Tonight the #FoodieFam (our group of OG food writers) converged at the popular Chinese cafe/night spot Myst in Burnaby, to indulge in their new limited release Halloween menu. This features spooky dessert and drinks with pun-ny (intended mis-spell) names and macabre themes.
The following Halloween party menu drinks and dessert items are only available from October 15-31st.
Dracula’s Tomb is an Ovaltine smoothie with chocolate cookie crumbs and a cookie tomb stone. It tastes like a chocolate malted slush that is not too sweet.
Nothing About Kiwi looks ghoulish with its off green hue and murky finish. I believe it is suppose to look like watered down vomit that you don’t mind putting your lips to. This is one of Myst’s signature cocktails with gin, melon liquor, matcha, lime, and chia seeds. It tastes as muddled as it looks. Not something you go back for or order a second of, as the bold and distinct flavours of gin, matcha, and kiwi don’t necessarily jibe. The sweet tang of the kiwi starts and the bitterness of the matcha finishes. Then there are the chia seeds that makes it feel like a health drink, and not an alcoholic beverage you have ordered, especially with the chewing involved.
The Bloodthirsty Rose speaks to its name with a set of gummy teeth bobbing amongst its ice cubes. This is a mocktail of grape, cranberry juice, and sprite; topped dramatically with crushed dried rose petals. It was a lovely berry forward sparkler that fizzed on the tongue.
The “Devil’s Eye” looked like a cyclops squid. With its scoop of vanilla ice cream head, gummy pupil, and sculpted shave ice body that includes tentacle sprawled out in all directions. Milk shaved ice with pearls, strawberry jam, and honey cookie. I liked the gentle sweetness of the milk in this. The blood berry jam and the chewy pearls offered bits of chewing interest to those who wanted it.
The Monster party was a cute one: little creatures in dress up. Matcha and mango gelato ghoulies with witchy hats in an edible setting of pearls, chocolate and Oreo crunch. The eyeball bobbing about was a nice aesthetic touch, we just didn’t get its necessity to the dish, especially as no part of it was edible. Unless it was meant to house liquid nitrogen crystals for a smokey presentation, that we did not get? Nonetheless this all still made for a great sundae of sorts.
And since we were already here and hungry we decided to have dinner too. Ordering what we fondly referred to as Myst’s greatest hits. You can make that list without their Beef Noodle Soup. Always consistent and delicious. Warming beef broth with tender chunks of meat, fresh greens, and chewy slurp-worthy noodles. I have never dine with Myst without having a bowl of this.
I like Myst’s Stinky tofu, not stinky to me, you do get plenty of its fermented flavour in this. You taste it on the onset from the crispy shell, but it is quick to fade by the time you reach the tofu’s softened core. Here, I found myself being greedy with the side of chunky chilli, although did not find it all that spicy.
We had it during our last visit and I found it a lot more enjoyable today. This version of the Hakka style pork knuckles were a lot more meatier with a lot more meat and a thicker layer of chewy skin and fat. Wonderful for the mouth when dipped into the sauce on the side.
The Stir fried E-Fu noodles with soy braised abalone was a great filler with an enjoyable chew to get through. This was plenty tasty as is with the flavour of the abalone coming through and 4 whole molluscs to share crowning the order. It also served as a nice base for bites of the above and the below.
The Three cup chicken was described as boneless chicken with mixed items. Prepared with cooking wine, the sharp tannins of this came through in every morsel of chicken. They easily popped in your mouth to allow your teeth and tongue to pull meat from bone and spit out the hard bits.
The Stir-fried clam in three spices sauce was salty and incredibly tasty. It was just a shame, and inevitable that a few of them included grains of sand.
I really liked the Japanese hand cut noodles. They reminded me of Chinese-style flat rice noodles in flavour and wok fry, but with the addition of very tender beef, a deep fried egg; and a coarser, thicker ruggedly-cut noodle. I will definitely be craving this and ordering it again.
The showstopper in this meal was the Unagi on Taiwanese sticky rice. Served in a steamer than has a reveal moment at the table. This has tender, sticky and slightly sweet slices of eel. It is not unlike what you get can at Japanese restaurants with a creamy skin and flesh that melts under the pressure of your teeth and tongue. There are only a few slices that top this, but there is plenty of salty dried shrimp and julienne chicken bits that are mixed in with the rice to flavour it.
And the weather calls for this sesame oil chicken hot pot set. The pot with its boiled ingredients are kept warm at the table with a lit flame. It is accompanied by 2 sides and a bowl of noodles to have in conjunction. Chicken, tofu, pork blood rice cake, Taiwanese cabbage, ginger and wolf berry. The soup is fragrant with the warming sesame, it soothes all the way going down with the comfort that only a homemade bone broth soup can provide. Delicious.
Myst continues to be a great restaurant worth travelling for and a fine addition to the neighbourhood. With such an extensive menu there is something for everyone and you can return day after day and find something new and different to try. This won’t be my last visit here.
Myst Asian Fusion
6400 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5E 1C5, Canada
+1 604-364-6400
myst6400.com
