shokutsu / Beef

Lately, I’m finding the soup to be off somehow, much more watery and with a greater incorporation of oil for some reason. It used to have a bolder, beefier flavour that I enjoyed but no longer. Not sure if things have changed in the kitchen or if this was an off-batch or not. In contrast the fresh fragrance coming from the cilantro seemed to be boosted up though.

Safari has 16 varieties on their menu list, including some staples like steak & kidney, pepper steak, steak & mushroom, and some curry ones! A pair of sausage rolls (pork, beef) also rounded out their list.

Horribly cliche, but this crispy and skinnier cut rendition is quite tasty!

Beef and plenty of green veg to go around, and the quantity was perfect for a single serving, not too miniscule that you’d leave still feeling hungry, but not too much to the point where you’d felt like you’d gorged yourself. The soup and steamed egg custard were quite neutral in taste, giving an overall balance to the food on hand.

A standout for this Taiwanese dish in the Greater Vancouver Area. Rich beef broth and generous chunks of beef.

This classic French dish is essentially a stew that calls for braised beef, carrots, mushrooms, pearl onions and garlic. Mashed potatoes, rice or noodles are secondary to the stew. Once my meal arrived I immediately noticed the generous portion of mashed potatoes topped with the beef bourguignon. In my opinion, the key factor that makes or breaks a bowl of stew is the braised beef. It should be moist, tender and be barely holding itself together. Frankly, the beef was just cooked not braised, making for some tough pieces of meat. The pearl onions lacked any good caramelization and much like the beef, the carrots were undercooked. On the bright side, the mashed potatoes were excellent, but unfortunately, I wanted Beef Bourguignon.

The sweet and savory flavors coming from the chewy meat and the accompanying dip of garlic infused oil, reminded me of why I love street food from this part of the world. With just the right amount of charbroiled parts as well, the smoky properties added to the richness of the overall taste.

As expected, a strong, rich beefy broth topped with generous chunks of brisket, finely diced green onion, cilantro, as well as long stalks of bok choy.

This was not bad, not overcooked, three big strips and the flavoring was acceptable, but not great.

The soup was a deep rich color, flavorful, with obvious tints of cilantro and what seemed to be a picked cabbage of some sort, finely chopped.