Disco Cheetah

I love the concept but I don't understand the name.

First, there was a truck and now there is a truck and a brick and mortar location at Davie and Bute. Either way, if they're doing Korean fried chicken, I'm there.

They do a few baos at DC. This was the Van Tofu Bao with fried firm tofu, tomato and Gochujang sauces and some cucumber etc. It was decent. The tofu pieces were too large and the result was too high a ratio of largely tasteless tofu to fried surface and sauce. Smaller pieces but more of them is my suggestion but not bad and reasonably priced a $5.50.

The main menu is fairly simple. Pick rice bowl, salad or wrap. Then pick a protein and sauces/dressing. Then sit down and enjoy a pretty tasty and dare I say, kind of healthy meal. I had the Pulled Pork Salad with Honey Beet Dressing which I thought was impressive at $11.50. The pork is roasted 5 hours with soy and Gochujang and there was a generous amount of it. The dressing was slightly sweet and distinctive. Good on them for a couple of creative options instead of the usual salad dressings. Lots of salad worthy bright veggies. I would have this again.

What we came for was the Korean Fried Chicken. We ordered this as a rice bowl with garlic mayo and chilli mayo. Again, they were generous with the protein and at $12.50, we felt like it was of good value (prices are based on protein whether you order a bowl, wrap or salad). Nicely crisp yet tender chicken with a sweet chilli glaze before the sauces even started. A few veggies on the side all on rice. Not bad!

They also have some french fry/poutine type options. Quick and friendly service which room for a little over a dozen people to sit down. This is a great place if you want something tasty but informal and quick.

For what it's worth, we give Disco Cheetah 3 1/2 out of 5.

Boston Pizza

'Tis the season of free 'customer appreciation' lunches from our suppliers and so I hopped on board with Tim and 9 of my workmates to test out the patience of the local Boston Pizza.

We've been to work lunches here in the past.  I admit that I was impressed with their pierogi pizza but overall, I am not really a BP guy. It would, however, be a pretty decent place to watch a Canucks game.

And it's not just in the bar that they have TVs and Canucks memorabilia. You can watch from pretty well anywhere in the restaurant. At any rate, Tim was good enough to order us a couple of appetizers.

There were a couple of types of wings on the table. These were the original hot wings type. They were not too bad. I noticed that we scarfed them all down.

Next up were Cactus Cut Potatoes. For a moment, I thought I was in a different restaurant but I checked the front of the menu again and sure enough; Boston Pizza. They were served with their signature cactus dip (again; ?). Tasty and decent but certainly not mind-blowing.

For my main course, I had a Grilled Pineapple, Beets and Goat Cheese Salad. Lots of almonds made it ok but the beet bits were on the dry side and the red bell pepper was wilty.

Family members and co-workers all know that I am going to annoy them until I have taken a couple of pictures. The shrimp tacos looked pretty decent.

A couple of the guys had sandwiches which also looked OK. I assume this was a clubhouse at $16.50.

Honestly, I would only come here for a free lunch but considering the pretty good surroundings, a place to watch the game with friends and very nice service I shouldn't be a jerk about it.

For those reasons, and for what my opinion is worth, I give Boston Pizza, 3 out of 5.

Panderia Latina Bakery

Once again, the "Never Heard Of It" list from scoutmgazine.ca has brought us to Joyce Station as a starting point. This Skytrain stop now hosts within a block or two, five Filipino restaurants/cafes/ carinderias but also one excellent Latina bakery.

We were drawn like a moth to a porch light by photos of what is evidently a Chilean sandwich which I now, having had it, might rate as one of the best ever!

The Chacarero is served on a large round slightly toasted but fluffy bun. There is a layer of thinly sliced and grilled beef, topped by a layer of green beans (who thought of that?) and a layer of tomatoes all with mayo. A true delicious masterpiece! At $11.50, this is a bargain. There are several other sandwiches to chose from at PLB.

Marie and I shared the sandwich and a couple of empanadas. Again there are five choices of empanadas from which we had the chicken and the spinach. 

The spinach was memorable in that cutting into it released a flood of cuminy cheese and spinach. Both empanadas were generously filled and with a flakey pastry just substantial enough to keep filling in check. Finally, we shared a piece of cake that was calling out to us from the display case and we could not resist.

Torta Alfajor is a layered cake with caramel between the layers. It is not of the mille-feuille type as it might appear but while the pastry layers are a little heavier than puff pastry, they are still flakey. Share this cake with a buddy if you are concerned about blood sugar! Delicious. These folks bake everything in house and the baked goods selection is not small. 

They also build tamales in the house which are frozen to go. We took one home for later and found it also of impressive quality generously filled, and with fluffy masa.

There is probably seating for 18 to 20 people if you want to enjoy your baked goods or savouries here but we noticed a lot of take out business. They also carry an impressive number of Latin American type grocery items, many we were familiar with and other items, not so much.

The staff were friendly and patient with us despite our many questions.

For what our opinion is worth and what they produce here, we give Panderia Latina Bakery, 4 1/2 out of 5.

The Sardine Can

The best part of tapas is being able to taste lots of things but in small portions. If we were in Spain and needed to protect our Sherry from flying things landing in it, that would complete the picture but I fear that is still a far future happening in life. In the meantime, we have The Sardine Can in Gastown for the first part of the experience (including sherry or wine for those of you who choose).

We were warmly welcomed on Sunday evening before the Canucks game, by the gentleman who runs the place. He was manning the floor and is among the most personable hosts we have ever come across. One of the high points at The Sardine Can is the conviviality and enthusiasm for his place that the man displays! 

We started with toast! Marie and I each got a bite out of each of these which was followed each time by a Mark Wiens-like smile of delight! In no particular order, tomato jam and manchego cheese,  freshly made cheese with garlic and finally sardines. All attractively assembled, drizzled with some very good olive oil and tasty.

Next up was Pate de Compagne of pork and pistachios with a nice little drizzle of something that I'm guessing was balsamic based. The pate was the product of D Original who is basically a restaurant supplier of fine charcuteries. We applauded the choice and presentation.

As a highlight, we have to go with the Gambas al ajillo or spicy garlic prawns. Roasted to perfection with rediculous garlic oil and lemon, these were perfection. After scarfing down the prawns, we were provided with some sourdough bread to soak up the sauce. After that, I resorted to scraping the fond off the pan with a spoon. It could be bottled and sold!

Lastly, there were some Vegetables (broccolini) with Romesco sauce, Sherry and lots of toasted almonds. Typically made with tomato, dried peppers and made rich with nuts, this sauce had some nice texture. And bonus; in addition to being a delicious way to get your veggies, this dish is vegan (Well OK. Except for the cheese)!

Sadly, one of their hood fans had chosen this evening to pack it in. This meant that my absolute first two choices (paella and patatas bravas) were not available! Oh well, we have an excuse to return soon.

This is not a big place. Show up at prime time and I guarantee you will wait but we have that habit of dining at unstylish hours.

For what it's worth, we give The Sardine Can the coveted 5 out of 5!

BBQ King Delight - Fleetwood

Every time I spot a little out of the way joint that looks like it doesn't get a lot of attention, I hope that I am discovering the next great diner, drive-in or dive, just like you know who. BBQ King Delight is not exactly out of the way (152nd and Fraser Highway) but it doesn't exactly have a great flashing neon marquee either. It is on the tiny side with seating at 3 tables but it is certainly not undiscovered as while we were there, there was a steady flow of customers for take-out and dine in.

The thing here is Chinese barbecue on rice. Two meats and rice for $12.95 is a great deal for satisfying comfort food.

So we tried barbecue pork and soy sauce chicken for one meal. The pork was tender and sweet on the outside. Very good. The chicken was also good with a ginger oil on the side. Half a soy sauce egg and a couple of chunks of broccoli and we were sold.

The other meal was roast pork and barbecue duck. They really shine on the roast pork. The crispy skin and tender meat were wonderful while the duck was also tasty and made us happy. On the side was a sort of sweet soy sauce and a second dark sauce which I could not identify but tended towards the savoury. 

These were served with tea and a sort of chicken broth type soup. Nice!

This is not a fancy place and service at the counter was friendly enough, but forget about table service. BBQ King Delight will also provide a whole or half roasted pork (or they alternately call it Lechon).  They have frozen dumplings and miscellaneous such as chicken's feet to go.

I'm not going to compare it to HK BBQ Master but it might be because the legend of that place has continued to grow in my mind. Still, my mouth waters thinking about this little place too.

For what it's worth, we give BBQ King Delight 3 1/2 out of 5.

Plato Filipino

Just south of Joyce Street Station is a small treasure trove of Filpino food in the form of 3 Filipino restaurants in a row! A month or two ago, Marie and I started to explore these places and we decided to arbitrarily start in the middle with Pampanga's Cuisine! We certainly had no regrets there but where would we go next? North or south? These are the types of dilemmas that we face on an almost daily basis! Life certainly can be complicated! Fortunately, the problem was solved for us as out of the blue, Plato Filipino followed us on Instagram! Let this be a lesson for all of you. Follow us on the gram and we will blog about you. Even if you do not have a restaurant!

The set up at P.F. is similar to the aforementioned P.C., namely rice and two for $9.50.

The photo above shows maybe a third of what they offer as your two. I am fortunate to have a Filipina as my guide in this selection as the food was not labelled and the lady serving spoke a little too fast for my ears. I am getting so that I can recognize a lot of the dishes though.

As usual, my first choice was Kare Kare. I have realized that this is my Filipino sweet and sour pork (i.e. accessible to the most uneducated palate and something a white guy might order). I do not apologize however as this was rich and peanuty with tender pork. The ubiquitous funky shrimp paste has fast become a delicious necessity to cut through the rich sauce. 

Next was Pork and Chicken Adobo which is essentially the national dish of the Philippines. Pork belly and in this case chicken breast, stewed in garlic, soy sauce and vinegar this is another dish that can be enjoyed by all. It was also wonderful with the exception of the chicken breast which was surprisingly tough. Dark meat is always a better choice for adobo.

Again, Marie being the Filipina among the two of us, goes a little more all in with her choices. Her first dish was Binagoongan. This is stewed pork with shrimp paste, a rich complex flavour with the subtle hint of that shrimp paste flavour. Again it was very good. Her second choice was Papaitan, a dish traditionally made with goat innards and the flavour of which comes from bile. Yes, I said bile. It is truly a favourite of some of our Filipino friends but I have had a little problem loving it. The first time I tasted it, I would not let Marie bring the leftovers into the for fear of spillage. This time, it seemed a little more palatable to me and Marie ensures me that it was enjoyable.

Filipino food may not be as chic as some Asian cuisines but it is warming and comforting for the Canadian winter (and it's not even winter yet). It is food for family and friends and is indicative of a culture that could make something from a little and not waste.

As for as P.F compared to Pampanga's Cuisine, we're going to go ahead and call it a draw. Friendly folks and casual, comfortable enough atmosphere.

For what it's worth, we give Plato Filipino, 4 out of 5. 

New Town Bakery and Restaurant - Whalley

A little hole in the wall near Surrey Central station, New Town Bakery and Restaurant sports a line up nearly out the door, I am guessing close to all the time for their wonderful Chinese and Filipino baked goods including delectable Siopao (the Filipino version of Chinese Char Sui Boa).

We have been members of that line up many times but decided to grab a table in this decidedly un-fancy little restaurant and test the kitchen! It would not disappoint. We started by ordering too much as usual and lunch turned into leftovers for dinner. 

We started with Beef Noodles in Soup (Beef Mami). This is evidently the Filipino version and we loved the wheat noodles and silky tender beef. 

We ordered Squid with Spicy Salt which also made us happy. Tender yet crispy and hot from the fryer, with a nice topping of salt, garlic and chillis. This seemed a little pricey at $19.25 but overall prices for most items are reasonable. The family-style items can get up there a bit.

The Sweet and Sour Pork on Rice was only $11.25 and very tasty. I had a little crisis ordering this as it feels like a very "white guy" thing to order and I pride myself on being a little more adventurous. I guess one would call this a guilty pleasure and frankly it was very good. Not overly sweet or 'red' as I kind of expected. 

Finally Curried Fish Balls. The curry sauce was tasty enough but they were just fishballs leading me to ask, why did I order this? There was nothing wrong with what New Town did with them but they were just fish balls.

A simple dining room not built for date night but service is friendly and accommodating (they actually packed up our leftovers instead of just giving us containers). While the menu is mostly Cantonese, we notice more Filipino dishes listed on notes taped to the walls. The whole clientele and vibe of this branch of New Town is sort of half Filipino and half Cantonese.

For what our opinion is worth, we give New Town Bakery and Restaurant 3 1/2 out of 5.