Newly opened in South Burnaby is Myst Asian Fusion, a restaurant serving an extensive menu of Asian dishes from breakfast till late. Located at 6400 Kingsway, Myst is a spacious, 90-seat restaurant with an inviting, contemporary ambiance at reasonable prices. I was invited by Chinesebites.com to try out their menu last week. Here is a look at 24 dishes and several beverages that they offer.
Disclosure: All food and drinks in this review were complimentary. Opinions are my own.
Modern Atmosphere
I quite enjoyed Myst’s modern interior design featuring light wood and beige tones. There is a larger main dining area and a semi-private VIP room. I like the cozy banquettes and booths which seem to offer a bit of a more intimate dining experience. I was also impressed with Myst’s commitment to being family-friendly as I noticed high chairs as well as a dedicated family bathroom with changing table.
For late night, the restaurant transforms to a more chic and lounge-type of environment with blue and purple-toned lighting.
Myst Menu
The menu at Myst is extensive and essentially comes as a thick, modern binder. You can download their menu from their website here. Breakfast options include Western and Chinese style sets, sandwiches, toasts, omelette, soups, congee and more. For lunch and later, there are fusion stir-fried items, congee, hot pot, soups, dim sums, hot iron sizzling plates, rice combos, noodles, rice dishes and more. Beverage options run the gamut of bubble tea, slushes, smoothies, butterfly pea flower, fresh fruit with many customizable options for sugar level, ice level, and toppings. Also available are wine and imported beer. Dessert choices are aplenty with shaved ice, ginger sweet tofu, speciality desserts, thick toasts and so forth. Their menu spans quite a range and Myst seems like the kind of place where there is something for everyone whether for a full meal, snacks, drinks or dessert.
There is a minimum charge of $4.25 per person and they accept cash and debit card only. Sorry folks, no credit card.
What We Tried
Our tasting menu included the following:
- Beverages
- Green apple flavoured slush ($5.50)
- Passionfruit butterfly pea flower ($5.50)
- Calpis butterfly pea flower ($5.50)
- Potted milk tea ($5.75)
- Mousse green tea ($4.75)
- Uchikinoki ice cream smoothie ($6.50)
- Skewers
- Pork intestine ($2.25/each)
- Lamb ($2.25/each)
- Pork ($2.25/each)
- Chicken ($2.25/each)
- Fish cake ($3.50/each)
- Chicken gizzard ($2.25/each)
- Delicious sandwiches ($7.50)
- Assorted deep fried basket ($18.95)
- Deep fried ginger flavour chicken whole wings ($6.95/3pcs)
- Japanese takoyaki ($6.95)
- Marinated 3 item combo (seaweed, dried tofu, pork ear string) ($15.85)
- MYST beef noodle soup (shank, tripe, tendon) ($12.95)
- TaiNan style egg noodle soup ($9.50)
- Preserved cabbage with shredded pork fried rice cake ($10.95)
- Taiwanese style fried rice vermicelli ($11.50)
- MYST deluxe marinated pork with rice ($11.95)
- Japanese style egg fried rice ($11.50)
- House special spicy lamb hot pot ($13.50)
- Beef cake roll ($7.50)
- Steamed sticky rice dumplings ($7.95)
- Chives & shrimp spring rolls ($7.95)
- Chives, shrimp & pork dumplings ($8.50)
- Fried chicken in chili pepper ($14.95, large)
- Golden prawns with salted egg yolk ($16.95, large)
- Fried green beans with minced pork ($13.95, large)
- Shaved snowflake (mango, strawberry) ($10.95/each)
- Hakka style sweet rice cake ($5.25/3pcs)
- MYST taiyaki ($5.75)
- MYST jelly ($1.95)
Beverages
Starting off with beverages, there was the Instagram-worthy green apple flavoured slush. Great presentation but you’ll have to snap your photo quickly as the nature of the slush is just not meant to last. It survived enough time for pictures to be taken before it collapsed. I tasted it and it had a decent green apple flavour with a smooth icy texture.
Joyce (Vanfoodies.com) and I had butterfly pea flower drinks with passionfruit (right) and calpis (left) flavours. Butterfly pea flower is quite the trendy drink nowadays. In Vancouver, I have tried it at TMix and at Chatime. I didn’t really enjoy the calpis and butterfly pea flower mixure – a little too milky and acidic. I think the passionfruit fruit with butterfly pea flower might have tasted better.
Diana (Foodology.ca) had the potted milk tea with a crush cookie topping (Oreo maybe?) that resembles soil.
Maggi (Vieamaggi.com) had a mousse green tea with a nice, foamy milk layer on top.
Hanson (noshandnibbleblog.com) had a Uchikinoki ice cream smoothie.
Food
And now for the food…there are a lot of dishes to talk about!
You don’t need to wait for the night market to indulge in some tasty skewers. Myst has quite a range of protein available including chicken, pork, pork intestine, lamb, fish cake and chicken gizzard. The meat were generally tender, flavourful and grilled nicely. The lamb is a solid choice while the fish cake is a tasty second option.
The assorted deep fried basket features a tri-mix of Taiwan sausage, salty peppery chicken and fish cake strips. Seems like a good appetizer to share with others for some deep fried comforting snacks. I liked the chicken which had a nice flavour and was crispy on the outside.
The deep fried ginger flavour chicken whole wings was also had a whole lot of crispy goodness.
Myst’s version of Japanese takoyaki was solid. A little bit sweet and savoury, these deep-fried balls made with minced octopus and tempura scraps were scrumptious. Crispy on the outside with a melt-in-your-mouth filling.
The marinated 3 item combo of seaweed, dried tofu, and pork ear string didn’t really stand out to me. Perhaps good for those who enjoy some marinated delicacies.
I quite enjoyed the MYST beef noodle soup with shank, tripe, and tendon. I found the soup to be hearty and flavourful and the meat to be wonderfully tender.
The preserved cabbage with shredded pork fried rice cake was a light yet flavourful dish. The rice cakes had a nice, chewy texture like a mochi.
The Taiwanese style fried rice vermicelli was solid and would be well-enjoyed with other side dishes.
The MYST deluxe marinated pork with rice, a chef recommended dish, would also go well with other side dishes.
A favorite of the evening was the House special spicy lamb hot pot with tender lamb pieces in a spicy, flavourful broth. Diana enjoyed the broth so much that she took the leftover home.
The beef cake roll was also solid. The pancake was not too greasy, light but still chewy. Nice mix of sweet and savoury flavours and overall very satisfying.
The steamed sticky rice dumplings had a nice thin dumpling wrap with a tasty sticky rice filling.
I enjoyed the crispiness and a decent amount of heat from the fried chicken in chili pepper.
For any die-hard salted egg yolk lovers, the golden prawns with salted egg yolk is one to be enjoyed at Myst. The coating on the outside had a sandy texture but was rich and creamy.
The fried green beans with minced pork was also a solid dish which was tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside. A little sweet and spicy, the beans would go well with rice or noodles.
The chives & shrimp spring rolls had a pleasant, crispy outside texture that was not overly greasy. The chive and shrimp filling was tasty.
Some dishes that I forgot to photograph were Chives, shrimp & pork dumplings, sandwiches, TaiNan style egg noodle soup, and Taiwanese style fried rice vermicelli.
Desserts
Moving on to desserts, our table had the strawberry shaved snowflake which was quite a spectacle from the dry ice. Check out my video below. In terms of taste, I thought it was about average so the presentation was the most memorable for me.
The Hakka style sweet rice cake was the least enjoyed. They were quite aromatic like Chinese herbs and tasted like it as well. In general, it was not well-received.
The MSYST taiyaki came in a waffle bowl with rice balls, matcha ice cream and a wafer stick. Quite a mish-mash of sweet treats in one dish.
Last but not least was the MYST Jelly which had a firmer, gelatinous texture. I thought it was a bit too heavy on the brown sugar side.
Overall Impression
MYST serves up quite an array of Asian dishes and the food in general was above average. My ideal meal for 2 people for dinner would be deep fried ginger flavour chicken whole wings, House special spicy lamb hot pot, golden prawns with salted egg yolk and the MYST taiyaki. That would be $40 for two people before tax and tip. I would rate MYST for food 3.75/5 but marking it up to 4 because I liked their ambiance. Rating: 4/5
Website: www.myst6400.com
Nosh and Nibble
Wednesday 26th of April 2017
I totally missed out on the golden prawns with salted egg yolk :( I'll have to go back soon