Doesn't TaZte Like Chicken

Location: Gingeri Chinese Cuisine
Lansdowne Shopping Centre
Richmond

Author: My Husband

While shopping at Costco several weeks ago, we saw the seafood stand selling frozen King Crab legs. The product looked nice and meaty, but the prices were jaw-dropping. Christina and I looked at each other and tacitly agreed that we wouldn’t buy any that day. We would wait for next spring – when the crabs are in season – and go to a restaurant to eat them for a fraction of the Costco price.

I’d been meaning to post some photos of a King Crab meal we had earlier this year, but didn’t get around to it until now. Better late than never I suppose…

We ordered a 9.5 lb crab to be prepared two ways. We received two plates of steamed legs and one plate of deep-fried body pieces. The meat was full of umami goodness and the freshness of the product really shone through in the taste and texture. The resultant broth was lip-smackingly good and, surpringly, did not contain much MSG.

For those who have yet to eat King Crabs, the meat’s taste and texture is a combination of lobster and dungeness crabs. It is not to be missed by crab enthusiasts.

We also had some soup. It was pretty tasty, but it had to be eaten quickly lest it cooled and the corn-starch thickening agent started breaking down.

Yi mein (乾炒伊麵) is a favorite of mine, and this was decent. It didn’t have enough wok-hei (I like them a little caramelized), but the flavours were good. A huge positive was that the noodles were not drowning in oil.

I’ve eaten at Gingeri many times and I must say the chefs do a good job of controlling oil usage. We’ve never had a meal at Gingeri where an excess of cooking oil was used, and we really appreciate that in restaurant food.

This might seem strange. Why did we have congee for dinner? Well, my wife had her wisdom teeth extracted only two days before this meal, so we ordered something that she could comfortably eat. That didn’t prevent her from braving the pain and chowing down on the crabs though. She’s a trooper, my wife.

So, looking at the photos again, spring can’t come soon enough for us. What are good places to have King Crabs? We like Kirin and Gingeri, which are places where we have consistently gotten what we paid for. Other restaurants may sell the crabs more cheaply, but caveat emptor. When we went to another restaurant for King crabs with some friends, we ordered an 11 pounder and got smaller portions that what was served at our Gingeri dinner.

Location: Shangri-la Hotel
1128 W Georgia Street
Vancouver BC

Author: My Husband

Regular readers may have inferred from my postings that we like Shangri-la hotels, and they would be absolutely correct. I do think that the Vancouver property is a little too small and too western to do justice to the Shangri-la brand, but it is a very nice hotel in its own right. When Christina found out that the Vancouver Shangri-la serves afternoon tea, she practically dragged me along to experience it with her.

Afternoon tea is served in the ground floor lounge that faces Alberni Street. Despite the ever-present flurry of activity outside, the atmosphere in the lounge is cool and tranquil.

Adding to the sense of well-being is the music being played on this $125,000 Fazioli F183 grand. The notes produced by this gem of an instrument are warm and expressive, and they just completely envelope and reverberate around you. By comparison, a Yamaha grand sounds overly bright and trebly – it’s like the difference in tonality between say, a young Andy Williams and James Blunt on his most high-pitched day. Christina had a quick chat with the pianist and he said it’s the best piano he’s ever played on.

Tea begins with the server bringing a selection of leaves from which you make your selection. You sniff and select the tea which you like best.

The selection of teas, as well as the finger foods.

The savory selection.

Scones served with clotted cream.

The sweets.

The kit the tea is served in. You pour the tea through the strainer to prevent errant leaves from making it into your cup – very genteel indeed.

Tea is served between 2:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon; you can stay longer, but the pianist leaves at 4:30. To be honest, the food is really nothing to write home about (the Afternoon Tea at the Hotel Vancouver is much better when it comes to food), and there isn’t very much of it either. However, the relaxing atmosphere and the beautiful sound from the Fazioli (pity most of the pieces are showtunes…) make the price of admission a little easier to swallow…

Location: Miko Sushi
1335 Robson Street,
Vancouver

Author: My Husband

What, two sushi posts in a row? Well, I did say we’ve been eating more than our fair share of sushi in my previous post, didn’t I?

The focus of this post is Miko Sushi on Robson Street. Here are some fun facts about the place: (1) it has been at the same location for over 10 years; (2) the chefs and waitresses are Japanese; (3) many professional athletes have eaten and left their marks here.

Both side walls of the restaurant are plastered with autographs of pro athletes who have eaten here. It would seem that many of the Canucks stars like sushi…

Without further ado, here’s our meal:

Fanny bay oysters. These were fresh and briny, and served with the typical Japanese ponzu mix.

Deep fried soft shelled crab. It is difficult to find well-prepared soft shelled crabs in Vancouver, and these were lacking as well. The lack of batter, and perhaps insufficient oil temperature, meant the crab retained more oil than a perfect deep-fry job. It was less than crisp, though the meat was still firm and tasted fresh. Alas, the gills were not removed before deep frying, which resulted in us having to inelegantly pick them from our mouths.

My nigiri. Toro, hamachi, tamago, ebi, uni, and tobiko. The uni was perfect, and the fish was fresh. The ebi was probably pre-packaged and too firm, but there was a sweetness to it. The sushi rice was seasoned well, but packed a little too tightly.

My wife’s nigiri. Toro, unagi, and amaebi. Christina claimed it was all good, with the unagi and amaebi being standouts. The unagi was perfectly boneless, had a good balance of fat, and a sauce with just the right amount of sweetness. The amaebi was very fresh, with a very crunchy texture that didn’t become too gluey during the chew.

As mentioned in my previous post, we like to end our sushi meals with some hot courses. We had a roasted eggplant topped with bonito. I was expecting the eggplant to be marinated or basted with a sauce during the roasting, but it was done naked. As a result, it tasted pretty bland even with the bonito topping.

Grilled black cod. This dish was a winner; the fish was perfectly cooked with rich, tender flakes of black cod just melting in our mouths.

Grilled salmon belly. This dish was a bit of a mixed bag. For the parts that had lots of fat surrounding the meat, it was rich, tender and flavourful. The leaner parts were a little overcooked and firm.

We used to eat at Miko when we were living downtown, and we’re happy to report that standards have been maintained over the years. Their prices have also held over the years and if anything, may actually have dropped! When we’re in that part of town and looking for a Japanese fix, Miko is still our favourite choice.