fish from here.

Angel Seafoods doesn't look like much from the outside - it is a nondescript warehouse building in an industrial area to the west of the Commercial Dr area near Clark Dr. The inside of the store is an odd space with office workers on one side and long freezers full of Japanese frozen goods and other sundries on the other. Don't expect much service here. You should know what you want before entering.

The selection and prices are excellent (slightly better than Fujiya). I bought about $30 worth of a selection of sashimi grade fish (including tuna, yellowtail tuna, black cod, mackarel, etc).

The House of Dosa - South Indian Specialists

From House of Dosa

Lunch today at the House of Dosas where they make South Indian food at great
prices. The specialty are their Dosas which run between $7 to $12. Chef
Specials run around $13 per...I'm not sure what they come with. I'll
have to order one of them next time I come here.

There is an excellent selection of fillings with a variety of bases - Vegetables,
Aloo Gobi, Paneer, Chicken, Beef, Prawn, Fish and Lamb. Examples -
their popular Masala Dosa (vegetable filling), Palak Paneer, Prawn
Vindaloo, Chicken Masala.. The fillings we ordered were all very
tasty....and "hot" actually really does mean "hot".

The Dosas come with the requisite sambhar dahl and two types of cocunut chutney. The Lassis
(I had the Mango) are $2.50....not the best I have had, but just the ticket to cut the chili heat.

The service was fast and attentive. We were in and out of there in about 35 minutes.
We did have a minor confusion about heat levels - the chef came out to apologize and offered to make us another one.

Definitely worth the trip.