gracecheung604 | write on time: Pink Peppercorn, and Salmon Wellington

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Pink Peppercorn, and Salmon Wellington

Back when The Cannery closed, I didn't really miss it, since there were so many new restaurants popping up left right and center. However, one night, my mom mentioned that she really wanted good seafood, and The Cannery was the first thing that came to mind. Since the chef is now working at Pink Peppercorn, we decided to give this place a try. Located in East Vancouver along Kingsway, across the White Spot, this is a place that you'd easily miss, if you weren't looking too hard.  IMG-20120831-02601The interior doesn't have the same views that The Cannery did, but they did manage to have a large painting on one wall that mimicked the view Cannery once had. And just as The Cannery did, they offer Lobster Oil and Balsamic with their bread here. The dish had me totally fooled, I really thought there were leafy herbs as part of the dip. The oil is similar to the one you get at Joe Fortes, rich in lobster aroma and flavour.  IMG-20120831-02609We all shared the Mussels to start and these were really good. Plump, juicy and very sweet. What I also liked was that the mussels were still in the shell. At some other places, all the meat has drifted to the bottom, so that every other shell you pick up is hollow. I am not a half-shell full kind of girl. The mussels are topped with some chopped leeks, a flourish of black pepper, after being steamed in a white wine garlic sauce.  IMG-20120831-02602And again, in order to be healthy, we forced ourselves to have a salad, in this case, the Caesar Salad. Perhaps I've been spoiled, but I do cringe when I see the powdered Parmesan that they use here. I really would prefer shaved Parmesan, and I know the cost is higher, but you can use less and get more flavour. Other than that, the salad was fine, not spectacular, but good enough.   IMG-20120831-02605We also tried their Bouillabaisse, which contained mussels as well, but in addition, there were prawns, chunks of white fish and salmon, as well as some rather large scallops. The broth was completely different and had much more flavour than the Steamed Mussels. You could taste the tomato and fennel quite easily. IMG-20120831-02606We also tried the Chef's Creation, which was a Halibut. The portion was quite healthy, and the veggies accompanying it was plentiful as well. The sauce seemed to be a mushroom and red wine reduction and complemented the fish nicely.  IMG-20120831-02608  But the star of the show has to be the Salmon Wellington. Made with local salmon, topped with some baby shrimp & a mushroom duxelle (minced mushrooms), and then all wrapped in a puff pastry and baked until golden and crispy. You get your own Pinot Noir sauce on the side, so you can pour on as much or as little as you want. The edges of the pastry might seem a bit thick, but I think this ensures that the moisture stays inside the package, where it belongs. We cut the crusts off and went straight for the salmon, which was really moist and juicy. And we found the Pinot Noir sauce great for dipping crusts into, after we inhaled the salmon.
Take Note:

  • It doesn't seem as though they have enough servers for the size of the restaurant
  • It's a little dim but if you don't sit by a window, you completely forget you're on Kingsway
  • The plating isn't the most elegant (see the bouillabaisse) 


Pink Peppercorn Seafood House on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:55 PM

    Picky picky. Its great value. Well prepared, alwyas perfectly cooked. If you want a view, drive up Cypress and eat a hot dog.

    Really, how bloody spoiled are you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not sure why you are complaining, anonymous(ly). Considering I said I didn't mind the view, and the I loved the salmon. Oh, and I do eat hot dogs, Japadog.

      Delete
  2. This sounds lovely and really tasty. Thank you for sharing this.

    Simon

    ReplyDelete

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