Szechuan Chongqing Restaurant @ Pine St./West Broadway

It's another Groupon meal! This time, at Szechuan Chongqing Restaurant on West Broadway. It looks very big as it has a huge sign on the second floor (above some other shops on the ground floor) and has an eye-catching green and yellow signboard, easily seen from the 99 B-line bus.

Back in February, this restaurant was offering a dim sum tasting for $18 for xx (sorry, can't remember!) number of dim sum dishes for Dine Out Vancouver 2012. I was excited to try that out, as I have limited dim sum experiences in this city, but in the end I had to give it a miss due to some unfortunate events.

When I saw the Groupon for this restaurant, I thought, maybe I'd finally have a chance to try this restaurant again! The Groupon was offering $15 for $30 of food or a $20 set meal for two ($42.50 value). The set meal looked attractive:

• Two spring rolls (a $4 value)


• Bean-sprout chow mein (an $8 value)


• Ginger beef (an $8.50 value)


• Szechuan-style green beans (an $8 value)


• Vegetable fried rice (a $6 value)


• Dai ching chicken (an $8 value)

I decided to get the set meal since it was an easier choice of what to eat. We went there on a sunny Saturday after a beautiful harbour cruise around the Burrard Inlet. I had called to check if we could use the Groupon for lunch (since it says "dinner for two" on the deal) and the person on the phone said no problem.

We got there and it was rather empty for a Saturday. It was around 12:30 p.m. when we arrived and once we presented the Groupon, the waiter whisked it away and brought us some tea.

I was very surprised that the food started coming after several minutes. First up was the spring rolls.



Two giant spring rolls cut in half, the presentation was not exactly glamourous. The spring roll skin was fried perfectly to golden brown, and it was served with plum sauce. I imagine it was easily poured out from a jar as it was no different from those at Chinese fast food places.



The fillings were bamboo shoots, a little pork and some carrots. Again, very ordinary.

While we were slowly munching on the spring rolls, the other dishes came within five minutes of each other.



The green beans were deep fried and then sauteed with a salty, dark sauce and some garlic and chilli. It was too salty and greasy for my liking, and in my opinion, greens at the table should be light and refreshing for cleansing your palate between the heavier (meat) dishes.



Every restaurant has their special fried noodles, and they generally taste pretty good. I was, however, disappointed by this (again) greasy and bland noodles. All I tasted was oil. I bet you I can make tastier noodles than this!



Fried rice, it should be bright and vibrant, soft and fluffy. When this dish came, I was saddened by the grey, heavy look of the mound of rice. I took a bite and instead of the fluffy texture that usually comes in fried rice, this one was oily and tasted quite nauseating. I don't mean to sound mean but I certainly do not think this meets my standards of fried rice.

Speaking of which, I might do a recipe post on my take on fried rice! Requires little oil and tastes even more awesome! Are you interested in that?



This is the chicken dish, which looks like chicken braised in soy sauce. The taste of the sauce was quite good, but there was no special oomph to it. I would have enjoyed this dish if only there were not so many bones in the chicken! I spent half my time getting the bones out rather than enjoying this dish.



The ginger beef was deep fried (presumably) beef and slathered with sweet chilli sauce. I enjoyed the sauce, but not the tough, rubbery meat. Deep frying may mask the weaknesses of some ingredients, but not this one.

At this point when all the dishes were arriving, each more disappointing than the last, I was ready to leave. The food was not tasting good; the atmosphere of the restaurant was just getting weird (I can't describe it!).

We hastily finished up most of the food (so greasy!!) and got the meat dishes to go. Our bill came and we only had to pay about $5 more. I was so relieved when I finally left. I felt pretty glad that my missed dim sum experience here may have turned into a blessing in disguise.

No, I don't think I'm ever stepping foot in there ever again. This is one of the most disappointing Chinese restaurants in Vancouver. If you can't do it right, just don't do it. I don't think I've ever been so critical in my restaurant reviews before, but this is an exception.

This meal is definitely not worth $42.50. Heck, I don't think it is even worth $20! Spend your money elsewhere; anywhere would give you more value for money than this place!

P.S. Anyone still want my fried rice recipe?

♥ Nikki

[Recipe] Thick & Zesty Pasta

It's time for a recipe post!!

I just love a good, hearty pasta dish that is great for cold winter nights. I know, it's summer now, but I haven't made a good pasta sauce in ages. Besides, hearty pasta is a meal for any season! Each time I try to make pasta, it turns into a watery mess! I was determined to get it right! This time, I was finally successful and here I am, sharing my success with you.



I don't know if this counts as a Bolognese sauce, but it does have meat and tomato sauce in it. As you know, I love to add vegetables to my meals (usually twice the amount of meat). This time, I chose carrots and zucchini.

Let's get on with this recipe! It should serve about four to six people.

Ingredients: (These are what I used in this meal, feel free to substitute or omit as you wish)

• 3/4 lb ground beef


• 1 onion


• 2 zucchini


• 2 carrots


• 3 cloves garlic


• 1 can Primo Thick & Zesty pasta sauce (680 ml)


• White wine


• 500 g farfalle (bowtie) pasta


• Dried herbs (I used oregano and basil)


• Fresh basil (for garnish)


• Salt, sugar and black pepper


• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Marinate the beef with equal amounts of salt and sugar, and as much black pepper as you like. I'd say about half a teaspoon each of salt and sugar. This is a common Chinese marinating method as it draw out the moisture in the meat and tenderizes it nicely.

2. While the meat marinates, dice your onion, carrots and zucchini into small cubes. Also, mince a few cloves of garlic and toss them into the beef.







3. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large steel pot. When it's hot enough, add the ground beef to the pot and press gently with a wooden spoon to separate the chunks. Let it sit for a minute or two on high heat so the bottom can brown up before you stir.



4. When the beef is almost fully cooked, add onions at medium-high heat and stir well. I was very alarmed by the amount of fat/water that was appearing in the pot, but this is perfectly normal. Do not pour this fat away as much as you are tempted to! This will give your pasta sauce the thickness and richness that we want in this recipe.

5. When the onions are halfway done and your meat is beginning to brown and stick to the bottom of the pot, pour in a generous splash of wine and continue to stir. As cliche as this may sound, wine gives your food an extra depth of flavour and makes it a lot richer.



6. After most of the wine has evaporated, add in the carrots (and a few dashes of salt) and stir it for two to three minutes. Then, add the entire can of pasta sauce and turn down the heat to low. Add about half a cup of water, but not too much. The sauce should stay thick. Cover and bring the sauce to a gentle boil.



7. After the sauce has started bubbling, keep adding a little water at a time, keeping the sauce nice and thick. Simmer with the lid ajar for 10 minutes.



8. Add in the diced zucchini. Do not be tempted to add more water as you stir the zucchini into the sauce. You can add some, but just a little bit. Mix well until the zucchini is well coated. Cover the pot with the spoon on the side of the pot, and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.



9. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and start cooking the bowtie pasta. Turn the heat to medium when the water is bubbling nicely, and give it a gentle stir occasionally. When it is done, drain the water, but do not rinse with cold water.

10. When the zucchini has become soft, your sauce should have liquefied just a little and should be easy to stir. Add more dried herbs and the fresh basil and you are done!



11. Serve with the sauce on top of the pasta in a bowl, or toss the pasta with the sauce to let it absorb all the goodness of the tomato flavour!



It turned out so nice and creamy, and not sour like most of my pasta sauces turned out! I guess this is a good sauce; it was my first time trying it as it came free with the purchase of two packs of pasta.

Tips to the success of this sauce:

1. Enough oil/fat -- By adding just a little oil to the pot before you start sauteeing the ground beef, the extra oil will render all the fats out of the meat and incorporate them into your pasta sauce. This gives the pasta sauce a velvety feel on your tastebuds.

2. Enough pasta sauce -- In the past, all my pasta sauces turned out watery and sour because I would use half a cup of pasta sauce and add a ton of water, hoping to save some sauce. I realized that I had been doing it all wrong. To get a full-bodied sauce, you NEED all the pasta sauce you can get your hands on.

3. Not adding too much water -- Taking account into this with the amount of water I add to the sauce, I also considered the large amount of water zucchini has. As it cooks, the zucchini will also release water into the sauce, so be sure not to overladen your pasta sauce with water!

4. Dried herbs -- Even though the canned pasta sauce contained herbs, adding more herbs will enhance the flavour of your pasta sauce. I was really pleased with the balance of the tomato and herb flavours in this one.

Tips for cooking pasta:

1. Start with a pot of strongly boiling water.

2. Rinse your pasta before putting it into the pot -- this will prevent them from sticking to each other as they cook.

3. Once your pasta is in the pot and the water has returned to a boil, turn the heat down so it leaves just a gentle boil. Keep stirring and leaving the gentle boil to cook the pasta; an aggressive boil will just break up your pasta by the time it is done cooking.



There, the most perfect pasta sauce I've made to date! Definitely worth documenting, I am sure this recipe will satisfy all your cravings for a warm, hearty pasta sauce. It is so good you don't even need any cheese to top it off!

♥ Nikki

Jolly's Indian Bistro @ West 4th Ave

In most of the miserable month of June, it was raining and cloudy for much of the days. Even though the temperatures were slowly starting to inch up, it was still a rainy evening when we went to Jolly's Indian Bistro last Saturday.



We got a Groupon where I paid $20 for an appetizer and two entrees. This place seemed to have pretty good reviews and they don't take reservations, so we headed over around 6 p.m.



It was a very small space but nicely decorated with brightly coloured fabrics and the tables were neatly arranged to maximize the limited floor area. It was quite full but we managed to get a table immediately.



I thought it was super clever of them to line the ceilings with all these vibrant red, orange and yellow reams of cloth, because it gave the restaurant a very warm ambience, as well as nicely covering up the unsightly ceilings. They must have saved a fortune on renovations to the ceiling!



This is a picture to show the small bar near the kitchen in the corner of the dining area. I didn't take a picture of the front entrance but it was also minimalistic.



We took a look at the appetizers. All of them looked and sounded so tantalizing! We finally decided on the Amritsari Fish, just because fish was such an exotic item on the appetizers menu!

Our fish came a little after 15 minutes, and by then, the restaurant was really starting to fill up. I guess we were lucky to be there early!



The fish was covered in a deep-fried orange batter and laid atop a bed of spinach, cucumber and tomatoes.



The generous portion of fish was topped with cilantro, shaved coconut, along with a yogurt dressing and fruity mango dressing!



The fish was light and savoury, and went so well with the light mango and yogurt dressing. The spinach salad was a nice touch to complement the salty fish. However, I would have preferred if they had put the dressing in a small dish instead of letting the fish soak up the dressing, which made it a little soggy.



You can see that the fish was a slight orange colour. I was not sure if this was because of the spices in the batter or the natural colour of the fish. This was a great start to the meal!



For the entrees, we picked East India Gobhi, because cauliflower and potato sounded like a good combination, and Mumbai Chicken Masala, just because it seemed like the safest choice.

Our food came at nearly 7 p.m. The restaurant was getting crowded and people were waiting for their tables at the entrance.



Each entree came with a serving of rice and the same spinach/cucumber/tomato salad with mango dressing.



An entree also comes with a generous portion of naan, with warm ghee and garlic spread on it. It was a little tough but I enjoyed their spin on "garlic bread."



This was the masala chicken with a mound of fried spinach on top (yes, you heard me right, FRIED spinach!). The fried spinach was lovely and crisp when it was fresh, but when it cooled it was just greasy and left a horrible mess and taste in my mouth.



Removing the fried spinach on top unveiled a large piece of orange chicken. At first, I thought it looked like a piece of crab. The chicken was fork tender and pulled apart very easily. The sauce was mostly sweet with just a little hint of spice. I was quite pleased with it.



This is the cauliflower and potato entree, again in a tiny little pot. I really loved the presentation; it seems like the norm for Indian restaurants. This was a little more spicy and salty -- a little too overpowering for my taste buds. I could see endless cauliflower but not a hint of potato. The potato must have melted into the sauce.



The potato/cauliflower dish progressively got spicier and saltier over the course of the meal, and the chicken also started to get spicier. It was nice to tear off a piece of garlicky naan and dip it in the sauce; the flavours went very well together. The spinach salad was a little out of place; I imagine something cool and sour like pickled vegetables would have taken off some of the spicy punch. Is it customary to serve pickled vegetables with Indian food?



My plate was very full with all the different tastes and dishes. The brown basmati rice was a little rough but still picked up the sauce nicely. It took me a long time to empty my plate; I imagine there must be a lot of fat in the sauces, explaining their flavoursome body. From my (not-so-expansive) experience in eating Indian food, quantity does not matter since it is so heavy, hence you get full more easily.



Applause for the lovely presentation, it really made the meal wonderful to enjoy. We could not finish most of the cauliflower/potato dish so we took it home. I'll say it was very worth it for the (Groupon) price we paid. I would consider coming here again just for the amazing fish appetizer!

However, regretfully, my stomach did not seem to agree with the food later that evening. It made me feel sick and I was surprised it took me about three to four days to fully recover. Even though I had a good experience at the restaurant, maybe my stomach was unable to handle such strong spices. I could not envision myself going there again. This is my personal experience; I am not saying you should not try it for yourself.

Aside from that, the food was good, and the waitress was very friendly and gave us plenty of time to decide. It was a little dim; I am not too fond of dark restaurants as I actually would like to SEE what I am putting into my mouth.

Jolly's Indian Bistro is located at 2928 West 4th Ave (at Bayswater Street), Vancouver, B.C.

♥ Nikki

Monkey Bread!

I am in such a baking frenzy that I made fresh bread from scratch two weeks in a row! Last week, I made red bean buns (in honour of Father's Day), which turned out pretty but a little dry. That recipe was a no-egg recipe, so the bread was crumbly and pasty white in colour.

This weekend, I made MONKEY BREAD! What's monkey bread? I'm not quite sure where the name comes from but it is essentially all the goodness of a cinnamon bun in little bite-size pieces! Who doesn't love cinnamon buns?



Little mounds of cinnamon buns all baked tightly in a pan, and so fun to pull apart and eat! It's also commonly referred to as cinnamon pull-apart bread. Are you ready for this delicious treat that is so versatile you can have it for breakfast or dessert?

*Note: No monkeys were harmed in the making of this bread.*

I'm sure you could totally make this if you've got strong arms and a kneading technique to boot, but without either of them, I chose to engage my handy bread machine for this important task!

Before I move on to the recipe, I must give a shoutout to whoever tossed that bread machine by the road one fine day, where I happened to chance upon it and bring it home! It still works perfectly fine and I've had it for over a year now! But I only ever had the chance to use it just recently. It is just so amusing to watch and makes breadmaking a breeze!

Alright, here comes the recipe!

Ingredients for the dough:

• 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 2 and 1/4 teaspoon yeast


• 1/4 cup melted butter


• 1/3 cup warm milk


• 1/4 cup warm water


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 2 eggs

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1/4 cup butter


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

Place all dough ingredients in a bread machine pan and switch on the dough setting. This was 20 minutes of kneading and 1 hour 10 minutes of rising for my bread machine.

Here's some pictures of the process! What else would I do while waiting for the dough to mix and knead and rise? :D



















In the meantime while the dough is rising, melt the 1/4 cup butter in a small pot until brown. Be careful as it may splatter.



Then, in a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar and stir to mix well. Be sure to use a dry bowl; my bowl had a few droplets of water and I ended up with little clumps of cinnamon.



After the dough is done rising, remove from the pan. This might also be a good time to line your baking pans with parchment paper.



On a surface covered with flour, knead the dough with your hands for a couple of minutes until it comes together nicely.



Divide your dough into small, two-inch mounds and shape into little balls. I did this by dividing half the dough into quarters, and then more quarters.



If you are adventurous (unlike me), you can go ahead and dip your dough balls into the melted butter. Otherwise, place them in straight rows in your parchment-lined pan. Don't worry if they are touching each other -- you want them to be right next to each other. This is just to see how many you can fit in your pan.



After deciding how many dough balls to put in your pan, place a few of the dough balls on your kneading surface and drizzle the melted butter over them, tossing them around but maintaining their round shape. You can also dip them into the melted butter in the pot.



Here comes the fun part! You now put your butter-coated dough balls into the cinnamon/sugar mixture and make sure it is well coated with the sweet goodness! I think putting the mixture and the dough balls into a large plastic bag and shaking them also works; I may try that next time. I found this step to be the most time consuming and nerve-wrecking (was I gonna have enough cinnamon/sugar for the rest of the balls?!?!).



After you are done with these two steps of coating, place the dough balls back to the pan.



Now, let them rise for about 15 minutes until they are nice and puffy. After they are done rising, put the pans into the oven at 350°F for about 30 minutes.



This is the hard part -- letting them stay in the oven for 30 minutes! After 10 minutes, I was already dying to open the oven door. This was just before lunch, mind you. It took every ounce of my being to resist the temptation to open the oven! I actually took them out after 25 minutes because they looked ready, but the bottom was still a little soft, so I put them back for another 10 minutes and they came out a little too brown on top.



I just have to show you what they look like inside! They are easy to pull apart into bite-sized pieces and every bite is full of cinnamon sugar! The eggs in the dough really give it a nice golden shine and soft texture like those you see in the bakeries. If one could taste heaven, this must be what heaven tastes like!



And there you have it, cinnamon pull-apart MONKEY bread! Golden brown on top, fluffy and soft on the inside, this is a delicious treat for either breakfast or dessert! Be sure to consume it within 48 hours, as the taste of the bread will change after that. Easy to make for a party or potluck, this sweet bread is sure to astound your friends and family!



Quote of the day (by me):

The world is at your fingertips if you have a bread machine and some parchment paper.

♥ Nikki