Wo Fung Dessert

Phone: N/A
Address: 3220-4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC
Hours: Mall Hours
Website:  N/A
Parking: Mall Parkade

Wo Fung Desert is situated in the food court of Aberdeen Centre. Despite the name, they actually specialize in Hong Kong style street snacks. They’re famous for their deep-fried chicken wings; some food-bloggers claim they serve the best wings in the city. I must investigate.

 

Snacks

Chicken Wings 7.5/10

• Served hot immediately from the deep-fryer.
• There’s a hint of ginger.
• A bit over salted.
• Light, crispy batter.
• The wings came out pretty dark, a sign that they’ve been re-using the oil for a while.
• The meat at the center of the wing was still a bit pink.

So, are they the best chicken wings that can be had in the city? Even without the drawbacks, not quite but they’re up there. The chicken wings are certainly pretty tasty; the batter was light and crispy while the meat was hot and moist. I guess it’s hard for the meat to be dry since the wings were a bit underdone and still a bit pink in the center. They must have been rushing the order due to the growing line. Now, undercooked chicken should have been a huge red flag, but I wasn’t too worried about it, the centre was still very hot and I didn't get ill from the underdone wings.

VERDICT

The chicken wings are worth ordering for take-out if you’re ever at Aberdeen Center. They are some of the better wings you could find in the city. I recommend you re-heat it in your toaster oven for ten minutes at 325°F. This reheat them back to a crisp while cooking them a bit and sweating out some of the oil. As for the best wings in the city, I still think they’re to be found at Phnom Penh in Chinatown.

Samurai Sushi House

Phone: (604) 325-8597
Address :  5888 Cambie St. Vancouver, BC
Hours: 11am to 9pm
Website: N/A
Date of Visit: Mar. 30, 2013
Parking: Parking in back or along Cambie Street.
Whenever I visit Samurai Sushi House, I generally order the sashimi. The quality and preparation of food here isn't great and sashimi requires minimal preparation. On closer examination, you could see the fish was not cut with skill, there are bits hanging off here and there. There were even a few times where the bones have not all been picked out or not fully defrosted. However it still tasted fine for the price I paid. The fish served here is a bit on the bland side by the way, sometimes, I would have to drench the fish in soy sauce due to the lack of flavour. Still, the fish here is much better than some all-you-can-eat restaurants.
I generally order the Hamachi sashimi because its comparable to those served by much higher end restaurants depending on the cut (I think its from the same supplier).

SASHIMI

Salmon and Hamachi Sashimi 7/10

• Salmon Sashimi is sliced in large uneven portions.
• Tasted relatively fresh, or rather, recently defrosted by the fishery.
• Hamachi Sashimi was slice thinly in this picture, however, they have been sliced in pretty large portions before.

Whenever I visit Samurai Sushi House, I generally order the sashimi. The quality and preparation of food here isn't great and sashimi requires minimal preparation. On closer examination, you could see the fish was not cut with skill, there are bits hanging off here and there. There were even a few times where the bones have not all been picked out or not fully defrosted. However it still tasted fine for the price I paid. The fish served here is a bit on the bland side by the way, sometimes, I would have to drench the fish in soy sauce due to the lack of flavour. Still, the fish here is much better than some all-you-can-eat restaurants.
I generally order the Hamachi sashimi because its comparable to those served by much higher end restaurants depending on the cut (I think its from the same supplier).
 

SUSHI

UNAGI TEMPURA ROLL 7/10

 

• Fair amount of deep fried and roasted eel gives a nice contrast to the soft avocado.
• Large portion of avocado.

This is another item I regularly order when I visit Samurai Sushi House. An Unagi Tempura roll with avocado is commonly found in other sushi restaurants. More importantly, its not found in any of the combos, meaning, its likely not prepared ahead of time. Some of their more common items like the salmon maki roll is prepared ahead of time and sitting in room temperature waiting to be sliced when someone places the order. It's not the most appealing thing to eat. Moreover, its not packed with rice in order to give o a larger appearance.
 

ATMOSPHERE

• In short, bad. Order your food takeout.

SERVICE

• Also bad. Order your food takeout. Sometimes you get thanked after you pay them.
• Food is prepared fairly quickly.
• They once made a mistake on my order and they rectified it the next time i visited.

VERDICT

While the price has gone up over the years and the portions dwindled marginally, they still offer some the largest portions for the price. This establishment is not a place I can recommend unless you're looking for some cheap sushi. The only reason I keep returning its because its conveniently located on my way back home. They do offer a discount if you place your take-out order by phone in advance, but they do prepare food pretty quickly and your order may be sitting on the shelf for a while.

Lucky's Doughnuts

Phone: (604) 872-4901
Address :    Lucky’s Doughnuts at 49th Parallel Café, 2902 Main Street, Vancouver, BC, V5T 3G3
Hours: Monday to Saturday 7:00am – 10:00pm, Sunday 8:00am – 9:00pm
Website:  http://www.luckysdoughnuts.com/
Date of Visit:  Jan. 4, 2013

 

Lucky’s Doughnuts is an artisan doughnut shop run by the proprietors of 49th Parrallel Coffee Roasters. I believe the doughnuts are all made on site. In addition to doughnuts, one would be able to grab a coffee made with their own unique blends or tea. A recommendation had me grabbing half a dozen of doughnuts here.

All the doughnut's were microwaved on high for ten seconds to warm and soften them up.

Honey Glazed

5.5/10

• Soft centre
• Chewy edges
• Bread-like texture

Lucky’s take on the classic Glazed Doughnut is good but not great. The sweetness of honey glaze is just about right and not too sweet. However, the honey doesn’t appear to add much to the taste of the glaze as it tastes the same a normal sugar glaze. The edges of the doughnut is chewy, a nice contrast to the soft, fluffy, and moist centre. The overall texture of the doughnut is more similar to a piece of fried bread rather than a doughnut.

Lemon Bismark

9/10

• Tart lemon custard filling
• Topped with a coat of sugar
• A bismark is a jelly, jam, or custard filled doughnut. 

Lucky’s Lemon Bismark was easily the best doughnut in the batch I ordered. While lemon custard filled doughnuts are relatively common, Lucky’s has executed theirs better than their competitors. The doughnut was evenly filled with a reasonable amount of lemon custard. The coat of sugar balanced the tartness of the custard very nicely, and added a bit crunch to the doughnut. The texture of the dough was similar to that of the Honey Glazed doughnut, soft and fluffy. However, it did not remind me of the taste of fried bread. The only issue I had was the pricing of the doughnut. I will be ordering the Lemon Bismark again the next time I return to Lucky’s.

Apple Maple Bacon Fritter

8/10

• Topped with bits of real bacon
• Maple glazed
• Apple chunks within the fritter

The Apple Maple Bacon Fritter is one of Lucky's more original creations and was one of the better pastries in the box. While bacon, apple, and fried batter is an unusual combination, the different ingredients combined very well. The saltiness of the bacon enhanced the sweetness of the glaze while the apple chunks added texture. The fritter could have benefited with more apple chunks. Moreover the bits of bacon could have been more evenly distributed on top of the fritter instead of being concentrated at the middle.

Chocolate Old Fashioned

6/10

• Topped with chocolate ganache and chocolate flakes
• Tastes similar to a brownie

Lucky’s Chocolate Old Fashion doughnut tastes very similar to a chocolate brownie and leaves a bittersweet chocolaty aftertaste. The first bite reminded me of the taste of the brownie desert found in some frozen dinners.

The texture of this doughnut is very cakey and the edges are a bit crispy. While the doughnut wasn’t very dry on the initial bite, it tasted dry on the subsequent bites. Fortunately, the chocolate ganache was able to mitigate the dryness making it relatively moister than other chocolate doughnuts out there; however, Lucky’s Chocolate doughnut doesn’t offer much else.

Salted Caramel Old Fashioned

7.5/10

• Topped with caramel and Maldon sea salt
• Maldon sea salt is known for their large flakes and milder saltiness, so as to not overwhelm the taste buds and leaving a bitter aftertaste.
• Sour-cream based doughnut

The Salted Caramel Old Fashioned doughnut was one of the better doughnuts. It was not too dry unlike the Chocolate Old Fashioned doughnut. The caramel was gooey and chewy, complementing the softness of the dough very nicely. Moreover it did not stick to my teeth. The sea salt enhanced the sweetness of the caramel quite nicely. I did think the doughnut could have benefitted with a bit more sea salt on top.

Old Fashioned

7/10

• Sour cream based doughnut
• Vanilla Glaze

Unlike the Honey Glazed doughnut, this "basic" was executed much better.  The batter was light and not very dry. Other than that, I cannot find any other features differentiating it from other sour cream doughnuts. I would highly recommend Salted Caramel variation over this.

Verdict

 While Lucky’s Doughnuts' doughnuts are overall good, but they're not great; some varieties were only marginally better than their grocery store counterparts. Being three to five times more expensive than their competitors, Lucky's leaves a lot to be desired. I would recommend sticking with the more unique flavors, as the more basic doughnuts are decent at best. I would return to Lucky’s in the future, but I wouldn't be ordering a large batch, just a doughnut to go along side a coffee.