{"id":8705,"date":"2016-08-06T00:17:49","date_gmt":"2016-08-06T08:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/?p=8705"},"modified":"2016-10-05T13:52:51","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T21:52:51","slug":"tasting-chopstick-fest-2016-lu-charcoal-grill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/tasting-chopstick-fest-2016-lu-charcoal-grill\/","title":{"rendered":"A Taste of Chopstick Fest 2016 – Lu Charcoal Grill"},"content":{"rendered":"

On behalf of Vancouver Foodie Pulse<\/a>, I was invited to the media tasting at Lu Charcoal Grill<\/strong>, a participating restaurant in Chopstick Fest 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After chatting with the owner, a Tianjin native from Northern China, I was quite fascinated by the concept of this place. Inspired by Japanese Yakitori-ya and izakaya and adopted widely\u00a0over\u00a0Northern China, this form\u00a0of gastropubs has become rather popular. ‘Lu’ in Chinese is the motion of pulling off food from the skewer, so it’s considered a great way\u00a0to hang out with\u00a0friends or co-workers over ‘pulling’, drinking and enjoying themselves after work or on a weekend evening.<\/p>\n

\"Lu<\/a>
Lu Charcoal Grill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The interiors of Lu are pretty similar to a typical\u00a0izakaya joint but with the owner’s personal touches. \u00a0 A lot of decorative objects are related to soccer. Soccer is the most watched sport in China and it seems like owner is a big fan. I can imageine the whole\u00a0place would be more\u00a0packed when some\u00a0important international soccer game\u00a0is on their\u00a0big-screen TV’s on the walls<\/p>\n

\"Lu<\/a>
Lu Charcoal Grill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lu<\/a>
Lu Charcoal Grill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Naturally the skewers are the most common items for the\u00a0‘Lu’ fun. The popular choices are chicken, pork belly and shrimp on skewers.<\/p>\n

\"pork<\/a>
pork belly and chicken skewers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"shrimps<\/a>
shrimp on skewers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They also have some unique items such as this chicken wing skewers, on which the chicken wings are de-boned and stretched out like butterflies.<\/p>\n

\"Lu<\/a>
Lu Charcoal Grill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you like spicy food, they offer fish balls, tofu and squid on skewers dipped in a big pot of Sichuan peppercorn sauce, steaming\u00a0hot and spicy.<\/p>\n

\"skewers<\/a>
skewers in sichuan spicy hot pot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0roasted corn on skewers just reminds me the food vendors at\u00a0the PNE fair.<\/p>\n

\"roasted<\/a>
roasted corn on sticks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I also find mantou, or white bao bun on skewers quite interesting. The buns are coated with a sweet and savoury sauce and a layer of pork floss. Visually they look like chocolate coated ice cream bars.<\/p>\n

\"grilled<\/a>
grilled bao bun with Rousong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For booze, we were served a\u00a0double distilled spirit similar to vodka called Er Guo Tou, which is 42% in alcohol and is supposed be consumed straight from the bottle. I found the liquor had an intense flavour at first but it definitely went down a lot smoother as I was slowly sipping it.<\/p>\n

\"er<\/a>
er guo tou – double distilled sprit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They also offer cold dishes that make great snacks for drinking. Such as marinated cucumber, blanched peanuts seasoned with salt and 5 spices, and chilled shrimp with garlic.<\/p>\n

\"chilled<\/a>
chilled shrimps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was happy to see they served the Green Onion Crepes, one of my favourite Norther Chinese specialties. And I was informed that they served Tianjin style breakfast in the morning such as the Special Tofu Soup and the Donut Wrapped in Crepe.<\/p>\n

\"green<\/a>
green onion crepe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I really enjoy\u00a0the geniality and humbleness of Lu Charcoal Grill, which offers an\u00a0authentic pub experience in northern China. And I’m looking forward to more unique Chinese culture and \u00a0culinary experience brought by the very first\u00a0Chopstick Fest in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.<\/p>\n

* All food and beverages in this review were complimentary. Opinions are on the reviewer\u2019s own. *<\/p>\n

For more info about Chopstick Fest 2016…<\/a><\/p>\n

Facebook:<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Lu-Charcoal-Grill-in-Richmond-BC\/215099345558263<\/a><\/p>\n

More reviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Lu<\/a><\/p>\n

Location:<\/strong><\/p>\n