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.

Ocean Wise Turns 5 Media Dine-Around

Event: Ocean Wise Turns 5 Media Dine-Around
Date of event: January 23, 2010

The 1^st Ocean Wise event I attended was the Seafood Chowder ChowDown last November. That was a great event, and this one was even better! This time I was invited to attend the Ocean Wise Turns 5 Media Dine-Around. It was a fully-hosted evening of culinary adventure and yes, I was quite jealous of myself!

First, I want to congratulate the success of Ocean Wise and wish them a happy 5^th birthday.

Ocean Wise is Canada’s leading sustainable seafood program. In 2009 Ocean Wise welcomed over 120 partners and in April they brought the program national. Most likely you have seen the Ocean Wise symbol on your menu at one point or another. I could go on listing facts about the organization, but I won’t…that’s the point of having my media source being a blog…I have the freedom to write ;) (Yes, I know I have a little blog, but I like to think I have a bigger voice :D)

No, I’m not going to bash Ocean Wise because I do support what they’re doing. I respect that they don’t solicit restaurants to participate in their program. Instead they allow restaurants to approach Ocean Wise willingly. I think this is the way to advocate social change, give clients the freedom of choice. That being said, the other side of the argument is: is it fair when a restaurant only offers Ocean Wise to their diners and thus the diners are ‘forced’ to pay the extra dollars? Don’t the diners have a choice since they’re the ones that are paying?

Again, I do support Ocean Wise, but I just want to stir up some discussion. A reason why I support it is because Ocean Wise is promoting positive social change. In my definition “inappropriate fishing” shouldn’t even exist. Bottom line: if the method isn’t sustainable – change it. Ocean Wise is the long term solution and when all the fish is gone from over fishing everyone will really be paying more than the extra couple dollars.

Personally I think a lot lies in education. I think diners should want to choose Ocean Wise and not have to choose it because it’s the only option. Therefore I think there needs to be more initiatives on educating the public about the harms of overfishing, bycatch, and habitat destruction. Buying Ocean Wise is one thing, and knowing why you’re buying it is another.

Anyways, I am Follow Me Foodie, so let’s get back to the event and the food.

The event was a fully hosted evening that kicked off with a champagne reception at the Aquarium. From there we made a toast to 5^th year anniversary for Ocean Wise and many of their achievements in 2009. This includes being the winner of the 2009 Pinnacle Award for Supplier of the Year!

We were all separated into groups and taken on a bus provided complimentary from Landsea Tours (sustainable transportation). The two restaurants we were going to be surprised with were 2 of Vancouver’s newest Ocean Wise restaurant partners. Can’t you feel my excitement?! The following list is Vancouver’s newest Ocean Wise Restaurant partners. The ones in bold were the restaurants I got to visit.

MEDIA DINE-AROUND Restaurants:

Aria Restaurant and Lounge - Westin Downtown, Vancouver BC

Burrard Bridge Marine Bar and Grill, Vancouver BC

The District, North Vancouver BC

The Edge Bistro, North Vancouver BC

Fraiche , West Vancouver BC

Griffins – The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver BC

Revel Room, Vancouver BC

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company, North Vancouver BC

Tapenade Bistro, Steveston BC

Zen Japanese Restaurant, West Vancouver BC

After my dinner at The District and The Revel room we ended the night at C Restaurant. C Restaurant is the founding partner of Ocean Wise so it was the perfect spot to end the evening.

On the table:

The following is just a teaser, please keep checking back for reviews and details of the food.

Restaurant 1 – THE DISTRICT

Location: 13 Lonsdale Ave North Vancouver, BC

Chef: Executive Chef Paul Mon-Kau

Smoked Salmon Caesar

• Wine pairing: Pentage Pinot Gris or Van Westen Viognier
• Ocean Wise salmon: Wild BC/AK salmon – Chinook or sockeye (as per our Seasonal Wild Pacific Salmon Recommendations)

  

  

The District Mussels

• Wine pairing: Triple Karmeliet Ale or Road 13 Honest John's Red
• Ocean Wise Mussels: Mussels (sustainably farmed; off-bottom culture – minimal to no habitat damage; no feed necessary; no pollution from farm)

Red Wine Cassis & Cardamom Poached Pears with Vanilla Gelato

Restaurant 2 – REVEL ROOM

Location: 238 Abbott Street

Chef: Executive chef Tyrell Brandvold & Chef Joel Silva

Pecan Crusted Pacific Sablefish

• Braised kale, bacon, and charred tomato vinaigrette
• Sablefish (Sustainably caught: Alaskan by bottom longlines, BC by traps; minimal bycatch & habitat damage; strong management; resilient species & abundant)

West Coast Jambalaya

• Salt Spring Island mussels, Manila clams, spot prawns, chorizo, rice
• Mussels (sustainably farmed; off-bottom culture – minimal to no habitat damage; no feed necessary; no pollution from farm)
• Manila clams (sustainably farmed; on-bottom culture with hand harvest; minimal habitat damage; no feed necessary; no pollution from farm)
• BC spot prawns (sustainably fished with traps; minimal bycatch & habitat damage; strong management; resilient species & abundant)

Restaurant 3 – C RESTAURANT

Location: 2-1600 Howe Street

Smoked Baynes Sound Scallop

• Denman island herring “escabeche”, peashoots in multiple textures, compressed cucumbers, shallot vinaigrette

Selback-Oster, Riesling, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr

• Spatlese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Gemany (Sustainable) 1998

Salt Spring Island Goat Cheese and Vanilla Mousse

• Sapo bravo stone fruits, spiced liquid marshmallow

Forbidden Fruit Winery

• Iced Apple Dessert Wine
• Similkameen Valley, BC (Sustainable) 2007

  

Vista d’oro Winery

• Fortified port style wine with Walnut brandy
• Langley, BC (Sustainable) 2007

Additional note: Due to the fact that this was an event exclusive to media, everything from transportation to food was complimentary. However there are no expectations from Ocean Wise or the restaurants and everything written is 100% of my personal thoughts and experience.