EBO Restaurant (The Delta Burnaby) – Brunch Buffet Menu

Restaurant: EBO Restaurant at The Delta Burnaby
Cuisine: West Coast/Pacific Northwest/European/American
Last Visited: March 11, 2012
Location: Burnaby, BC (Burnaby Central)
Address: 4331 Dominion Street
Bus: SB Willingdon Av FS Canada Way
Price Range: $30-50

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 3.5 for brunch, 5 for dinner
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Executive Chef Daniel Craig
• Fresh, local ingredients
• Seasonal menu
• Fit for foodies
• Fit for special occasions
• Lounge/Restaurant
• Intimate/Sophisticated
• Wine bar
• Ocean Wise
• Price fixe menu
• Private room available
• Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/Dinner
• EBO Restaurant – Visit 2
• EBO Restaurant – Visit 1

**Recommendations: 7 oz Double Smoked Wrapped Bison Tenderloin Bacon, Beet Root & Goat’s Cheese Salad, Albacore Tuna, Scallop & Short Rib and EBO Chocolate P Nut Butter Bar.

As a local in Vancouver, BC, a buffet at a hotel isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when planning a weekend brunch. I’ve tried a few in the city, but generally I think most people consider it more of a “tourist” activity. However when I was invited to brunch at the EBO Restaurant located at The Delta Burnaby Hotel, I was actually looking forward to it. Part of the reason is because I’m a fan of the Executive Chef Dan Craig, who is quite famed in the Canadian culinary competition level of chefs. Not only has he placed and won many of them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was already preparing for the most prestigious culinary competition in the world Bocuse d’Or. It’s literally the culinary Olympics which you have to be selected for, and I really foresee it happening for him.

Anyways, back to brunch. Another thing I’m not too enthusiastic about is buffets, unless I’m traveling. I’m not referring to the Sizzlers, Uncle Willy’s or the buffet chains throughout the US, but the really extravagant ones like The Lemon Garden Cafe in Malaysia or even some of the ones in Las Vegas are nice. It doesn’t have to be necessarily “extravagant”, but it’s nice to have it unique and it’s challenging to do buffets well. I’m not comparing the buffets in Vancouver to the ones around the world, but just saying that it’s not usually something I’ll opt for first.

I just rather order a la carte because I don’t find buffets really showcase what a restaurant can really do. Buffets are generally a bit “mass produced” and I question how fresh the food is, but they’re fun once in a while. On the other hand, at EBO, the food was fresh and from what I observed they were rotating it often enough that nothing was really sitting under the heat lamp or coming down to room temperature.

I was pretty impressed with their selection which included the standard American breakfast items, a decent amount of hot and cold seafood, a gourmet rotisserie meats section and some house made Asian cuisine all made with local and sustainable ingredients. The desserts were also home made and they featured a kids section and gluten free options too, so they really covered almost everything and it was breakfast, lunch and dinner in one.

For $30.95/person I found their Sunday Brunch actually quite reasonable for what was offered. If I’m just looking at the food, then I probably prefer Pan Pacifica in downtown, but that one is $50 which is quite steep. In Burnaby the other option is Reflections at the Hilton Hotel, and although pretty good it doesn’t have as much selection or as grande of a spread.

Personally I was more impressed with EBO’s a la carte dinner menu, and I don’t think the Sunday Brunch shows you what talent their award winning young chef really has. However, if you’re not intensely focused on food alone and are looking for a nice spot to take the family for brunch, then yes, I would recommend this. Not to mention, their special occasion buffet brunches are quite reputable and popular with locals already, but now you just don’t have to wait for a special occasion to go.

Sunday Brunch at EBO Restaurant: 11am-2pm $30.95/person (includes signature EBO Mimosa, children up to 5 years old are complimentary, 6-12 years old half price) The following items will vary according to season and occasion.

On the table:

Breakfast Basket – Chef’s selection of baked breads and rolls with butter, assorted danishes, croissants, breakfast loaves, fruit and fibre muffins, scones and fresh fruit including grapes, honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon and pineapple.

Salads

• Medley of baby salad leaves, seasonal fresh vegetables, assorted vinaigrette
• Traditional Caesar salad with grana padano and brioche croutons
• Traditional Greek style salad with kalamata olives, feta, red wine and fresh oregano dressing
• Chow mein noodle salad with coconut scented chicken and peppers
• Roma tomato salad, basil pesto, marinated bocconcini, artichokes, balsamic pearls
• Marinated potato salad with lemon and tarragon, roasted red peppers

Assorted Sushi and Maki Rolls with Soya and Pickled Ginger – It’s not a sushi restaurant so it’s not authentic Japanese or sushi restaurant quality which is expected. Regardless, it was fresh and sustainable and nice to have the option.

Platters

• Charcuterie & pates
• Chicken liver pate with brioche buns
• Smoked and cured meats with mustard and cornichons
• Local assorted smoked fish
• Display of domestic and international cheeses with crackers
• Poached prawns with lemon and garlic aioli, classic cocktail sauce

Eggs benedict, house cured back bacon or house smoked salmon, citrus hollandaise

Breakfast Classics

• Grilled farm sausages, smoked bacon
• Scrambled free range eggs
• Designer omelet bar
• Cinnamon and orange French toast with Canadian maple syrup, fruit compote, whipped cream

John’s Fresh Handmade Roti Canai – I have to give a shout out to this roti. I was more than impressed and it really reminded me of the roti they make in Malaysia. The technique, flavour, texture and everything was spot on and I really thought I was back in Malaysia. Chef John was literally putting on the same show and this was my highlight for the whole brunch. The authentic Malaysian way of making roti is comparable to watching people toss pizza dough.

It was flaky, soft, stretchy with a bit of chew, semi crispy and had a nice curry sauce for dipping. They even replaced it every so often so that it stayed fresh. This was the best roti canai I’ve had in Metro Vancouver thus far, and I hate saying “the best” unless I feel really passionately about it.

Entrees

• Carved slow roast beef with mustard and horseradish, Cabernet jus
• Satay chicken sticks with peanut dipping sauce
• Penne pasta with wild mushroom cream, Hazelmere organic leeks and preserved tomatoes
• Assorted dim sum, har gau, siu mai, spring rolls, steamed beef meatballs, deep fried wontons
• Roast baby potatoes with fresh basil, chili and grana padano
• Chef’s selection of local vegetables prepared in the style of the season
• BC salmon with cream sauce
• (Items will vary according to season)

Assorted dim sum, har gau, siu mai, and steamed beef meatballs – It’s not a dim sum restaurant so it’s not “authentic” dim sum, but they’re making it in house. If you’re looking for dim sum specifically, I would suggest going to Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant which is attached to The Delta Burnaby Hotel downstairs. It’s one of the fancier Chinese restaurants in Metro Vancouver, but it’s actually very good.

Carved slow roast beef with mustard and horseradish, Cabernet jus

House Made BBQ Pork – It was Chinese style BBQ pork or “char siu” and they did a pretty good job. The flavour tasted similar to the traditional Chinese version with the soy, sugar or honey and hoisin sauce, but the texture was more like a Western roasted pork tenderloin. It was commendable, quite moist, and on the saucy side which is a bit more Western in style too.

Carved slow roast beef with mustard and horseradish, Cabernet jus and BBQ ribs – It was perfectly medium rare, juicy and tender prime rib, and it was probably my second highlight after the roti canai. The beef ribs were a bit dry, but this for brunch with everything else is quite the steal at $30.95/person. You will be full until dinner or even beyond depending on how hard you go.

Designer omelet omelet bar: free range eggs, smoked ham, shrimp, mushrooms, spring onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and cheese. For me, every good buffet should have an omelet making station so I was happy to see this. Chef John makes the omelets as well as the fresh roti cannai.

Everything Omelet

I was a bit more inspired by some of the other ingredients offered at the buffet so I kind of went off on my own. I shredded the beef ribs, cut up the BBQ pork and prime rib, headed to the cheese bar for some blue cheese, and grabbed some mushrooms from the omelet station and custom made this! It’s a triple meat and blue cheese omelet with mushrooms. This was another highlight for brunch for me.

Desserts – Romeo’s assorted cakes, pies, mousses, macarons, bread pudding, cream puffs, eclairs, cinnamon and coconut custard (vegan, dairy and gluten free options). The desserts were pleasant and a crepe station would have been fun, but this was satisfying enough and at least it was all house made.

Kids Station – Assorted cereals, chicken fingers and fries, mini doughnuts, nanaimo bars and pecan bars, brownie bars

So as I mentioned in the intro, I’m not big on buffets although this one was pretty good. Therefore I ordered off the a la carte menu to see if that would offer up something a bit more to my liking. The options were quite standard and I do think the buffet is what they want to highlight here, so if I was to come again I would just go for the buffet over a la carte, which kind of surprised me.

Crab Cake Benedict – 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)

• 2 poached free range organic eggs, citrus hollandaise, and smoked paprika. Toasted English Muffin, crispy breakfast potatoes $17
• The eggs were actually poached unlike the eggs benedict from the buffet which was executed a bit differently.
• I’ve had amazing crab cakes from their dinner menu before (see here), but these weren’t the same.
• The crab cakes were just a bit overcooked and slightly mushy rather than flaky so I was hoping for more crab like the ones I had for dinner. I thought they would be a bit crispier too.
• The hollandaise was rich and buttery with a nice lemony tang and a good amount of smoky paprika on top, but the English muffin and crab cake just kind of blended together and lost its texture.

For those familiar with my blog – I had to do it. It was perfect. I’m a huge fan of runny egg yolks and this would suit my Egg Yolk Series.

Beef Burger – 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)

• Prime Rib Angus beef patty, roasted onion and mustard relish, Canadian back bacon, aged cheddar, dill pickle, sesame kaiser $13
• A bit substantial for brunch after everything I had already, but I have a substantial appetite.
• The burger was okay, but the patty and bun were slightly dry.
• I kind of wish they used the crispy bacon from the buffet rather than back bacon.
• The patty isn’t offered medium rare and it wouldn’t hurt for it to extend to the edge of the bun.
• I couldn’t really taste the cheese and it was surprisingly on the sweet side and the caramelized roasted onion was apparent.
• If chef wanted to, I bet he could make a killer burger, but I just don’t think it’s the highlight here.
• The fries on the other hand, were fantastic. They were like gourmet McDonald’s fries, but they still tasted great after they went cold – unlike McDonald’s. They were well seasoned, thin, crispy and perfect.
• I’m not sure if the fries were supposed to have Parmesan on them, or if the Parmesan was just garnish, but I would rather have more of it or none of it.

Photos compliments of Sherman.

[geotag]