Sura Korean Royal Cuisine

If you can believe it, I have not been back to the Downtown location of Sura since 2013!  For whatever reason, I have totally forgotten about the Sura Lunch Set Menu.  Back in 2013, it was only $20.00 for 12 small dishes along with 3 different banchan.  If you can imagine, that was a fantastic value, especially since it was tasty (and located in Downtown).  Fast forward to the present and they still have the lunch set, but it is $25.00 for the same amount of dishes and banchan.  So yes, it has gone up in price, but not by much (considering inflation).  Still a great deal in my books!  Jackie and I stopped by to try this out.

We were started off with the Daily Congee that seemed to have some minced beef in it.  Unlike the Chinese version, this was silkier and more cooked down.  It was thick, sweet and full of umami.  We had a selection of Banchan including a Mashed Potato Salad, Fried Fish Cake Strips and Kimchi.  We really enjoyed the potato salad as it was creamy and light with the natural flavour coming through with some sweetness.  The fried strips of fish cake were chewy in a good way while dressed in a sticky sweet glaze.  The kimchi was a touch on the tangier side with some spiciness.

Things started to arrive fast and furious, quickly filling up our table.  I decided to go for the Green Salad first as it seemed like the obvious choice amongst all the hot dishes.  It was nothing out-of-the-ordinary, but had fresh mesclun greens dressed in a tangy dressing.  Next, we had the Soy Bean Paste Soup that was somewhat bubbling in the cast iron bowl.  It was not bad with umaminess and some sweetness.  It was filled with various veggies.

A few smaller items arrived at the table and didn't look like a lot of food.  That is true, especially in comparison to the 2013 portions, but in reality, that was probably too much food.  Also, costs are high and I understand the need to give just enough food.  With that being said, I wished there was more of the Mung Bean Jelly because it was so good.  Slippery and soft textured, the jelly was lightly seasoned.  The Spicy Squid Salad was also fantastic with a good sweet spiciness with crunchy veggies.  However, it was pretty low on the squid content.

Onto some more robust dishes, we had the Herb Pork Belly aka Bossam.  This featured 4 slices of tender and fatty pork belly that had a nice aroma in itself.  But of course, it was even better after the addition of the spicy radish and wrapped in the pickled daikon.  Lots of crunch to contrast the soft belly.  The Kimchi Pancake was pretty tasty too with a certain sweet tangy spice.  It was fairly soft and airy with only the slightest of crispiness on the surface.

Some of the more filling plates included the Deep Fried Fish with sweet & sour sauce.  Sure it was basa, but it turned out flaky and moist with a crispy tempura batter encasing it.  The sauce was a nice balance of sweet & sour which went well with the fish.  As for the Sweet & Sour Pork, it was more sweet than sour, but still tasted good.  The pieces of pork were lean, hence being more on the drier side, yet they were still tender.  Some crunch was provided by the woodear, carrot and cucumber.

So the last 2 dishes were a bit bigger in the Japchae and the Spicy Sliced Pork.  Both were pretty solid with the japchae having a nice balance of sweet and savoury as well as some nuttiness.  The sliced pork was slightly spicy while completely seasoned.  The meat was soft and tender.  Naturally, this also went well with the rice.  In the end, we were stuffed and had a few pieces of food we couldn't finish.  Yes, the portions are smaller than in 2013, but there is ultimately enough food for 2 people.  For $25.00pp, it is a freaking steal, especially given its Downtown location on Robson.  Go check it out if you are in the area!

*All food and drink were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Amazing value
- Food is also good
- Lots of variety

The Bad:
- Sure, the portion size has shrunk, but you still get enough food
- Your table might now be big enough

Kosoo Cardero

The last time we were here at Kosoo Cardero, it was only myself and Jackie.  Now, there isn't anything inherently wrong with that since there are many dishes 2 people can share here.  However, we were sampling some pretty large items and yah, it was hard to finish, let alone actually having the appetite to try them all.  This time around, we had more people, which meant the food could be spread out a bit more.  Hey, the portions here are quite generous!  We also had a few new dishes too.

We began with the Fresh Seaweed Kimbap that was overstuffed with radish, egg, spinach and carrot.  I thought this was pretty solid with plenty of filling with only a thin layer of rice around it.  The rice itself had an appealing chewy consistency.  I also enjoyed the aromatics from the roasted sesame seeds.  In the background, you will notice the Banchan including bean sprouts, fish cake strips and kimchi.  The kimchi was rather tangy with some sweetness and spice.

We tried one of their new dishes in the Prime Rib which was plated with the bone.  The meat itself was sliced into medium thick pieces that were against the grain.  Most of the meat was prepared to medium and was buttery tender.  This was served with an egg yolk which we dipped the meat into.  It added a silkiness to each bite, which was already savoury and full of umami due to the soy glaze.  We also found a refreshing scallion salad on the side.

Continuing with new items, we had the Cream Sauce Gnocchi with potato, perilla, bacon and jalapeno pickle.  Other than the addition of perilla, this would pass as a non-Korean dish anywhere else.  As such, there was a a mild herbaceousness to the dish that was dominated more by the salty and smoky bacon.  The gnocchi were medium-firm with a minor pillowiness.  With the addition of pickled jalapeno, there was so needed acidity and spice.

With another dish that we've never had before, we tried the Manila Clams Pasta.  At first glance, this looked at home on an Italian restaurant menu, but alas, this had a fusion component of Korean sake.  This in itself added a brightness that had some sweetness.  That complimented the brininess of the clams beautifully.  We also found the more conventional components such as garlic, olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes.  The linguine itself was nicely al dente.

Onto another noodle dish, we had the Truffle Japechae.  We've already had this before and it is an interesting take on the classic dish.  It featured the same potato starch noodles as the traditional dish, but is dressed in a rich black truffle sauce that is definitely earthy, but not overwhelming.  There was the usual sweetness and soy elements.  On the sides, we found beef dduk galbi (shortrib patties) that were meaty, sweet and nutty.

Staying with the truffle theme, we had the Truffle Cream Tteok-Bokki.  This was an enormous amount of cream sauce that was rich, nutty and of course earthy.  This went so well with a bowl of white rice as it soaked up all of the creaminess.  As you can see in the picture, there was no shortage of fish cake sheets to go with the rice cakes.  Both were chewy (in a good way) and provided plenty of texture to go with the cream sauce.

We moved to some bigger plates (as if the others weren't big enough already).  The Cheese Dakgalibi was served in the classic UFO cast iron plate with the chicken in the middle and surrounded by melting cheese and corn.  This was delicious (a little sweet, a little savoury and a touch of spice) and although we didn't finish off the remainder with rice (basically stir fry with the scraps in the middle), we did eat with a bowl of rice.  This was the best way to do it and also to enjoy the corn cheese while we were at it.

Another interpretation of an existing dish was the Beef Sukiyaki presented atop a butane burner.  I think the pan they used was a paella pan because I have the same one!  LOL.  Anyways, this had all of the usual components including thinly-sliced beef, various veggies and mushroom in the sukiyaki broth.  It cooked slowly at our table and our served tended to it at the start and at the finish.  The result was some tender slices of beef that had taken on the sweet saltiness of the broth while the veggies did the same, but even more so.

 

The meatiest dish of the meal was the Galbi Jjim featuring large braised short ribs with onion and plenty of melted cheese.  As mentioned earlier, Kosoo has some really large dishes that are best shared.  This is one of them and even with several people, we couldn't finish it.  The fall-off-the-bone meat was super tender and moist with rich flavours.  The sweetness of the onions really came through.  As you can see, the food at Kosoo Cardero is perfect for sharing since many items come in big portions.  So bring your friends and family because not only is the food unique and delicious, it can be a great value when shared.

 

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

 

The Good:

- Large portions

- Interesting mix of dishes from classic Korean to outright North American

- Good eats

 

The Bad:

- Food can be rather heavy, so even sharing, you may not finish (not really a bad thing right?)

  

June on Cambie

If you haven't already heard, we have a new "hot"
restaurant on Cambie Street, where Biercraft used to be located and just steps away from Elio Volpe.  June, named after Head Chef Connor Sperling's wife, is Brasserie-inspired with French-influenced West Coast cuisine.  If Chef Sperling sounds familiar, he had been honing his craft at Published the last 5+ years.  The restaurant itself boasts a prominent bar that helps compliment late night bites until midnight.  Moreover, you can keep the experience alive by heading downstairs to the cocktail bar.

On the topic of cocktails, we started with 2 light and fruity concoctions.  These included the Blue Fizz and the Chamberyzette.  Super light and with a noticeable banana finish, the Blue Fizz was also fruity and went down far too easy.  On that note, the Chamberyzette was even more dangerous with the sour strawberry cordial affording fruity and sweet vibes that blended well with the sweetness of the vermouth.

Onto the food, we began with the Scallops, which were beautifully seared with intense caramelization accentuating the sweet brininess of the plump mollusk.  Beyond being properly seasoned with salt, the natural taste of the scallop was complimented by the citrus butter sauce.  It had a balanced amount of acidity to brighten things up while having the luscious creamy nuttiness of the butter.

Although the Crab dip was listed in the small dish section of the main menu, it was not small at all.  Underneath the chives and aioli, there was a wealth of lump crab meat that was beautifully-prepared.  Each piece of crab was fluffy and had a strong briny essence and flavour.  Those spiced madeleines were fluffy and sweet.  Personally, I would've liked something crunchier, but then again, there was nothing wrong with the madeleines.  I could've just eaten them by themselves!

Loved the plating of the Pepper Bluefin as it was super colourful with no negative space.  The tuna itself was just lightly kissed on one side with crusted black pepper while being rare throughout.  It was buttery as expected with an unmistakable sweetness.  At first, I thought the pepper would be overwhelming, but in reality, I barely knew it was there other than a bit of a bite at the end.  It sat in a piquillo escabèche which was sweet and tangy with only the slightest hint of heat.  Really nice compliment to the bluefin without being too powerful.

One of the more surprising dishes was the Frog Legs.  Now, I've had my share of frog legs before, so it wasn't surprising because of the ingredient.  It was the level of execution that exceeded my expectations.  The legs were gigantic and plump where the texture was juicy and fork tender.  On the outside, it was perfectly-glazed with espellette and B.C. honey offering up both spice and sweetness.  On the side we found a lime mignonette that provided that acidic kick to bring the flavours alive.  Best frog legs I've ever had!

We did have one featured off-menu item in the Spot Prawns in Fresno sauce with Meyer lemon and butter.  These split head-on prawns were cooked just enough so that the meat was still tender and delicate.  The prawns were naturally sweet and despite the impactful sauce, it didn't overshadow the main ingredient.  With that being said, it was nice to have a more robust flavour with spice, sweetness and tang.  We really needed something to soak up all the goodness.

 

That we did with the June Brioche with Beurre d'Isigny from Normandy.  I really should have used the bread as a blank canvas for the various sauces from the dishes at the table.  However, it would also be a waste that we didn't use up all the creamy butter either.  So I just slathered all that I could onto each piece of the fluffy bread.  So aromatic and nutty with a strong butter essence.  I also loved the crispiness of the bread's exterior.

Normally, I'm not super excited about having a salad, but the Salade Maison featured beautiful butter lettuce specifically grown for June.  It was dressed in a tangy dijon vinaigrette that also had balancing sweetness.  For my second cocktail, I decided on something stronger in the Noisette Manhattan.  I'm not connoisseur with this drink, but I did have one a few weeks ago at another restaurant and this was better.  The whiskey went down real easy while still being impactful with some dark wood notes with a touch of sweetness. 

One of our favourite dishes (amongst many favourites), the Mussels were large, plump and perfectly-prepared.  These came with a fino sherry cream sauce.  It was not a heavy as it looked while still being full-bodied and flavourful.  Mildly-seasoned, the sauce was earthy while lightly sweet with a touch of spice from the chilis.  There was an extra serving of sauce on the side so we could fill each shell or dip our bread into.

The real showstopper dish was Pasta for Rachel featuring a whole sheet of ravoili.  Rachel is Chef Sperling's wife (her English name) and yes, he made this pasta for her.  These were filled with potato and comté cheese where it was bordering on salty but just riding that fine line.  That meant these raviolis were flavourful on its own while the firmly al dente pasta was also properly seasoned.  In addition to the black pepper on top, the dish was finished off by a generous dollop of Beurre d'Isigny.

After the pasta, we didn't think there would be anything to equal its deliciousness.  However, the June Burger did just that.  First, we had a beautifully buttered brioche bun.  It softly hugged all of the components and provided the perfect encapsulation of the juicy meaty patty.  It was topped off by rich and nutty gruyère, sweet caramelized onions and what I think was braised beef.  The added jus made this even more meaty-tasting and super moist.  Oh, and the mustard provided just enough tang to break up the heaviness a touch.  One of the best burgers I've had period.

Of course we had to get the Fries to go with the burger right?  This large portion consisted of long strands of perfectly crispy potatoes.  They were pretty crunchy overall and well-salted, so there wasn't much creamy potato texture inside.  I didn't mind that as I dunked them into the dips (mustard extraordinaire, and house mayo).  We had one more drink to go with our desserts in the Coffee Cocktail with orange liqueur.   Not sure what the actual name of this drink was because we couldn't find it on the menu.  But it was rich with plenty of coffee bitterness to go with the aromatic sweetness of the liqueur.  This went well with the next item...

Yes, the coffee cocktail paired beautifully with the Chocolate mousse cake with crème Anglais. This was balanced in terms of sweetness while having plenty of chocolate impact.  The mousse was light and creamy while wrapped in hazelnut ganache and benefitted from the nuttiness of Frangelico.  The extra layer of crunch provided textural contrast.  Lastly, we sampled their Soft Serve du Jour which was rhubarb and creamsicle.  Nicely light and refreshing, the flavours were apparent with a balance between sweetness and tanginess.  The addition of fermented orange afforded some salty citrusy notes.  Complimentary texture came in the form of crispy spruce tip meringues.  All I have to say is "Wow".  This meal was so delicious where I was wanting to do it all again the next day.  Another great addition to the Vancouver restaurant scene and I'm thinking this will have the potential of a Michelin-Star and being on Canada's Top 100 Restaurants real soon.

 

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

 

The Good:

- Perfect execution with the proteins

- Not lacking flavour

- Great vibe

 

The Bad:

- Some items were bordering on salty.  I personally didn't mind it, but others might. 

 

Pearl House

I remember a long time ago (2013 in fact), I had visited Pearl House out on Sperling at Kingsway in Burnaby.  It was solid Taiwanese fare that was reasonably-priced.  Well, that location has closed permanently and now houses Singapore Hawker.  Now we find that Peal House has reopened on the West side of Vancouver where the Meet Up used to be located.  Jackie and I paid a visit to this new location and upon entry, it was pretty much the same setup as before (when it was Meet Up).  So it was fairly spacious and inviting.

Of course, the space is one thing, but the food needs to be good too right?  We began with a Taiwanese classic in the Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets.  These were pretty big pieces of thigh meat, which helped them keep juicy and tender.  They were also nice marinated so that the meat had a mild saltiness to it.  As for the batter, it was not too thick while being crunchy and not overly greasy.  There was also the usual slight pepperiness and fried basil to compliment.

Continuing on with the appetizers, we had the 3-item Marinated Combo with sliced pig ear, beef shank and eggs. I thought the items here were prepared quite well.  I was actually quite impressed with the marinated eggs as the egg yolk wasn't completely obliterated.  Notice that there was no ugly green ring around it.  The pig's ear was sliced thin and had plenty of flavour including a background hint of star anise.  Same with the beef shank, as it was also tender and moist.

Naturally, at any Taiwanese restaurant, one must order the beef noodle right?  We did that but opted for the Beef Shank & Noodle Soup.  I found the broth for this bowl to be a bit mild, yet not flavourless.  I could taste the meatiness, but at the same time, it was not as rich as the one found at Myst.  The noodles were plentiful and perfectly al dente.  The beef was fall apart tender and flavourful while the tendon were in large gelantinous tender pieces.

We went a bit off the board with our next dish with the Deep Fried Unagi Bento.  This was literally 2 fillets of eel that were breaded and deep-fried.  Honestly, I didn't enjoy this bowl as the best things about eel (being buttery and soft) was absent after the breading and deep-frying.  Furthermore, it really didn't go with the rice that well as it was dry without any sauce.  Hence, we just ate the eel.  This also came with some veggies and 2 slices of Taiwanese sausage.

Our last savoury item was the Deep Fried Chicken Thigh Curry featuring a large chicken thigh.  I'm sure they added the green onion for colour but that was far too much of it.  The pure taste of the curry was partially obscured by the green onion.  Too bad because the curry itself was excellent having a sweet earthiness where the viscosity was just right.  The rice was firm enough to receive the curry while the chicken was juicy and tender with only a thin layer of fried coating.

For dessert, we had the Snowy Mango Pomelo with a cheese mousse on top.  This was refreshing and fruity as expected.  I found the shaved ice to be nicely texture without big chunks.  It was completely flavoured with the mango syrup.  For our drinks, we selected the Roasted Oolong Milk Tea as well as the Passionfruit Slush.  I thought these were solid and not merely an afterthought.  The tea had a noticeable roasted nutty flavour while the slush was fruity and completely blended.  Overall, Pearl House is a solid place for Taiwanese eats, desserts and drinks.  Portions are generous while the pricing is reasonable (given how expensive things can be in this area).

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Generous portions
- Solid eats
- Spacious dining room

The Bad:
- Some dishes could be tweaked

Kosoo Korean BBQ

Here we are again at Kosoo Korean BBQ out in the heart of Coquitlam.  We had a great experience last time with their excellent meats and the unique selection of Banchan.  As you might be familiar, Kosoo belongs to the bigger group of restaurants that included Kosoo Cardero as well as Kosoo Chicken & BBQ.  We've been to all of them and they each offer something a bit different than the other.  This time around, we were doing the BBQ for sure, but there were a few more dishes we've never had before.

But to start, we had 2 versions of their Pancake including the Chive and Kimchi Pancakes.  The interesting thing about their pancakes is that they are relatively thin.  Hence, they were super crispy (without being too crunchy), while the interior of the pancake was not overly soggy nor doughy.  Overall greasiness was modest, especially since it was not served in a cast iron pan.  I personally enjoyed the kimchi version more due to the spice and tang.  The chive pancake had a balanced amount of green onion.

Onto the Banchan, it consisted of Kimchi, Stewed Potatoes, Bean Sprouts, Tofu Skin, Quail Egg, Fried Zucchini and Pickled Daikon.  These were a bit more standard compared to our last visit where we had the anchovy and shredded squid.  However, the quail eggs were nicely marinated where the sweet and salty flavours were impactful.  I wasn't a fan of the zucchini since the batter was a bit stiff since it was served cold.  For our choice of soup (that was included with Combo B), we had the Soft Tofu Soup.  It was served bubbling hot and had some spice and plenty of depth.  The soft tofu was silky and the bits of beef were tender.

One new item we had was the Raw Marinated Crabs & Prawns served with tobiko and egg yolk with rice.  It took me awhile to get into this Korean raw crab craze but now that I am, it really is truly delicious.  The meat was silky with sweet and briny elements.  We squeezed the meat onto the rice and deshelled the prawns.  Mixed with the egg yolk, tobiko and sauce on the side, the rice was flavourful with plenty of umami and silkiness.  Really delicious and if you haven't tried raw marinated crab, this is an accessible way to do so.

So onto another newish dish, at least at this location - the Clam Bibimbap.  I've had this at their Pocha spot in Chinatown (which is now closed) and it was fantastic.  Well, this version was exactly that loaded with whole buttery and plump clams.  They were dressed in a spicy sauce that also had some sweetness.  There was an equal amount of chewy rice that we could sandwich with the clams in the supplied nori.

Fresh off a recent experience with the Spicy Cold Noodles with raw fish at another Korean restaurant, we were excited to try Kosoo's version.  I would say that this one was pretty solid.  The sweetness of the pear came through while helping balance the spiciness of the sauce.  With a bite and sweet chewiness, the raw fish added another texture to the already al dente naengmyeon noodles.  The broth was also cold enough so that it was the right temperature.

We can't forget about the Korean BBQ right?  Well, we went for the Combo B for 2 that included Pork Belly, Marinated Beef Rib Finger and Marinated LA Galbi.  As mentioned above, the pancake and soup were also included.  Considering this was technically for 2 people, there was plenty of meat.  The 3 huge slabs of pork belly had a good ratio of meat to fat while the beef rib finger was fatty and tender.  Our favourite was the short rib as it was well-marinated allowing for caramelization from the BBQ.  The meat was tender with the classic short rib chewiness.

Our last item was the Rose Chicken Galbi Platter served on a butane burner.  This allowed for the cheese to melt (so we have corn cheese!) and start to crisp up on the sides and bottom.  The trick here was to not mix the chicken and rice cakes with anything else.  It was to be eaten with the corn cheese and rice separately.  Overall, the food at Kosoo Korean BBQ is solid and served in generous portions.  Love the spacious dining space and their selection of banchan.  One of my go-to spots for Korean BBQ.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Large portions
- Delicious eats
- Spacious dining room

The Bad:
- Grill seemed to be hotter on one side
- The Rose Chicken Galbi was a bit unstable on the portable burner