Doni Korean Restaurant - Whalley

I have no idea why we so often end up eating in Whalley. I assure you that we don't go for the site seeing in the area but there do seem to be a few interesting, off the beaten path type places to eat. There are Caribbean, African, Mexican and other restaurants that have caught my eye and some have been pretty good! Not that Korean cuisine is off the beaten path but I have had my eye on Doni Korean Restaurant for a while. Marie and I got a craving for crisp, bottom of the stone bowl rice that could not be placated and so we made our way to Doni in the lovely Del Shopping Centre one dreary Sunday afternoon. BTW, I was excited to see that a large, presumably Asian grocery store will be opening there in the near future!

We arrived to find a near full house at 2ish in the afternoon but were quickly and comfortably seated. The crowd cleared out soon after (I don't think it was because of us!). Its a nice little friendly family run place with a couple of private rooms.

We ordered and waited in anticipation. Banchan arrived and it was not spectacular but the kimchi was very good. We enjoyed the potatoes also.

Soon the main event arrived. We had chosen  Beef Dolbap and it did indeed fulfil our crispy rice dreams.

The marinated beef itself was very tasty and came with sliced onions but at the bottom of the bowl (we exercised some patience by allowing more time for the hot stone bowl to work its magic) was that wonderful crunchy stuff! Sometimes it is the simplest things that make us the happiest!

We also ordered Homemade Spinach Noodle and Pork Dumpling Soup. Doni has a couple of freezers with assorted bags of frozen dumplings and folks came in and purchased some as we were dining. I am not surprised as the pork dumplings here were very good. They were sort of large Capelletti style (I obviously don't know the Korean name for them) with nicely seasoned pork. The noodles, made in house, also had nice texture and were all in a light flavorful broth!

I need to remember that when it says spicy on a Korean menu, they are not joking around. Of course, I would not have ordered any differently as Spicy Rice Cake with Cheese was amazing (I might have brought a towel).  In addition to rice cake, there was fish cake, green onion, spicy tomato sauce and a lot of cheese all in each delightful mouthful. Being impressed so far, there is a lot more on the menu that we need to try. We like Doni Korean Restaurant a lot and recommend it highly.

Langley Food Truck Festival 2018

We have come a long way since food trucks meant mini donuts at the PNE or a six hour drive south to Portland, Oregon. Now obviously, they're everywhere and let's face it, they can be a little hit and miss. You would think that since we're giving up a comfortable dining room and service that it would be a bargain but that is not always the truth either. Still, I can't help myself when there is a food truck festival. I submit to the indignities of long lines in the hot sun to eat something that may or may not be noteworthy. Fortunately, the weather was decent and the music was impressive (at least while we were there) at the Langley Food Truck Festival.

I had kind of been ignoring the music and was far from the stage until these 5 youngsters launched into a couple of impressive renditions of Led Zepplin tunes. I always say that a restaurant's choice of music makes a big difference to my personal experience and this put a smile on my face! Meanwhile back at the trucks, we chose to start with desert, our basis being the length of the line at that moment at Slavic Rolls. I was surprised to learn that the proprietor was Italian and not eastern European but we certainly did not hold that against them!

Photographed here in what is evidently his signature move (the sprinkling of the cinnamon sugar), these folks are singular in turning out one product, a sort of tubular baked cinnamon roll filled with your choice of many tasty concoctions. We tried ours with apple pie and ice cream and had no regrets.

The cinnamon roll itself  was delicious and being both just crispy enough and yet retaining some baked roll softness. At $9, this is probably not a bad deal. 

I am not sure why I always feel that mac and cheese is going to be a formative experience. It must have something to do with my childhood. 

The Kevin Bacon Mac and Cheese from Reel Mac and Cheese (Oh, I get it! Movie themed toppings!) was tasty enough but not the break though we were hoping for. Somehow the base product needs to really be special and by that, I mean cheesy! This was creamy enough and of course, bacon works on everything. There were other interesting trucks at the festival but we had not intended to make a day of it. In addition to food and music, there were quite a number of vendors of hand made and crafted products. So well done City of Langley for your "Summer in the City" series of events including this festival.

Crispy Town - Tukwila

South Centre Mall in Tukwila at the Seafood City end has become an amazing gathering place of the Filipino community down here. The grocery store itself is outstanding with a tremendous selection of seafood (thus the name) and unique products from the home country and it is surrounded by 5 eateries that feature some of the favourite dishes of the Philippines. And so, even early Sunday morning, the Filipino Americans (and Canadians)  are there in impressive numbers. I have previously reviewed Jolibee, the cornerstone with some frankly, really good fried chicken but this time, I was taken by the newest addition, Crispy Town! At last, a place which without apology, deep fries everything that they serve!

Just so you know,  Crispy Pata is my favourite Filipino dish. It is deep fried pork hock and consists of tender pork and crispy pork skin and a lot of fat. To eat it on a daily basis, would require an on call cardiologist but as a treat, it is unsurpassed.

The full meal deal comes with rice and a side. I had the squash and green beans in coconut milk which was so good. While the pork hock may look like a lot of bone, there is a generous amount of tender meat and crispy pork skin and that is the allure of this dish.

Don't think that veges are any kind of high profile here though!

Assorted chicharon and pork belly are among the choices. To my amazement, Chicharon Bulaklak is neither skin not intestines but what is called mesentry (translated flowered chicharon) and while my Filipino friends tucked in, I tasted and stepped away! I am not a fan of food reviewers who dislike this and that and will not eat things (Guy Fieri will not eat eggs...really? ),  my hero being Anthony Bourdain, but I have had to draw the line at Chicharon Bulaklak. 

Even the deserts are deep fried! Health warnings aside, there is some pretty tasty food to be had here at decent pricing. All of these food places seem OK with sharing their tables with food from other places.We ended up eating our Chow King food, our Jolibee food and our Crispy Town food all together along with our Grill City food at Grill City even though it is not a common food court and no one whined at us. Nice!

The Feast - Renton

So, I broke two personal rules here (well, I try to cooperate with what everyone wants to do and not just pursue my own agenda) in that  we ate at an Asian place while away from home (we live in Metro Vancouver - we have the best Asian food in the world other than...well, Asia) and it was AYCE ( I no longer have the capacity to make it worth while ...lol). I am not sorry that we went to The Feast though as this place is impressive!

This is a buffet of epic proportions. It took us a good 10 minutes just to walk around and conceive a strategy!

Sunday lunch is $26 (USD) and is not missing anything. I noticed people who were evidently trying to pay for their meal in quantities of crab consumed. I tried a couple of crab claws that were very good, neither overcooked nor sitting too long on the buffet.

There was also stir fried crab elsewhere but I did not find it to be as good. I enjoyed a couple of  fresh shucked oysters (they were not fully detached from the shell) and a selection of fully decent sushi (chefs were in full view plying their trade).

That was round one! From that point forward, I took singles (so as to taste as many things as possible); a snail, a deep fried scallop, spinach and cheese, a barbecued pork rib, a sweet and sour chicken chunk, a chicken's foot (which tasted like absolutely nothing).  Some of this was pretty good and some was a little meh. It's a buffet for crying out loud so that's what I expected. There were some dim sum items as well and soups and a noodle station and other things that I never even got close to!

Finally there is desert. Curiously, I did not take any pictures but there is ice cream, a chocolate fountain, a candy cotton station that was knee deep in kids, cakes, fruit and... So just not too bad as buffets go. Service was quite good as well as our plates were cleared quickly and our water glasses were regularly topped up. Other than in Vegas, I have not experienced any thing like this. I won't be back anytime soon but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try this place if you like variety!

Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar - Seattle

Amidst the chaos that is Pike Street Market (and we are smart enough to be there on a sunny Saturday morning on Memorial Day long weekend), away from the street and the 45 minute wait to get into the original Starbucks, is the relative calm of Emmett Watson's. Not that it is exactly a Zen garden, but it seems peaceful by comparison to trying to eat where vendors are launching salmon through the air or hawking every manner of artisan made hot sauce or beef jerky, as clueless tourists clog the traffic by wandering to and fro on the cobblestone avenue!

This is not a fancy seafood place. Seattle has a million of those and  in fact, there are Tom Douglas restaurants within walking distance. But while it is pretty straightforward, with no nonsense servers and emphasis on fried seafood and chips, it is affordable and the food is very enjoyable.

The Oyster Bar Special is a couple of  oysters, 3 shrimp and clam chowder. The oysters were briny and delicious, the shrimp tasty and the chowder was amazing! It was rich and thick with potatoes and lots of tender clams. I could not have been happier with my choice!

Marie and I were here with her kids and between the bunch of us, we sampled almost everything fried on the menu ( missing was the well reviewed gumbo that I hoped someone would try). Each basket came with very good fries and we squabbled like sea gulls over the crisp end fries that are at the height of French fry evolution! Cider vinegar on the tables tells me that these people know something about British style fried fish and chips.

As you might guess, most of the baskets looked about the same so no need to post every picture. Suffice to say there were no complaints and nothing left over! Food arrived hot out of the fryer and came with very good tarter and/or cocktail sauce.

When it is warm, you can sit outside in a quiet little courtyard or you can enjoy the casual comfortable tables and booths inside and there are even some counter seats at the back. So if you don't want to wait at Lowell's or don't feel like paying at Place Pigalle, Emmett Watson's is a great little place for lunch or dinner.

Sushino Michi - Aldergrove

Since we now have 6 sushi restaurants in the small town of Aldergrove (pop. 15, 500), we will henceforth dispense with the term yokel when referring to local diners! I am actually quite impressed with us! On my first visit, I was warmly welcomed and seated comfortably at the brand new Sushino Michi. This space was a coffee shop/cafe previously and I had never been inside but it currently seems a little awkward, like there is room for more tables. No matter as at least no one will feel claustrophobic. I ordered the Sushi and Sashimi Box and miso soup arrived first.

Not too much one can say about miso soup. It was not too salty and had a nice amount of tofu and wakame.

The box itself was very enjoyable with 4 generous pieces of sashimi and 4 nigiri. The rice was subtly seasoned and had good texture while the fish was firm and generous in proportion to the rice. Four pieces of tempura were crispy and hot (2 prawns, 1 sweet potato and 1 yam). The box included a couple of vege spring rolls and a green salad. I thought it was decently priced at $14.95. 

I like the way they serve Takoyaki here, in a hot cast iron pan. The pieces had definitely picked up some color and depth of flavour.  Very tasty but I honestly did not find much in the way of octopus. Might have been the luck oft he ladle and it didn't  really detract from the experience other than....well, you know. Still I could hardly wait and returned the next day to try a couple more things!

Agedashi Tofu is not too adventurous on my part but I really enjoy it. And this was very good. Just crisp on the outside and hot inside. A generous garnish of bonito and green onion with dipping sauce on the side.

And the Michi Tower was a thing of beauty. Oshi salmon sushi formed the base. There were two layer of salmon with the top  having a nice sear. Again the well seasoned rice. A fat tasty scallop, shrimp, lovely crunchy tobiko, tuna, lime and  some greens. This is a must try for anyone lost in this part of the valley! Finally, a very pleasant surprise, the chef sent over a desert to try! Bingsu!

Now this is the first time I have had bingsu and I am very impressed. What appeared to be a bowl of ice cream was almost snow like in texture. Light and wonderful! Complete with candied walnut pieces, coconut, strawberry and peach, this was a light and enjoyable finish!

I like it here a lot and I hope that Aldergrove can support 6 sushi places. I think Sushino Michi will do just fine!

Roasted Root Vegetables

If you have been following this blog, then first of all, thank you. But if so, then you probably know  that I consider myself a "week day vegetarian" (albeit not a very good or religious one). I do this for health reasons, for the planet (you cannot do anything more significant for the environment)  and frankly, because it helps my pocketbook. Being a vegetarian does not just mean cutting out meat. It means finding the nutrition in other places that might have come from meat such as protein and B vitamins. It means paying attention to eating healthy. My partner works evenings so I am and have almost always been, left to feed myself. Since I work full time and have occasionally evening activities also, you may wonder how I can be an alleged vegetarian and find the time to cook in a healthy way (macaroni and cheese may not contain meat but...). So I am going to provide you with my top secret recipes and lay out my food program for you over a few posts over a few weeks. You will doubtless find most of it boring but maybe you can adapt things to your own life. First of all, I cook a few things in quantity on weekends and freeze. I know it may be healthier to eat fresh but what am I superman? First up is my roasted root vegetables:

Its not really a recipe, nor is it secret. Peel and chop up all these vegetables. Chop the beets smaller because they take longer to get soft. You can use whatever vegetables you want but don't be suckered into buying organic. Email me if you want to argue about that. There is no evidence that organically grown vegetables are more nutritious. As for pesticides, organic growers use natural pesticides but are you aware how many natural things will kill your ass? By the way, to me the parsnips are integral part of the final product. Don't be tempted to leave them out (I remove some of the core at the thick part of the parsnips). Mushrooms are good too. Frankly this is hard work. I always get a blister from the chopping. What a wimp!

I chuck them all in a big soup pot so that I can add olive oil and herbs and salt and pepper. In this batch I used rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. You can use what ever you like.

Oil the bottom of some roasting pans. Divide up you chopped up stuff. Cover the pans with foil. I re use the foil over and over again because I am an environmental warrior...or maybe I am just unbelievably cheap. I roast them for about an hour at 400 degrees and then take the foil off and turn it down to 325. I am not sure why. It sounds like something you might read in a cook book. To figure out when they are done, I taste them! Its not too complicated.

I like to mush them up. Many years ago, I watched an Acadian mom in Caraquet, New Brunswick, prepare the plates for each of her family by taking some boiled vegetables and mashing them up, before adding chicken and gravy. Its funny that the mashed up vegetables stuck in my mind.

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Then all the vegetables land in freezer. These containers are good for 4 to 5 servings. I will repeat this process in about a month. I couldn't possibly prepare this every night. The beets and carrots and sweet potato especially are very good for you. There is no such thing as a super food but the more colour in a vegetable, the more it seems to offer to humans. I love these vegetables and could easily eat them every night! Stay tuned for more!