HK BBQ Master

What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is the world's finest Chinese BBQ shop in all of existence.  There are tons of shops in Richmond and Vancouver, and some even have massive line ups to show their worth to the world (for example that one place in Parker Place), but it's this tiny little tucked away place in the parking lot of Superstore (Richmond location) that in my opinion holds the title. 

The BBQ pork here is not too lean, not too fat (unless you order it that way), the meat comes apart easily and seasoned perfectly.  They're the masters of caramelizing the BBQ sauce and it leaves the surface just a bit crispy while the inside is still flavourful and juicy.  The BBQ duck is another good reason to go here, not very gamey, succulent juicy goodness with every bite.  Then there's the Roast Pork.  The pork is roasted to a golden hue, the skin is crispy, even hours after you buy your little taste of heaven.  Underneath the skin, there is a nice layering of fat and lean meat, and while the fat just melts in your mouth, the lean parts aren't dried out and still very moist. 

That place in Parker Place (I don't even know the name) always has a line up, but I've tried it and it doesn't compare.  Sometimes, they even botch the order and it comes out way too lean and dried out.  I've been to HK a couple of times, had they said that the best Chinese food is in China (or HK), but that's not necessarily true.  Some of the best chefs have found their way across the Pacific, and into B.B.Q. Master's kitchen.  If you want awesome BBQ Pork, Roast Pork, or BBQ Duck, you don't need to go futher than Richmond.

Soo Singapore Jerky

I don't usually eat a lot of beef jerky (except when I ask for a blue-rare steak at Boston Pizza and they overcook it).  The common brands that I see in supermarkets most of the time are "Oh Boy! Oberto" or "Jack Links".  They're great if you've never had anything else, but I have.

I wasn't a big fan of beef jerky until a friend of mine introduced me to Asian-style Beef Jerky.  We were on a flight to Hong Kong and my buddy Kenny breaks out this huge-honking bag of meat.  He tells me there's about 5 pounds of beef jerky and since we're not allowed to import meat into Hong Kong, we have to eat it all before the plane lands.  Great.  Well, we figured the flights over 10 hrs, so we crack open the bag.  To my surprise, it wasn't dry and over-peppered like the typical beef jerky I've had in the past.  I bit into it and found a sweet taste to it, and the meat was more like, well, meat, rather than dried leather.   The suff was magic, and we plowed through that 5lb bag with relative ease. 

Unfortunately, there was no lable on the bag (so for all I knew, it could have been anything but beef).  I had no idea what the brand was and Kenny wasn't entirely sure either.  I failed to ask him where he got this mysterious bag of meat, so I never got a chance to buy any of the stuff.  It's been over 10 years since then, and I never forgot how awesome beef jerky could be.

I knew there were Asian style beef jerky available in most of the Chinese supermarkets, but it was mostly marketed for tourists so I never bothered.  The other day, I had some strange craving for old times and Beef Jerky was starting me in the face at T & T Supermarket.  Here's a shot of some stuff I found recently that has a taste and texture pretty close to whatever I had onboard that fateful flight to Hong Kong.

If you like shoe leather seasoned shoe leather, then keep eating the North American stuff, if you like meat that makes the corners of your mouth tingle, try some of this Soo Singapore Jerky.  The name doesn't do anything for me, but it's awesome. 

More Snacks from work

Another of my co-workers just came back from a trip to Greece and brought back sesame covered almonds for everyone to share.

Needless to say, they were awesome...Thanks Candice!

Snacks at work

One tradition at my current job is bringing food and sharing.  Friday was no exception.  One of my co-workers is leaving on Mat leave and a little sharing was done.  One particular treat needs a little special attention - the butter tarts. 

I'l like to credit God for making these as they are from heaven, but actually, the sweet buttery goodness you see before you were made by my friend and co-worker, Linda.  She made them around Christmas as well, and I think I ate most of the tin at the time.  She brought a larger tray of these delights this time, and they were literally gone by the end of the day, with no left-overs for Monday.

Monaka

Monaka is a Japanese sweet that usually comes pre-assembled, but to keep the wafer fresh and crispy, this is a do-it-yourself.

The filling in this monaka was made of anko (red bean paste) and mochi (rice cake).  Absolutely delicious, and unfortunately, not available in Canada.  I think this one came from Osaka.

Yoshoku-Ya Restaurant

Japanese family-style restaurants are virtually non-existant in Canada, with only a few of them scattered around town (BareFoot Kitchen is one other that I know about).  There are chain restaurants in Japan like Royal Host, Gusto, and Tomato Onion, but so far, none of those chains have made their way across the Pacific.  Vancouver's got loads of sushi restaurants, a growing number of izakayas, and now a surge of ramen shops.  The family restaurant is next on the list. 

Yoshoku-ya looks like they took over a fish and chips place or something, but the decor seems very fitting.  The restaurant is pretty quiet, with the occasional music from the Ghibli Collection.  The restaurant is clean, and so are the washrooms, as expected with most Japanese run restaurants.  It seems this little gem has yet to be discovered, because although business seems to be good and steady, there are no line-ups out of the door evertime I go....which is great for me.  At the same time I hope that business stays good enough for the owners to keep it running, I hope that it never gets to a point where the line ups get huge and unbearable.

The Ebi-fry (deep-fried prawn) meal.

The ebi-fry meal comes with rice, which interestingly enough is served in a plate.  Family restaurants serve their meals in plates (along with forks and knives) to mimic western styles.  Anyway, the meal comes with a scoop of potato salad, which is pretty light and doesn't leave your head swimming in mayonaise.  It also comes with house salad which consists of lettuce, a tomato wedge, some thin-sliced cucumber, and the house dressing, which is one killer take on Thousand Island.  Awesome dressing, I could go back just for the salad....and I usually hate salad.

I normally order the kaki-fry, deep fried oysters, which pretty much comes with everything the ebi-fry comes with, plus Japanese tartar sauce (the difference is they add egg....which pretty much tastes like a really creamy egg salad).  I used to only eat deep-fried oysters with tartar sauce or Kewpie Mayo, but recently have discovered how great it tastes with a squirt of lemon, and some Bulldog sauce to go with the Japanese tartar sauce. 

The portions here don't look like much, but trust me when I say you WILL be full by the end of the meal.  It is filling and relatively inexpensive ($10-15) considering what you get.  The service here is excellent, the location is okay, there's always parking within walking distance, and like I said earlier, it's never crowded....for now.  Kintaro Ramen is a few shops away, and is always drawing a crowd (for whatever reason, I have no idea....not a big fan of Kintaro Ramen, but it draws a lot of lemmings.....maybe because it's so "trendy"?).  Yoshku-Ya, no crowds, which suits me just fine. 

Defintely a great place to grab a bite to eat, I always look forward to going back to try something different, but I never do, I always end up ordering the kaki-fry.  The corn soup is awesome by the way, but I never have room for it.

Yan's Garden Chinese Restaurant

If you like cheap and tasty dim sum, Yan's Garden is the place to go.  If you like shrimp, it will be a bonus.  It's a bit far for me (North Road and Lougheed Hwy), but once in a while, I'll make a trek out to Burnaby and have Dim Sum here.  The place expanded a year or so ago, and has way better seating capacity.

Deep fried squid with seasoning salt - one of my favourites.  They cook it just right unlike some other places where it comes out rubbery.

                               

Seafood wrapped in tofu skin.  Often times it's ground pork, but this place used fish paste and other bits of seafood.

Siu Mai - packed with prawns. 

BBQ Pork wrapped in a fluffy pastry

Prawn Spring Rolls

Shao Long Bao,(siu long bao) or steamed pork dumplings

Prawns and scallops wrapped in tofu skin

Hagow - Steamed Prawn Dumplings

Sesame balls with black sesame filling

The filling in these ones were out of this world.  Defintely worth another try.

Egg Tarts

Tapioca Pudding

More of those sesame balls, these ones were much larger and probably didn't have a filling.

Yan's Garden has pretty quick service, not particularly friendly, but not nearly as bad as other's such as Angel Cake Cafe, and since the expansion, the wait times are generally pretty short to non existant.  Actually, we had one server who gave us exceptionally awesome service.  I tried to get a picture of her, but she refused.  Anyway the food is great and the prices are even better.  Like most other Chinese restaurants though, the washroom is filthy and minging, and you probably want to hold it until after you leave, or bring your own Purell. 

If you can get it in your head that this place simply does not have a washroom, check this place out....it's worth it for the food.