"Let's do lunch at Pho Tam sometime", suggested Big D while we were suiting up for Sunday night hockey. Although that sounded like a great idea since Pho Tam is probably the best in the GVRD, I wanted to try something new. I persuaded him to join me at a new Chinese restaurant in Whalley, not too far from Pho Tam. Now, Dim Sum and Surrey doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Strange really, when you consider the large Asian population. So when I saw a place offering Dim Sum, it piqued my interest. Located in the former City Central Palace, Bright Point Fusion is hard to miss with its bright lime green paint. MaryMac was curious as well and joined us for Dim Sum. In fact, Big D dragged 2 more people along which was a good thing, especially for Dim Sum. Entering the place, it seemed like the renovations were a combination of the old and the new with mismatch light fixtures and chairs. I'm pretty sure there was a great deal on lime paint as well somewhere... No matter, decor is one thing, but food is another. It was obvious this was a family run operation since we were greeted by the son who was taking care of a baby. We were presented with a menu and a sticky note pad to make our selections. At first, I was concerned that our order might be confusing since we were marking down numbers of the items as well as the number for the amount of each. In fact, it did end up confusing our server as one of our dishes was reversed (rather than 2 of item 1, we got 2 of item 2, not sure how that occurred though). Anyways, we started with the Fried Squid and boy was it drenched in oil. We were one of the first customers there and I can only assume the oil wasn't hot enough yet. It was really too bad since the squid had a nice flavour - good balance of saltiness and a touch of spice. Now onto what I would categorize as one of the worst things I've ever attempted to eat was the Seafood Salad Spring Roll. The name on the menu was misleading as it said "Seafood Spring Roll". Rather, it was a salad roll consisting of canned fruit, mayo and barely any seafood. The roll was a greasy, oil-logged mess. When we bit into it, the melted mayo leaked out. With only canned fruit in the middle, this was not appetizing at all. Thankfully, the Pan-Fried Daikon Radish Cake was decent. It was on the stiffer side, but not terribly so. Good daikon flavour with intermittent pieces of Chinese sausage strewn throughout. It was fried up nicely and wasn't greasy at all. Now for the dish we didn't order but got 2 of - the Scallop Dumpling. These were alright I guess. The filling was a mix of shrimp of pork which was topped off with scallop. The texture of the filling was bouncy and decently seasoned while the rice flour wrapping was slightly dense. Probably one of the better items of the meal was the Sui Mai (shrimp & pork dumpling). I found the pork to have a good bounce texture which was easy to chew while not completely mushy either. The shrimp inside was okay, it could've had a better snap. Taste-wise, it was on the "porkier" side. Not that it was a bad thing though. Another decent offering was the Black Bean Spareribs. Most of the pieces were of the actual rib variety with little fat and cartilage. These were more chewy than tender, but it wasn't hard to eat though. As evidenced in the picture, there was plenty of black bean and some red chilis as well which added some kick. Now, typically, I am not a proponent of ordering a Shanghainese dish in a Cantonese restaurant. It never seems to turn out right. This is especially true for Xiao Long Bao. As simple as it appears, to make a good one, it takes lots of skill. I think the only non- Shanghainese joint that makes a decent one is Dinesty. So we were not expecting much out of the ones offered here. The skin was predictably thick and the amount of broth inside meager. However, I would say that it wasn't terrible. In fact, the meat filling was pretty acceptable and the flavour was pleasant. And of course I was not even attempting to compare it to an actual XLB from a Shanghainese restaurant. With an overly thick oyster-based sauce, the Bean Curd Skin Rolls, much like the other dishes, were okay. They were a bit scrawny with little in the way of pork filling. The textures were alright though. I didn't find the pork gritty nor the bean curd skin too tough. The sauce, however, was a bit off-putting since it was goopy and actually slid off the roll itself. Lastly, we waited for our original order of Haw Gow, which was left off the bill due to the do-it-yourself-blank-sticky-note ordering system. I'm pretty sure they rushed the order because the centre of the shrimp filling was slightly undercooked. I'm sorry but there is no other way to describe these other than they were not very good. The dumpling skin was doughy had no elasticity whatsoever. Furthermore, the shrimp filling was mushy with no snap, bounce or real texture. At the very least, it tasted okay though. Just to cover all the bases here, I do realize these were slightly undercooked, but the shrimp filling itself was lacking in whole pieces of shrimp which would explain the texture as well. Okay, I'm really torn on this one. First, the restaurant is run by a very friendly family which are only out there to make a living. So by totally trashing the place in this post would be rather tasteless. Furthermore, I really don't want to offend the person who tweeted me the recommendation. However, the bottom line is the food was pretty mediocre at best. Considering most of the dishes are only $2.75, it tempers one's expectations and makes it more acceptable. Also, the fact there is no real good Dim Sum around in the area might help its cause. Yet, for me personally, I'm probably not their target customer. The Good: - Super cheap - Friendly proprietors The Bad: - Dim Sum is below-average - Decor is interesting

"Gangster shot at the Sheraton Wall Centre" was the headline in the newspaper. Oh that's just great. One day later, we were supposed to attend a conference there. Well, I guess after that, it would probably be the safest hotel out there due to the attention it received. I knew one thing was for sure: we weren't going to eat at the hotel restaurant! Despite this, I heard the food is to die for... Sorry, bad joke. Where we did end up eating lunch, which was The Famous Warehouse, should've been a crime within itself. Everything on the menu is only $4.95. Seems like an unreal steal of a deal eh? Makes you think of the Ikea commercial where the lady thinks she got something cheaper than it really was. "Start the car!" The most popular item it seems is their burgers, so there was no choice to what I would order despite 2 other burgers at the table (apparently they weren't going to share!). I chose the Mushroom Jack Burger consisting of premium Alberta beef, tomato, lettuce, pickle, sauteed mushrooms, gravy, macho sauce and Monterey jack on a brioche bun. Considering the price, this was a decent burger. I found the beef rather juicy for being cooked all-the-way-through. It was nicely seasoned as well. I liked how they didn't skimp on the ingredients despite the low cost. Hence, it was a solid burger that had good textures and flavours. Only thing I would've liked was a more moist bun. Seeing how everyone was already having their peppered fries, I substituted mine for the Warehouse Poutine. Unfortunately, mine was a little bit cold by the time it arrived. For a non-traditional poutine (see the cheese), it was okay. The gravy had enough flavour while the fries were a touch limp. I think if they omitted the pepper, the poutine would've been better since that is all I could taste. Ma had the Mama T's Crunchy Mac 'n Cheese (is that ironic?). Boy this was a large portion for the price (notice the trend?). Arriving with 2 large pieces of focaccia, this was a concoction of cheddar, mozzarella, alfredo, cornflakes, thyme and a Parmesan crust. This was decently cheesy with a nice contrast of textures. Once again, not bad for $4.95! Another item at the table was the Crispy Chicken Caesar Wrap. This was stuffed with fried chicken strips, crisp romaine, maple bacon, Parmesan cheese within a red tortilla. Although a wrap is hardly something to rave about, it was indeed solid. The chicken was moist and crispy at the same time while there was just enough dressing. Didn't hurt that there was crispy bacon either. All of us were pretty satisfied with our meals and that was not taking into account of the cost either. Of course when you start adding extras and ordering booze, the price starts to climb. Yet, if you stay conservative, eating at the Famous Warehouse could cost you about the same as going to McD's. The Good: - Cheap (everything is $4.95) - Food is more than acceptable (even when not looking at the prices) - The service we got was good The Bad: - If you start adding extras or like to booze it up, it is no longer that cheap

My cousin Sal from San Francisco has all grown up. She's about to be married! With the limited amount of time and logistics, Viv and I booked our flights for San Francisco sans nous enfants. That's right, we ain't bringing the kids for the wedding. That means more sleep and more eats! So, possibly disappointed in not seeing her nephew since he was one and not ever even meeting her niece, Sal decided to take a short trip into Seattle and then drive up to meet us for lunch. Wow, that's dedication. Naturally, she had to pick the coldest week so far to visit. Lovely. At least she gets to see snow. For some odd reason, she and her fiance did not have any desire for Asian food (despite the obvious places to eat around here). Therefore, I thought long and hard about a place to eat at that had good food and something touristy. I briefly considered Salmon House on the Hill since it holds a place in my heart (not the food, but the restaurant itself). You see, my uncle worked there in the 80's and we would frequent the place quite often. Moreover, that was where Viv and I had our first date as well. Sentimental, good view, yet not necessarily great food (decent, but not great). Then I remembered Fraiche which had an even better view and supposedly better food. Keep in mind, we went for brunch and that is only a partial sample of their eats. But then again, the view is so spectacular during a sunny day... So Sal decided to start with the Caesar Salad, which was lightly dressed. So much so, she thought they had forgotten the dressing. This was to her liking though since she doesn't like her salad slathered with too much moisture. The crunchy lardons added the much needed saltiness to the crisp romaine. Originally, we were both seduced by the mention of a Squash and Lobster Bisque, however, there was some miscommunication and it was in fact, unavailable. Scrambling to find a replacement, I merely rattled off the first thing I could remember from the menu being the Arugula Salad. Imagine how I felt when my main had the same salad as a side... Doh! At the very least, the actual salad had thin slices of apple underneath, some frisee and a Parmesan crisp on top. The salad was quite refreshing and light. The apples provided some sweetness to balance the bitterness and peppery notes. As for my main, I had the Chorizo and Leek Omelet. There was a bounty of mild chorizo spilling out of the fluffy omelet. The leeks and carrots were still slightly firm, which added a nice crunch, as well as a pleasant rawness. I loved the fried cubed potatoes. They were super crisp and I suspect they fried it twice. My dad had the Smoked Salmon Benny which was served with the same potatoes and the same arugula salad. Not a negative by any stretch of the imagination. Just pointing out the arugula... I guess I shouldn't have ordered the salad! So as you can readily see in the picture, the free-range eggs were perfectly runny and aesthetically-pleasing. The English muffin was toasted nicely crispy which held up to the egg yolk and Hollandaise. And about that Hollandaise... It was very good. Good consistency and well-balanced with a nice hit of lemon while still buttery enough. For my mom, she went for the meat (like she always does) in the Steak and Eggs. This was prepared a bit differently than typical versions. Rather than scramble eggs, the grilled flat iron steak was topped with 2 fried eggs and a demi-glace. The steak was prepared a perfect medium-rare and was quite flavourful. Getting a bite of each component made for a tasty eat. Sal ended up with the Lobster Quiche which yes, came with the same arugula salad. Argh. Why did I order a whole plate of it??? The slice of quiche was a fairly healthy portion that she struggled to finish. It was quite heavy with lots of lobster essence as well as chucks of meat. It wasn't the fluffiest of quiches, yet it wasn't incredibly dense either. The crust was buttery and flaky. Her fiance decided to go for the Pemberton Beef Burger with caramelized onions, house smoked bacon, aged cheddar and fries. The fries were crispy and appeared to be double-fried. The burger itself was not bad, but the beef was not exactly juicy. It probably had something to do with it being cooked all-the-way through. He never had the choice to have it done any other way (probably not ground to order). In the end, he still liked it. With everyone practically covering most of the brunch menu, Viv was left not many other choices. Hence, she opted for the Grilled Chicken Sandwich. In addition to the crisp lettuce and tomato, there was a spread of truffle mayo on the crunchy bread. This was actually quite strong and added a good amount of flavour to an otherwise mild piece of chicken breast. It was, however, grilled nicely and remained moist and tender. Lastly, for the kiddies, they shared an order of the Brioche French Toast served with maple syrup, Chantilly cream and fresh berries. If you are wondering where all these accompaniments are in the picture, they were served on the side since my son only likes syrup. As for my daughter, she had everything. I swiped a piece of the French toast from my son and I don't think he even noticed. He's so disinterested in food, I often wonder if any of my genes are in him! As for the toast, it was pillowy soft an there was just enough egg soaked in. I personally loved the egg-on-egg thing going on. As we were finishing up, everyone soaked in the sunshine (which has been a rarity) and the gorgeous view. In terms of the food, it was solid, particularly for a brunch. If I had to compare, it probably comes out ahead to Salmon House on the Hill in terms of food and view (since it is higher up), yet it comes at a higher price point as well. The Good: - Outstanding view - Food (brunch in this case) is above-average - Service is attentive The Bad: - Solid experience, but it comes at a cost