Shanghai Elan Restaurant

上海粗菜館
1687 - 4500 Kingsway
Crystal Mall, Burnaby

I find that there is a short supply of Shanghainese restaurants in Burnaby. Whenever I want to eat Xiao Long Bao (steamed juicy pork dumplings; XLB), all the good places that I can think of are located in Richmond! Sure, there is a famous XLB stall in the food court of Crystal Mall, but it's not quite the same as sitting inside a restaurant and being served by someone.

Finally, there is a restaurant that steams up some pretty good XLB in Burnaby! Occupied in the space that was formerly Pittsburgh Café (a Hong Kong style café) inside Crystal Mall, Shanghai Elan is another option for XLB in the city.

I like the matching plates, tea cups and tea pot set. It adds a bit of traditional charm to the restaurant.

Green onion pancake ($4.50)

The first item to arrive for lunch was the green onion pancake. Arranged in a basket, the pancake was hot and flakey with a moderate amount of green onions inside. Not bad! For me, it would go really well with a hot bowl of sweetened soya bean milk. Yum!

Shanghai style juicy pork buns 小籠包 - AKA xiao long bao/XLB ($5.50)

Next up was the bamboo steamer of 6 Shanghai juicy pork buns! Fresh right out of the steamer, the wrappers were thin and still soft making it extra hard to pick them up with chopsticks without breaking! Luckily, my mad chopstick skills served me well and none of the dumpling wrappers ripped when I picked them up LOL...

These XLB were pretty good as the wrapper was thin and the ground pork filling inside was juicy and not too gritty. The soup was also flavourful...though maybe due to some MSG?

Shanghai chicken sauce small wontons ($7.50)

W likes their mini wontons so we ordered a bowl. There were probably a dozen or so of the mini chicken wontons in a savoury broth made from dried baby shrimp and preserved vegetables. A handful of chopped green onions and some seaweed garnished the soup. I also speculate that the broth or wontons had some MSG in it because I was quite thirsty after this meal. Nonetheless, I thought they were still tasty. These mini wontons were cooked well in that the wonton skin was soft and slippery but still intact after jostling about and the chicken meat inside had a nice umami flavour.

Turnip cake 蘿蔔絲酥餅 ($5.50)

Last to arrive was the turnip cake...which wasn't exactly a cake but more like a turnip pastry. When I saw them, I wanted to hold back some snickering because I thought they looked like pill bugs!! Sorry, I know that wasn't an appetite-inducing comment haha...

 

Despite the somewhat unappetizing appearance (to me at least!), the flakey crust yielded a soft and steaming hot filling of seasoned shredded daikon radish with some carrots and green onion. The bottoms were also crusted with toasted sesame which added a nice aroma and texture! These pastries were rather large and eating one whole pastry really filled me up! 

 

Now, I'm quite tolerant of salty and heavily seasoned food so I found the dishes at Shanghai Elan acceptable. However, for those who like lighter flavours without such liberal usage of MSG, you might not like them it as much. Still, I think Shanghai Elan would continue to do well as there aren't that many choices for XLB and Shanghainese cuisine in the area.

Pink Sugar Cafe

115 - 3030 Lincoln Avenue
Coquitlam, BC

Gosh! I can't believe I have completely forgotten to keep up with my posts! This is what the onslaught of hot, sunny, summer weather can do to me. It makes me lazy and sluggish and all I want to do is sip on an icy cold drink under the shade haha... Anyway, forget about the hot weather for a moment and rewind back to the cool spring day when I went to Pink Sugar Café.

Pink Sugar Cafe is a place that one would not notice if you don't work or frequent the plaza that it is situated in. Open only in the morning and afternoon, this small cafe serves coffee, tea, sandwiches, and desserts for the working crowd nearby. It also has daily lunch specials offering Japanese lunch box sets! Very unusual for a cafe that sells sandwiches but it makes sense once you know who the owners are. The owners are a husband and wife team who have roots in Japan. I believe the husband is Taiwanese(?) because he speaks Mandarin while his wife is fluent in Japanese.

 

Sometimes their desserts also reflect their Asian background. On the day that I was there, the chilled display case had a green tea pound cake. They also make Japanese style Swiss roll cakes on order!

 

I was quite curious about their Japanese lunch sets ever since I heard my sis talk about how popular it was with the lunch time crowd. She said it often sells out so pre-ordering is a must! With the help of my sis, I finally got to try it!

 

Japanese Bento (lunch box set; $9.99)

On the tray are 5 items (clockwise from top):

Minced pork patty in a tangy ketchup-based sauce topped with grated daikon radish and onions - I'm not sure what the stiff, red thread-like pieces are...they are edible though.

Cold soba noodles with nori (seaweed) strips - dressed in a light, savoury sauce

White rice topped with a small scoop of tuna salad and a sprinkle of black sesame

Miso soup filled with spinach leaves, tofu cubes and daikon radish slices

Steamed savoury egg custard topped with shrimp, edamame beans and sliced shiitake mushrooms

 

Overall, this lunch set had a very home-y feel. It felt like I was eating a delicious home-made lunch that a Japanese mother would make. I think one of the reasons I felt this way was because the sauce that the minced pork patty sat in tasted EXACTLY like the sauce that my mom makes for her steamed pork spareribs!!! 

 

The steamed egg custard was soft and silky with a touch of umami flavour from the mushrooms and shrimp. I really liked it!

 

I found it a bit odd to see a dollop of tuna salad on top of the rice but I didn't mind it. The soba noodles and soothing miso soup rounded out the traditional Japanese lunch set.

 

The size of the lunch was just right. It came with a cup of tea too but I found that I didn't really drink much of it due to the miso soup, juicy pork patty and the soft, almost-liquidy, egg custard. Everything just balanced out!

 

The workers nearby are so lucky to have this cafe around! 

 

A note: the dishes for the Japanese lunch sets varies daily so you may not get the same thing each time!

Pallas Athena Greek Kouzina

#22 - 2565 Barnet Highway

Coquitlam, BC

 

I get all these different cravings from time to time! Some time ago, I was suddenly craving for Greek salad! I really wanted to have some fresh, juicy tomatoes and cool crisp cucumbers with the soft salty tang of feta cheese! I was too lazy to buy all the ingredients and make it myself so I just dragged W and we hit up a Greek restaurant!

 

With the help of Urbanspoon, I decided to try Pallas Athena Greek Kouzina, located on Barnet Highway, next to Sushi Mori. I was happy to find it bright and nicely decorated inside.

 

There was a Greek statue standing in the middle of the restaurant and unfortunately, where we sat, the statue mooned at us the whole time =P

All the entrees and platters at Pallas included Greek salad and pita bread with tzaziki dip so we just ordered 2 entrees to share between the 2 of us.

Pita bread and Tzaziki dip (top) - thick cool tzatziki made with greek yogurt, cucumbers and garlic

Greek salad (bottom) - fresh cut tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, olives, feta and oregano with authentic kalamata extra virgin olive oil

W, the super ultra picky eater, did not like to eat tomatoes, cucumbers AND green peppers so he picked and ate the feta cheese and onion pieces and left the veggies for me to have. Ah well, since I was craving Greek salad, I was quite happy about that LOL... The salad was cool and fresh, exactly what I wanted.

The pita bread came warm with a crisp crust and soft pillowy centre. I could've eaten the whole basket alone with the salad!

Arni Psito ($17.50) - Pallas specialty; seasoned, slow roasted piece of New Zealand lamb shoulder with lemon roasted potato, rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables

 

W left the ordering to me so I chose the arni psito to try. The lamb shoulder was roasted really beautifully! It was quite a large piece but the meat was incredibly tender, falling off the bone with just a slight prod of the fork! The meat was juicy and seasoned well. It was gamier than I expected but still acceptable. Some people who don't like that smell and taste will probably be put off by the strong gamey flavour.

 

The lemon roasted potato was alright. I would have liked it to be more tart to help cut the gamey lamb flavour. The green beans were slightly crisp and vibrant in colour while the rice was seasoned nicely and was nice and fluffy as well.  

 

Chicken Souvlaki ($15.50) - two skewers marinated and charbroiled, served with lemon roasted potato, rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables

The 2nd entree was the chicken souvlaki. This dish tasted pretty good but the chicken was dry and a little tough to eat. Again, the sides were not bad. Green beans were also on W's list of disliked food so he ended up having very little veggies at this dinner. Doh!

These 2 entrees were pretty large! We ate about half of each one and had the rest packed up to go.

W actually had a coupon from his entertainment book but the restaurant didn't accept it because it was a holiday. Argh! Should have read the fine print! Anyway, we will probably go back again because it's a lovely and comfortable place to get some Greek eats :) And because we still have a coupon to use haha!

Penang Delight Cafe

Fine Malaysian Cuisine
3885 Rupert Street
Vancouver, BC

I've known about this tiny Malaysian restaurant for a few years already through some local food blogs but for some reason I've never went to try it. Since we were out in the area and my mom loves roti canai, we went to go check it out once and for all!

It is indeed a small restaurant, mostly filled with small tables of 4. There is a small room at the back that may be able to accommodate larger parties, although I think the max for that room is probably 8-10 people. The place was nicely decorated with some old photographs of Penang, Kuala Lampur and the Petronas Twin Towers.

Grass Jelly Soya Bean (left), Teh Tarik (Malaysian milk tea; right)

 

It was a warm spring day so I wanted to have a cold drink. I opted for a grass jelly in iced soya bean milk. W and my mom both had the Malaysian milk tea. I tried a sip and it was really good! A little like HK style milk tea but the tea was more creamy and less "bitter" (I don't really know how to describe it...it's a taste of tea leaves being brewed too long producing a sort of bitter aftertaste and leaving a film in the mouth). I really liked it and I half wished I had ordered the milk tea rather than my soya bean milk. My drink wasn't as good in comparison since it was rather plain.

 

Penang Shrimp Roll - Deep fried marinated pork and shrimp in beancurd sheet wrap

For starters, my mom chose the Penang shrimp roll and, of course, the Roti canai. The shrimp rolls were actually more like little fritters or deep fried meat balls. Inside the crispy beancurd wrappers were a mixture of minced pork and minced shrimp meat. It also came with a sweet and sour-ish dipping sauce. Though they were tasty, my mom complained that there was more pork than shrimp inside.

Roti Canai - Crispy Indian style pancake served with curry dipping sauce (2 pieces)

The Roti canai, on the other hand, was hot, flakey, chewy and delicious! The dish had 4 pieces (2 large pancakes cut into halves) and served with a mild curry dipping sauce. We all had different ways of eating it haha. My mom liked to eat it plain without any sauce. My dad and W dipped theirs in the curry sauce. And me? I drenched mine in the Penang Asam laksa broth!

Penang Asam Laksa - Laksa noodles with sardine, cucumber, pineapple, onion, mint leaves in hot and sour broth

Deviating away from the usual laksa that comes in a curry-coconut broth, we tried the Penang Asam laksa which had sardines, slivers of cucumber, pineapple, onions, mint leaves, and slippery, thick rice noodles sitting in a hot and sour soup. It was way spicier than I could handle but the flavours were so fantastic that I couldn't stop eating it! It was spicy, savoury, sweet from the pineapple, and a little herby from the mint. The roti was a very good agent in soaking up the broth from my bowl! If they could dial down the heat, I would definitely eat this whole of bowl of laksa!

Hainanese Chicken Rice - Hainanese steamed chicken with chicken broth rice

We also shared an order of the Hainanese chicken rice (there is a bowl of rice on the side). The chicken was not bad. It was flavourful and tender. The sweet soy sauce and bean sprouts below the chicken helped keep the meat moist as well. W said he liked the Hainanese chicken rice at Cafe D'lite (inside the Aberdeen Centre food court) the most though.

K.L. Hokkian Mee - Famous K.L. Hokkian Mee stir fried with thick egg noodle, shrimp, squid, pork, fish cakes and vegetables in Malaysian dark soy sauce

Lastly, we split a plate of noodles to round out the meal. These stir fried noodles reminded me of the Shanghai-style stir fried thick noodles as they were both similar in appearances. There were ample ingredients along with the noodles but I found the noodles to be too soft and the whole plate very oily. At least the greens (choi sum vegetables) provided some colour and a healthy factor to this dish!

Overall, Penang Delight is a quaint little restaurant serving up delectable Malaysian eats. I want to come back again and have their milk tea for myself and brave their deliciously spicy Asam laksa!!

McDonald's Fish McBites ~ photo-log

McDonald's

Bellis Fair food court

Bellingham, WA

 

While heading down to Bellingham for some cross-border shopping, I noticed a large banner hanging outside a McDonald's restaurant advertising a new product of theirs. Similar to their Chicken McBites, the Fish McBites were small, crispy, golden nuggets of Alaskan Pollock.



 

When W and I stopped at the Bellis Fair's food court for a mid-afternoon snack, we decided to give the Fish McBite's a try! I don't think these are available in Canada, or in BC (yet?).

I liked how the lid flap doubled as the condiment holder! So convenient!

The tiny fish nuggets were similar in size to popcorn chicken and yielded a soft and somewhat flakey morsel of fish meat. It's like eating a bite sized filet o'fish patty. It made for a nice small snack. We polished them off in no time so don't get these if you're hungry!

Cache Bistro ~ Photo-log

1269 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

A gathering organized by W's colleagues was held at Cache one night. W and I dropped by for a quick bite and a little socializing as we had other plans later. Since a shipment of fresh lobster had just arrived, our tastebuds were treated to 2 different preparations of lobster!

Poached lobster salad

A simple salad with poached lobster on the side. This was the easiest and non-messy way to eat lobster!

Baked lobster with cheese

W opted for the baked lobster. He had to dig into the shell to get the bouncy morsels of flesh out. I thought that my lobster meat was more rubbery than his... W's lobster was prepared better but I still liked the simplicity of my salad.

Calamari ($8) - Five spice, chickpea flour, sake soy glaze

We also tried the calamari from Cache's lounge menu. Crispy batter with tender squid rings...pretty good! The dipping sauce reminded me of The Keg's calamari dipping sauce but I liked The Keg's savoury and sweet sauce more....just my personal preference.

Too bad we couldn't stay for the actual dinner...I was quite interested in that week's Menu 35... Pork done 3 ways? Blue cheese cheesecake? Hmmm! Oh well, next time!