Charlie's Restaurant & Bar - Desserts

Restaurant: Charlie’s Bar & Restaurant

Cuisine: Pizza/Mediterranean/Italian
Last visited: March 9, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
1265 Hamilton Street
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4
Service: n/a (Media dinner)
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 3.5 (Food is generally good, but just not worth it)
Additional comments:

• Chef Brian Ritchot
• Chef from Montreal, one from Spain
• DJ’s/live music on weekends
• Contemporary, sleek, posh atmosphere
• Great for drinks, appies
• Specializes in gourmet pizzas
• Mediterranean/Italian options
• Longue like atmosphere
• One large projection screen TV
• Open late
• Pizzas available for take out
• Dinner service only

**Recommendation: Short Rib Pizza, prosciutto di Parma 18 Month, Duck Pizza, Banoffee Pie

I was invited to a media dinner at Charlie’s Bar & Restaurant so the food served this evening was complimentary. However there were no expectations from Charlie’s Bar & Restaurant and the review represents my true and honest opinions.

This review focuses on the dessert for the evening. All the desserts are made in house from scratch which I really appreciate it…and quite frankly expect from a restaurant like this. However I don’t think any dessert here should exceed $8-9 because I’d be paying the same for desserts at slightly more expensive restaurants like Lupo Restaurant + Vinoteca down the street.

I get confused between Charlie’s Restaurant and Bar being a gourmet pizza place and being a finer Mediterranean restaurant. The desserts got me more confused…some are traditional British and some seem more French...but it's a Mediterranean/Italian/Pizza place...right?...regardless I’ll tell you what’s good…

The dinner & drink portion of the review.

On the table:

Chocolate Ganache 2/6

• Pistachio, chocolate wafer and mint sorbet $11
• A bit unusual to see at a restaurant/bar serving gourmet pizzas. It was a bit refined for the style and I couldn’t figure out how it fit in.
• The dessert was quite good and basically a twist on mint chocolate ice cream. It was a deconstructed version with gourmet execution.
• It was very rich dark chocolate ganache slices sprinkled with cocoa powder and topped with thin dark chocolate wafers.
• There was some pistachio and skor graham cracker crumbles around the plate that aided in the presentation rather than the flavour.
• The mint sorbet was refreshing but bitter. The after taste was significantly bitter.
• I wouldn’t want the whole thing to myself, but I’m not a big fan of chocolate mint ice cream. 1-2 of the small squares is enough.
• $11 for this portion I would feel ripped off…but apparently they usually serve it with another piece. (The size of the biggest one in the photo)

Banoffee Pie 4.5/6

• Banana, dry caramel and coconut ice cream $10
• I really liked this! You don’t see this traditional British dessert served at many places so I enjoyed it here.
• I loved how they served it with coconut ice cream. A gourmet twist on traditional pub food…wait is Charlie’s a pub now?

• I don’t think the tart shell was made in house, but I’m not sure. It was a crumbly shortbread like cookie crust, but it didn’t taste homemade. It was filled with bananas, dry caramel and topped with cream.
• The “dry caramel” tastes like dulche de leche – it was like caramelized condensed milk and very thick.
• It was creamy and very sweet with lots of caramel so I'm glad there was ice cream to break it up.
  
• It was served with 3 warm caramelized bananas.
• I'd pay $10 for it, but I still think it's reaching a bit. Especially since most people would be use to seeing it at pubs for half the price. I did like it more than the chocolate ganache.
  

Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar

Restaurant: Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar

Cuisine: Pizza/Mediterranean/Italian
Last visited: March 9, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
1265 Hamilton Street
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5
Service: n/a (Media dinner)
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 3.5 (food is on generally good, but not worth it)
Additional comments:

• Chef Brian Ritchot
• Chef from Montreal, one from Spain
• DJ’s/live music on weekends
• Contemporary, sleek, posh atmosphere
• Great for groups
• Specializes in gourmet pizzas
• Mediterranean/Italian options
• Longue like atmosphere
• One large projection screen TV
• Open late
• Pizzas available for take out
• Dinner service only

**Recommendation: Short Rib Pizza, prosciutto di Parma 18 Month, Duck Pizza, Banoffee Pie

I was invited to a media dinner at Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar so the food served this evening was complimentary. However there were no expectations from Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar and the review represents my true and honest opinions.

Overall the evening was very pleasant and the food was good. However if I were to imagine myself as a regular diner I would probably think great atmosphere, good food, but over priced. It’s “Yaletown Pizza”. Better than Opus Bar pizza for sure. Nothing tasted bad, but when you’re paying for it you get more critical. There are things in the recipe or cooking method that could be improved. I would have liked to see smaller sized pizzas at a reasonable price…which they may consider. I just don’t want to share 1 14 inch pizza if I’m having dinner with one other person…and if we order more we’re looking at a steep bill with lots of leftovers.

They offer pastas and a couple mains but their focus is pizza. I liked the thin crust and made in house aspects but it was at times inconsistent and some were crispier than others. I'm not being too picky either - it was a significant difference. However the pizza crust has a slight garlic powder flavour which is great! Also there’s decent leopparding on the bottom of all the crusts – sign of pizza crust cooked properly.

Soggier crust on 1st pizza.

Crisp crust on last pizza!

I attended the evening with Victoria from Victoria’s Food Secrets. 9 courses later and we still had room for one more dessert…so we just reached for the unfinished dessert down the table. ;)

Oh and no – that is not Charlie and the owner’s name is not Charlie…Charlie is a fictional character the restaurant and food is inspired by.

The dessert portion of dinner at Charlie's Restaurant + Bar.

On the table:

House Marinated Olives 4/6

• Citrus & fresh herbs $6
• Olives are olives and there were a variety which I liked.
  
• I like olives so I liked them. The marinade was good, but also standard.

Grappa Cured Salmon 3.5/6

• Cream fraiche, cucumber, mint, salmon roe and lemon zest $15
• Very fresh and big piece of salmon. Quite a simple dish that sounds more interesting. A sharing appy.
  
• I liked the levels of saltiness from this – the salty bite of salmon roe, fresh sea salt on top of the salmon and then the fresh caper berry. The cream fraiche helped to balance and round out the flavours.
• The cucumber, mint and lemon zest was more for décor and not enough to actually add to the dish.
• Not sure how much this appy suits the restaurant, but it’s still good.

Prosciutto di Parma 18 Month 5.5/6

• With pea mousse, snow pea tendrils, a poached egg, two crostini, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
• Not on current menu, but will be added at end of month. Price TBC. I would hope $12-14.
  
• Great combo of flavours and loved the plating. Prosciutto roses!
  
• I loved the pea mousse. Its very light and fluffy. I recommended them to add Mascarpone to the mousse to give it creaminess and richness. Drool.
• I could taste some tuffle oil on the prosciutto – great touch!

• The poached egg could have been even softer and there were fresh green peas underneath it all. Loved the textures of it altogether.
• It definitely needs a few more crostini for the portion.

Meatball Pizza 2/6

• Spicy tomato sugo, pork meatballs, fontina, smoked speck and fresh oregano $23
• It was good, but for $23 I wouldn’t order it. It’s a bit too basic for me anyways so I wouldn’t have ordered it on a regular basis.
• The best part was the Fontina, except it made the pizza extra greasy which eventually made the thin crust a bit soggy.
• It was homemade Italian Sausage meatballs. They were ok but a bit dry and not a highlight. The pizza also wasn’t spicy to me and there wasn’t much oregano. Maybe they should shred them up and spread them around.

Smoked Salmon Pizza 3/6

• Salsa verde, house-smoked salmon, red onion, capers, arugula preserve, lemon and goat cheese $25
• Lots of stuff going on here, but I did like it.
• I liked the big pieces of salmon and there was a decent amount of creamy goat cheese crumbles…a little goes a long way.
• It was salty, slightly peppery and the salsa verde got nicely baked in the oven so it gave off a nutty flavour and crispy texture. It was quite a herby salsa.
• It was almost like an arugula salad tossed on top so it was quite fresh tasting – the heaviness comes from the goat’s cheese. Some could like this idea and others might find the salad messy and distracting. I liked it.

Roast Potatoes – Side 3.5/6

• The potatoes were very flavourful, fluffy and buttery but the skins were not crispy enough.

• If we stopped here I would have been slightly underwhelmed...until...
  

Short Rib Pizza 5.5/6

• Tomato sugo, braised short ribs, caramelized onion, mozzarella, horseradish cream and green onions $25
• This was my favourite of the night!
  
• Lots of short rib, but it was a bit dry. I like how I can see it but this method dried out the meat during baking.
• The beef could have been more marinated to compensate for the drying out. There’s definitely some dried herb they cooked it with so there's still some flavour.
  
• I loved the fresh spicy horseradish cream! It’s spicy, but it tastes like they made it milder so it wouldn’t be overpowering. it also added some sauce/juice to the meat.
  

Duck Pizza 4/6

• Porcini sauce, smoked duck, roast portabellini mushrooms, tallegio, radicchio and truffle oil $25
• This had so much potential and it was very good but I was very bothered by the duck part…which is the main part. It had almost completely dried out during baking and it came off as roast beef. Since it was thin slices of duck it really came off as roast beef.

• You can see how the duck meat is dry and wrinkly. So it was good, but disappointing in that one aspect.
  
• I liked the mushroom flavour throughout though. Nice layers of mushroom flavour including the big slices of juicy Potabellini and truffle oil which I could taste.
• It was a bit on the salty side and I would have liked more shredded cabbage for more of a crunch.

Drinks

Keep in mind I’m not much of a drinker – watch this video to see why.

Champers Thyme 2/6

• Apple, cucumber, thyme smashed with agave syrup, Henrick’s, Prosecco crown $11
• A sparking cocktail to start the night. Couldn’t taste much apple, but cucumber and thyme stood out. Refreshing, but quite bitter (from Thyme) and tart.

Cocktail 1265 2.5/6

• Blood orange, grapefruit, juniper berries, pine nuts, basil, grapefruit bitters, Vodka $10
• I thought I would like this more than I did. Pretty strong drink. The pine nuts are pureed it so it has a very subtle nutty flavour. Bold, citrusy and slightly sweet, actually quite bitter.

Devil 4/6

• Sliced fennel, cloves, cherry syrup, Cazadores Reposado tequila, cherry bitters and ginger beer $11
• I don’t like Tequila, and this was the best drink. It’s surprisingly sweet because of the cherries and it just worked very well. It has a warm spice and slight licorice taste.

The dessert portion of dinner.

BONUS - Vancouver's Best Poutine on Davie

The Topic: Quest for Vancouver's BEST Poutine on Davie Street

The Contestants: La Belle Patate, La Brasserie, Fritz European Fry House

4 Poutines later, the results are in!

The poutine at La Brasserie is in a different league, so I almost feel it is unfair to put it in the same category with La Belle Patate and Fritz European Fry House. If I do put it in the competition, their breakfast poutine takes the lead hands down. For a gourmet poutine on Davie Street, La Brasserie seems untouchable (unless another restaurant wants to challenge them…?)

1^st place Most Authentic French-Canadian Poutine - La Belle Patate.

1^st place Best Tasting Poutine - La Brasserie’s Breakfast Poutine

BONUS VIDEO - Breakfast Poutine

The Best Poutine on Davie Street Part 1 of 4

The Best Poutine on Davie Street Part 2 of 4

The Best Poutine on Davie Street Part 3 of 4

BONUS VIDEO - Breakfast Poutine

Please subscribe, rate & comment at my Follow Me Foodie youtube channel. Thanks!

La Brasserie offer 2 different poutines: A truffle poutine that is offered as a hot appetizer for dinner (or as a side), and a breakfast poutine that is offered for their Saturday and Sunday brunch. I was lucky enough to try both!

The breakfast poutine will keep you full until dinner and maybe even a bit sleepy…but it’s totally worth it!

On the table:

La Brasserie Breakfast Poutine 6/6

• Poached egg, bacon, truffle oil, Hollandaise sauce, cheese curds, pork gravy $12
• I’m really mad I didn’t get a picture of this for my blog entry, I totally forgot. You can see it in my “Best Poutine on Davie” video though.
• Poutine for breakfast? Really? Yes, really…and don’t complain. But again, why would you? You won’t for this one at least.
• Oh my gosh...could I have died and went to heaven? Figuratively and literally? Yes, quite possibly. But would I have at least died happy? Yes, because this breakfast poutine is freaking tasty.
• Ok first off, put an egg on anything and I’m there. Poach it like the way their chef did it…I’m so there! It was a perfectly soft poached egg and when you poked the yolk it ran all over the fries and mixed in with the Hollandaise and gravy. I’m drooling all over again.
• This was a very well prepared poutine. Many things stood out, but the first flavour I got was surprisingly not savoury, but actually tangy! The tang was from one of the best parts of this poutine: the Hollandaise sauce. It’s made in house and from scratch. It’s buttery, creamy, thick, rich and intensely flavourful with a strong lemon taste. There’s also Worcestershire sauce to add to the tang and give it a kick, it’s one of the best Hollandaise I’ve had.
• The bacon was fresh pieces of bacon. Not those thin bacon strips, but actual pieces of bacon meat. They were lightly pan fried, and not that crispy ( I kind of wish they were though), but they almost had a dry chewy quality to them. It was salty, but not too salty. This is a Franco-German Bistro so they know their pork…thus the pork gravy is great too. The same pork gravy in the truffle poutine they serve at dinner.
• I could definitely smell the truffle oil even though they used less than they did on the truffle poutine. However the truffle oil became secondary to the Hollandaise and to everything else going on. To be honest, it didn’t even need to truffle oil because it was that well prepared.
• With everything combined it really is something can’t be missed. It's surprisingly only $12 too, totally worth it! It’s super hearty, filling, and rich, but really who cares when there’s so much to enjoy? I highly recommend this…but park further away so at least you’re walking back to your car…

Truffle Poutine 5/6

• Fries, cheese curds, pork gravy, truffle oil $9

Added note: This review is a little different because it was for my video blog. Therefore the food at La Brasserie was complimentary, (although I did offer to pay) but my opinions are still honest and as non-biased as I can be. The opinions and views expressed in "The Quest for Vancouver's Best Poutine on Davie Street" review and video are those of Follow Me Foodie/Mijune only. There is no paid advertising and as always I write for the benefit of the customers and not for the restaurants.

Top Gun J&C Restaurant - Review 2

Restaurant: Top Gun J&C Restaurant

Cuisine: Chinese/Asian/Dim Sum

Last visited: February 21, 2010
Area: Richmond, BC

Unit 2020 Excel Centre, 8766 McKim Way (2^nd floor)
Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5 (moved up .5, tried more stuff)

Service: 4

Ambiance: 5

Overall: 5

Additional comments:

• Part of Top Gun Group
• Considered a high end dim sum restaurant
• Traditional and creative dim sum dishes (mostly traditional)
• Japanese sushi and sashimi available
• Cantonese cuisine
• Discount if you arrive before 11am
• Ordering form service
• Busy, but plenty of seating
• Fancy set up
• Private room available
• Breakfast/Lunch 9:30am-3pm
• Dinner 5:30pm-10pm
• Closed Wednesday
• Reservations recommended
• Some parking available

**Recommendation: Steamed Diced Pork & Shrimp Dumpling, Baked BBQ Pork Bun, Deep Fried Fish Ball w/Clam Sauce, Steamed Beef Ball, Fried Vermicelli in Homemade Style, Pea Tips and Geoduck rice rolls, Steamed Sponge Cake, Red Bean Almond Tofu with Amaretto, Fried Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf

Top Gun J&C Restaurant is part of the Top gun Group so it is considered a higher end dim sum Restaurant. It competes at the level of Kirin Restaurant and Rainflower Chinese Restaurant.

So I’ve been here numerous times and this was my second visit for a continuation of Chinese New Year brunches.

The 1^st Chinese New Year brunch review at Top Gun J&C Restaurant.

The dessert at Top Gun J&C Restaurant.

On the table:

Pan Fried Radish Cake 3.5/6

• Or pan-fried white turnip cake. (Not sure what it’s called on the menu) $4.75?
• This is a traditional dim sum dish to order during Chinese New Year; although it is also a common dish all year around.
• It’s made in house and available ‘raw’ or not pan-fried (to give as gifts) during Chinese New Year and other traditional Chinese holidays.
• It’s a bit sticky and gluey in texture. It’s made of shredded radish of Chinese daikon, which is neutral in flavour. It’s not spicy and not really sweet either. The radish cake is very soft and the flavour comes from the bits of sausage, dried shrimps and Shiitake mushrooms they add to the mixture.
• The ones here are good, but I’ve had better. They’re a little firm and not soft and creamy enough and the edges could be fried crispier. I could also use more Shiitake mushrooms in the mixture.
  

Pan-Fried Taro Cake 3.5/6

• $4.75?
• This is another very common dish to have during Chinese New Year that is also available all year around.
• It’s almost like the pan fried radish cake but it’s a bit drier and starchier in texture. It’s more potato like and not as creamy.
• It’s a savoury cake made or shredded taro root (which is basically a starchier potato-like vegetable), rice flour, Shiitake mushrooms, sausage and maybe some ground pork as well.
• I actually think they did a better job with these than the pan fried radish cake, however I’ve had better of these too. These ones were a bit too firm again. They are firmer than pan-fried radish cakes, but even relative to other taro cakes they’re still a little too firm and a bit too dry.

Scallops and Black Wood Ear Mushroom Rice Rolls 4/6

• $7.50
• This is one of their specialty items and I haven’t seen them offered anywhere else.
• They’re a bit expensive, but that’s because there are huge scallops in them! They’re big white fresh scallops, not dried ones. Although it would taste delicious with some dried scallops in there as well.
• I wish I got a picture, but you can see the big round scallops underneath the rice roll skin.
• I’m not sure if black wood ear mushrooms were the right match – the crunchy texture (cartilage like) kind of threw me off with the soft yet meaty scallops. I would have preferred Enoki mushrooms instead.
• They didn’t have much black wood ear mushrooms in there anyways though.
• I found it a bit bland and the only flavour was pretty much the sweet soy sauce and natural scallop taste.

**Pea Tips and Geoduck Rice Rolls 5/6

• $7.50
• It’s pretty much sautéed pea tips and geoduck wrapped in rice rolls.
• This is another specialty item that isn’t offered anywhere else. It’s their in house recipe and not traditional, but still very good and very gourmet. So it’s a bit pricier again.
  

• The geoduck is a type of clam, so it almost tastes the same. It’s chewy and they don’t overcook them here, so they are still tender. They give you lots too and they’re cut in nice bite sized pieces.
• I really liked the pea tips in here. A unique flavour combination that worked well. It was a very hearty stuffing for the delicate rice rolls, but I still liked it. Lots of textures – soft, chewy, crunchy. I liked it! The ingredients held well with the sweet soy sauce you eat them with too.
• Good example of messing with a good thing…and it actually working.
  

**Fried Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf 6/6

• $10.95
• This is also quite pricey, but it’s good and they execution is done really well.
• It was very fresh and made upon order. I liked the presentation as well.

• It’s a pretty big pot of fried rice with pieces of salted egg yolk, scrambled egg, pieces of white meat chicken, baby shrimp, a few minced up Shiitake mushrooms, and sliced Chinese broccoli stems.
• It was very flavourful rice and has the same flavour as sticky rice. It’s not sticky though and the grains are separate. They did a great job with the frying.
  

• The yellow pieces that look like squash is the salted egg yolk. I love these! It maybe an acquired taste though. It’s very dry and very crumbly in texture. It’s quite firm and it has a very potent salty flavour. It almost has a bean like salty texture and tastes like fermented food. Well it is – it’s a salted duck egg (did I lose you!? I didn't want to say it and scare you off...) but it's a preserved duck egg. It’s the same egg they use in the centre of Chinese moon cakes.
  

**Steamed Sponge Cake 6/6

• $4.50
• This is a very popular Chinese dessert served during dim sum.
• The one here is very good! It’s hot, fresh, and made upon order.
• It’s very soft, light, fluffy, and very lightly sweetened.
• It tastes like egg rolls or Chinese egg balls in sponge cake form.
• It has a slight almond-y flavour and I loved the presentation! I’ve never seen it served like this. I ate the middle part…I usually don’t care for this dessert…but this one was great! A lot of Chinese people love it.

Shun Feng Seafood Restaurant

Restaurant: Shun Feng Seafood Restaurant

Cuisine: Chinese/Dim Sum

Last visited: February 21, 2010
Area: Richmond, BC

Unit 1425, 4380 No.3 Road (Parker Place)
Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2.5

Service: 3

Ambiance: 3

Overall: 2.5

Additional comments:

• Specializes in Cantonese Chinese cuisine
• Popular for banquets/weddings/events
• Focuses on seafood
• Moderately priced: mid-high end
• Set menus available
• Big screen televisions
• Private rooms
• Spacious, lots of seating
• Hit and miss service
• Dim Sum/Lunch/Dinner
• 20% off dim sum before 11:30am
• Parking available

**Recommendation: Winter Melon stuffed with Dried Scallop & “Fat Choy”, Barbeque Beef Ribs, Sticky Fried Rice

I’ve been to this restaurant several times (I don’t even know if it was Shun Feng Restaurant all the times I came) but every time it’s always been for a private function or banquet. It’s not a place I come to for dim sum or regular dinners. I’ve never been too impressed with the food to come on a regular day/night so unless it’s a “forced to go” thing…I’d opt for something else.

The food isn’t bad, but it’s also not that good…it’s very mediocre. I would go back to try their dim sum, but I'm also in no rush. They’ve changed owners on a couple occasions so the quality varies, although I can’t say for better or worse because I don’t come regularly enough to really notice.

On this occasion I came here for a Chinese New Year dinner. We ordered from a set menu especially made for Chinese New Year so all the items were traditional and quite standard for the occasion. It was about $38/person with taxes and gratuities so the meal was not cheap (for a Chinese restaurant), but it also wasn’t really expensive or as gourmet as Kirin Seafood Restaurant. I don’t know the actual names of any of the dishes or the individual prices – so bare with me…I’ll do my best!

Overall everything was very mediocre compared to other Chinese restaurants that do the same/similar thing. The rating doesn’t speak for the dish itself because I’ve basically have had better of everything…the dishes they did do really well are under my recommendations. (See above)

On the table:

4 Kinds – Cold Appetizer 4/6

• Jellyfish, surf clam, chili prawns, pork hock slices. Served chilled.
• This dish varies at every Chinese restaurant and the more expensive it is the more gourmet the items get. The jellyfish is standard every time and the pork hock slices is usually standard as well.
• The surf clam and chili prawns are more gourmet items.
• Jellyfish wasn’t flavourful enough. Sometimes they marinate it in a little chili oil, but these ones didn’t have anything. They were very lightly marinated in a little sugar and barely any soy sauce/vinegar if any at all. It was crunchy and chewy so the texture was good though.
• If there’s surf clam they need to serve it with Japanese soy sauce and wasabi – they didn’t.
• The chili prawns were excellent. Juicy, flavourful and perfectly spicy, but also very savoury.
  

**Winter Melon stuffed with Dried Scallop & “Fat Choy” 5/6

• This is a very traditional dish to have on Chinese New Year. It’s a must. This one was served with broccoli too, which was perfectly tender.
• If you get it more “gourmet” it comes with abalone (for twice the price).
• The winter melon is almost like a steamed zucchini, but much more neutral in flavour and not as crunchy or fibrous.
• The scallop was too chewy, but that’s because it was huge so I expected it – but it was annoying because I was chewing for ages.
• The “Fat Choy” is the must. “Gong Hay Fat Choy” – hence why “Fat Choy” or “black moss” is a must. It represents wealth. It’s fungus that looks like black human hair. I know it looks and sounds creepy but don’t let that throw you off! It’s not crunchy at all or have the texture of hair…at all! It’s very soft and almost melts in your mouth. It’s similar to seaweed when it gets wet, but it’s not chewy. It’s almost like very very fine strands of noodles. I love it. They hold a lot of sauce and you barely need to chew them.

Deep Fried Shrimp Balls 3/6

• This is a pretty typical appetizer.
• Served with sweet and sour sauce. Some people eat it with red vinegar, but traditionally it’s with sweet and sour sauce.
• These were good here, but usually the shrimp ball will be wrapped around a crab claw – those are awesome! Maybe they serve them here, but you just need to pay more…?
• It’s pretty much a ball made of shrimp past and battered in bread crumbs and deep fried.

Sautéed Garlic Crab 2.5/6

• This was good, but I’ve had better. The crab meat wasn’t dry but they just weren’t flavourful enough. There was minced garlic, but just not enough of it and the flavour didn’t absorb.
• They sautéed it with green onions which were really crunchy, but I like it when they sauté it with green onions AND leeks. That’s really good!

Shark’s Fin with Shredded Chicken Soup

• Another standard and traditional item.
• I didn’t have any because I don’t eat shark’s fin for personal reasons – but there were no “oh it’s really good” comments so I’m guessing it was quite average.
• It looked quite hearty and there were lots of ingredients in it though.

Steamed Rock Cod 3/6

• Standard with any banquet menu.
• This was not bad, but just really small.
• It was fresh and not fishy tasting so that was good.
• The sauce wasn’t too salty or oily too…if the fish is fresh with lots of cilantro then this dish is almost always good.
• Served with the head; fish has to be served whole…Chinese tradition.

**Barbeque Beef Ribs 5.5/6

• This dish doesn’t come up often for set menu, but I’m glad it did at this one. It was unexpected and everyone enjoyed it. It’s served with a Chinese vegetable that’s likely in the mustard green family.
• The beef ribs were big and quite tender but not shred away easily tender…you still had to pull at the meat. There was some fat on it but it was very little and in between so it kept the meat very juicy and moist.
• It was so saucy and the sauce was sweet but not sticky or thick although it looks like it is. I could definitely taste some honey and Hoisin sauce although the Hoisin wasn’t overpowering or too strong. It was sweet, savoury and had a slight kick to it that caught up near the end. I’m pretty sure the spice was Sriracha sauce that they added to the barbeque marinade.

Baby Bok Choy in Supreme Soup 2.5/6

• This is just sautéed baby bok choy. The vegetable can vary and it's quite a common dish. It’s very healthy, simple and they serve it in this in house broth made of seafood and maybe even some chicken flavorings
• People like to drink the soup. I like the one at Kirin better – although they may use more MSG. This one wasn’t salty and I don’t think they used much or any MSG.

Fried Chicken with Prawn Crackers 4/6

• This was actually really good! The prawn crackers sucked because they weren’t very fresh, but the fried chicken part was great.
• The skin was crispy and the chicken was very juicy, tender and flavourful. They had a really nice sauce to them that was very subtle but very tasty!

**Fried Sticky Rice 6/6

• Fried with Chinese sausage, mushrooms and topped with scrambled egg shreds.
• This was surprisingly good! Everyone at the table raved about it – separately too.
• It looks very normal, but they did a great job. The rice was separate yet still sticky, but not clumpy.
• They fried it with some dried scallops and shrimp so there was so much flavour. There’s no seafood taste, but it does wonders in terms of adding aromatics to the dish. It definitely gives that “what is that?” flavour. In a good way!
• The Chinese sausage was very fresh and almost bacon like. It was borderline jerky-like or dry cured/smoked. It had a wonderful slowly cooked/prepared flavour.
• There’s always a rice dish with every set menu, but it’s not always sticky rice and it’s not always this good even if it is.

Braised Yee-Mien 1.5/6

• This was sautéed with mushrooms and bean sprouts.
• This is a standard for all set menus. A must – the noodles represent long life… so you can’t cut them.
• No matter how full you are you have to eat these, especially if it’s a birthday or special occasion. It’s bad luck if you don’t and older Chinese people will think you’re rude.
• It’s such a shame because I was quite full and I look forward to these noodles…but they weren’t even good. They were extremely bland. They forgot the MSG…or salt. Actually I found that they don’t use much MSG here, which is a good thing…but everything needs a little salt.

Dessert

Red Bean

• The most traditional and standard Chinese dessert…and I hate it. It's barely a dessert! It a hot soup made of beans...how is that a dessert? I really want to like it...maybe it's a acquired taste...or something I'll "mature" into...?
• This was very average even for people that do like it.