604 Joyee's Fave: Texas Smoke BBQ (Langley)

If you have been following me for a while, you probably have noticed a few things from my posts:

1. I eat a lot of Persian food (I like it so much that one of my followers ended up asking our mutual friend if I'm Persian)

2. I love Southern BBQ's

3. and I am extremely fond of Northern Chinese food

So when I saw their instagram post from Texas Smoke BBQ, I knew I had to go there and try it out.

Strategically, I planned my day around Langley area yesterday so I could visit their food truck.

Everything about this food truck just made me so happy - the smoke emitting from their smoker, the pitmaster dividing up the brisket, and the country music playing in the background. As I was waiting in line, I went up to the pitmaster, who I later learned his name was Nathan, and he threw me a tiny sample. I ate it as if Covid didn't exist, and it was super tender!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/20e9c4_9eb7af3ca47b47c893f284373d5be09a/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

I told him that I drove all the way here to try out their BBQ and I've gone around different places trying out Southern BBQs in the lower mainland. As I was making conversations with Nathan, I learned that everything was pretty much sold out already. I wanted to cry. I wanted their pulled pork but it was sold out. I wanted cornbread and it was also all sold out. That really says a lot when you're in a remote area and everything's sold out so quickly. At least they still have some briskets! The cashier advised me to come early next time as they quickly sell out everything on a daily basis. I arrived at 4:30 and their closing hour is 5, and she recommended that I should come before 2 pm next time. As I was pulling out my credit card to pay, another worker there, which I later learned his name was Shane, threw in some BBQ sausages into my box and said, "here are some sausages for you to try".

"Why, that's so kind of you guys!"

There are also some picnic tables and benches in the area and being a food enthusiast, I just couldn't wait to try it out. As I was settling down, Shane walked over and put down another box onto my table and said, "Here's our secret stash for you. There's some pulled pork and some brisket burnt ends."

I wanted to cry in joy. "God bless you!"

Anyway, let's talk about food (the whole reason why I was there). Meat tastes best when you put in the time to cook it slowly under low heat. I don't know the science behind it, but from experience, this slow cooking process increases the flavour and makes it extra tender. Bottom line, patience is the key.

Now of course, the cut of meat is also important. If there's not enough fat on the meat, no matter how long you cook it for, it will still end up being dry. One of the reason why I love Southern BBQ is because it really challenges the culinary skills of a pitmaster, and the end product displays it so honestly. Even if you drench it with BBQ sauce in an attempt to "moisten" a piece of dry meat, you still can't get away from it. Now I don't know a whole lot about the art and science behind Southern BBQ, but it's something I want to eventually learn from my friend. For now, I'm just giving you my review as a picky eater. Here are my thoughts on their BBQ meats & salad:

• The Beef Brisket - (a.) It's tender and it's juicy mainly because it has the perfect amount of fat on it, but it doesn't leave your mouth greasy (b.) they have smoked it long enough and has this really smokey flavour to it. I can tell you that they didn't use liquid smoke! (c.) they've added enough salt to it to bring out the brisket flavour. (d.) it's seasoned well and I didn't even need to add BBQ sauce to it. It tastes so good as is!!!!! The meat itself has a rich meatiness flavour and combined with the smokiness and the perfect seasoning made this an amazing BBQ brisket.

• The Brisket Burnt Ends - this is my first time trying brisket burnt ends, and I was excited because I know most people favor the burnt ends since it's crispier and more flavourful from the char. However, I prefer the regular beef briskets because it's more tender. In terms of the crispiness, I can't tell the difference between the two, but regardless, it's still soft and delicious.

• Sausage - (a.) They're smokey and succulent (b.) when you bite through the crispy skin, it bursts out flavourful juice that doesn't leave you thirsty afterward. (c.) I also like that it's not too salty

• Pulled Pork - this is my favorite. (a.) I think they've used Pork butt for their pulled pork, which has a higher fat content that would result in a tender cut of meat with lots of juice melted from the fat through the slow cooking process (b.) I liked that it wasn't greasy either (c.) it's really tender and it just slides down your throat. It doesn't exactly melt in your mouth, but if it does melt in your mouth, it would mean it's super fatty, greasy, and leave you super filling afterward. So it's just perfect.

• Coleslaw - I don't have a lot to say about salads cause it's a salad. But my two cents is that (a.) it could be just a teeny bit tangier. (b.) I like that it's not drenched in salad dressing so it's healthier.

Now I've been to a few renowned Southern BBQ restaurants in the lower mainland including: Smokes and Bones from North Vancouver, Hog Shack from Richmond, Memphis Blue in Downtown, and Porkmafia from Delta (which is another BBQ food truck). My favorite is Smokes and Bones and then followed by Hog Shack.

Before I give you my conclusion, I just want to emphasize that this is NOT a sponsored post.

See my receipt for payment proof. But yah, I believe this is my new favorite now. I will go back to try their ribs and cornbread. For now, the best cornbread I've had was from Hog Shack, but I hope that Texas Smoke BBQ could win my heart. I also note that they don't offer smoked beans which is a bummer :(

So stay tuned for my second update, which will be very soon! I already planned on bringing some of my friends to try them out in the next week or two!

P.S - my hair smelled like smoke afterward and that should bother me, but I'm just so happy that they're using real barbeque techniques to cook their meats, which truly reflects what Nathan commented earlier in our conversation, "we don't cut corners."

And one thing they forgot to mention is that the pitmaster has cooked these with love. You can taste it. As I always say, the best ingredient is to cook with love. I can tell that Nathan is passionate about what he does. Did I mention that he quitted his job last year and built his BBQ food truck during COVID? So please, go out there and support these guys if you are out there. It's not easy running a business, especially during COVID season.

📍Location: 23823 72 Avenue, Langley Hours: Thursday to Sunday 12 - 5 PM

💵 Price: $16 - $20 per meal

🤤Taste: 4.9 / 5

🕯Atmosphere: 5 / 5

🪑Seating: 2.5 / 5

📈 Price Performance ratio: 5 / 5

Retention Rate: 200%

ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕤:

🍖 SMOKEY

🍖 Beef brisket: perfect fat to meat ratio = succulent and tender brisket

🍖 pulled pork is my fave - smokey, soft, tender, and flavourful

🍖 Sausage - crispy skin with overflowing juice (that doesn’t leave you thirsty afterward)

🍖 not a fan of country music BUT the country music playing in the background makes you feel like you’re in the countryside! Hence giving it 5/5 for atmosphere. And ofc watching the smoke emitting from the food truck also plays a role

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕤:

🥗 coleslaw could be tangier but who cares about salads 🤷🏻‍♀️ but I do appreciate that it’s not drenched in salad dressing so it’s healthier

💆🏻‍♀️ my hair smells like smoke afterward BUT that’s when you know their stuff is 🅻🅴🅶🅸🆃

🍖 No smoked beans offered 🍖 Sells out quickly

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

🍖𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩

🍖 I came here to try their pulled pork but it was sold out. So was their cornbread. Everything else was sold out other than the brisket which says a lot!

🍖 was nearly in tears but Nathan, the pitmaster, heard I drove all the way here and gave me some extra sausage. When I sat down, Shane walked over and gave me another box and said, “here is our secret stash of pulled pork and brisket end bits” HOW KIND IS THAT?! 😭

🍖 I went to several renowned BBQ restaurants all over the lower mainland and this has just booted smokes and bones from my favorite to 🥈. Now @texassmokebbqtruck is my fave

604: Banh Mi Bar (New Westminster)

Finally, I had a Banh Mi that doesn’t just fill the belly but satisfies me 🥰. Even my friend who’s born and raised in Vietnam gave a thumbs up. The bread had the right crunch and it doesn’t hurt your mouth; the inside is soft and chewy. They are also very generous with the meat and the pate. Apparently, this place also adds the red meat and a special sauce, while most restaurants just add in soy sauce and call it a day. So delicious 💕

Update: Came here again to satisfy the Banh Mi addiction. I'm not sure if the quality has changed because of Covid, or if I've had so many Banh Mis now and I have set a higher standards for my Viet subs. I had to go back to the photos and compare, but clearly they've cut down on the cold cut this time! They also seemed to have cut down on the pate as well *Insert angry face*. With all the cheaping out, I would still say it's still a good Banh Mi but the rank has drastically came down, and now I would prefer Obanhmi and Bonjour Banh Mi for a cold cut Sub.

As for their best seller grilled pork sub, I like that their marinade more than the majority of the Banh Mi bars I've tried, but it still requires a deeper flavour. For that I would prefer Lotus in Richmond over theirs.

Update 2: Okay, I came here for the THIRD time because I really wanted to be wrong about my second review. I even added extra money for extra pate this time and I can confidently say that they have officially cheaped out on all their ingredients. I'm not sure if the add on options are new but if it was, that explains why they have cut down on the filling. They want more $$. If you request for any extra meat, it's $1.50 more. If you want to add extra mayo, pate or sauce, it's an extra $0.50. This time I requested for extra pate, and I would still say that it's still not as good as the first time. I was really impressed with all the extras they had including their house special sauce, generous mayo, thick cuts of meat and meat ball, but now it's like any ordinary cold cut sub with the regulars. The special sauce is missing and they shaved off the cold cut meat.

I think it's fair that I'm demoting their rank now after giving them a few tries, and neither would I make a special trip for their sandwiches. SAD!

You would have been ranked as #1 in my Banh Mi Hunt but now you barely made it to my list.

Let's do a picture comparison for fun:

The left side is my Banh Mi from my first visit, and the right is from the last visit. CAN YOU EVEN SEE THE COLD CUTS FROM THE RIGHT SIDE?! You can see a lot of pate from the right though, but that's cause I added money for it.

📍 Location: New Westminster

💵 Price: $6.75 + tax

Extra meat (+) $1.5

Extra Mayo, sauce or pate (+) $0.50

🤤Taste: Dropped from 4.8 to 4.4 :(

📈 Price Performance ratio: dropped from 4.8 to 4.2 /5

Retention Rate: 100% if in the area

🕯Atmosphere: NA

🪑Seating: NA

604: Duffin's Donuts (Vancouver)

I gotta admit that I came here with a very low expectation due to the poll result from my Instagram Stories. By the way, thank you to all of you who have been participating in all my polls. It's been fun to see the results of everyone's likes and dislikes. Of all the donut shops, Duffin was everyone's least favorite, so I didn't have much expectation of it. However, I feel that as a foodie I should at least check off this place since it's considered as a "Vancouver Special" after all. The shop is quite cute. I felt like I time-traveled back to the '90s. It was also intriguing to see the variety of products they carry - from donuts to fried chicken, fries, hamburgers, sandwiches, onion rings, shakes, and spring rolls... As always, I liked ordering the plain ones because (a.) the simplicity makes it that much harder to hide the flaws, and (b.) it's usually less sweet. Here I ordered a sugar raised, honey dip (a.k.a. the classic - originally glazed?), and what the heck, might as well grab an angel donut (I also wanted to try their coconut cream donut but it was all sold out, but I only wanted to try it because it seemed like it was a popular choice).

Okay, let's cut to the chase. With very little expectation, I was surprised by the outcome. I liked Duffin's a lot more than Lucky's Doughnuts. I thought it would be disgustingly sweet, but it was not. I thought it would be extremely heavy, but it was not. I thought it would be greasy, but it was not... I thought people liked it because it was dirt cheap ($3.60 for three donuts..) I am sorry I judged you Duffin Doughnuts! The donut dough isn't as fluffy as Lee's or Lucky's or Krispy Kreme, but overall, I like how light it is and it has a nice bread chew.

The sugar coated donut reminds me of the Chinese dessert Sugar Egg Puffs (沙翁 / 冰花蛋球). It's like eating an airy breadstick coated with some coarse sugar. The honey dip is pretty much an original glazed donut. It's a lot better than Lucky's in my opinion. At least I could enjoy eating this and didn't feel like I needed to spit it out. Finally, my friend and I really enjoyed the angel's donut. It had the same bread texture as the other two and was filled generously with a light chocolate cream with a pleasant cocoa flavor to taste. The powder sugar coating added a nice touch to it and added a nice vanilla fragrant to the donut, but didn't make it extra sweet. Amongst the three, I like the angel donut the most, which is rare because I normally find filled donuts to be too sweet and prefer the classic donuts. Now I'm extra curious to find out what the coconut cream tastes like.

I think Duffin Doughnuts will be more suitable for those who can't take sweets like me, and for those who have a sweet tooth, you would prefer Lucky's, and Lee's would be the perfect in between.

P.S - I'm not a fan of old-fashioned donuts. They are cakey to me. All my reviews are on yeast donuts.

📍Location: Here

Menu: Here

💵 Price: $1.19 per donut || half dozen $6.50 || one Dozen $12

🤤Taste: 4.2 / 5

🕯Atmosphere: ⭐️

🪑Seating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

📈 Price Performance ratio: 4.9 / 5

Retention Rate: 200%

Menu: Here

ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕤:

• cheap

• not overly sweet

• not heavy or greasy

• lots of variety

• long business hours - 6 am to 12 am
  

ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕤:

• Things sell out quickly

• There's always a line up

• Donut isn't fluffy enough
  

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

• Felt like you walked into time-traveled back to the '90s. The store is super old school. It's retro and nostalgic.

• Sells all kinds of things including donuts, fried chicken, shakes, hamburgers, sandwiches, spring rolls, onion rings, fries, etc.