gracecheung604

Late dinner at Hamilton Grill

2012-02-27T11:37:00.000-08:00

I checked out Hamilton Street Grill based on recommendations from some of my Twitter friends, such as LRX350 and MissAboutTown. After the #ComedyFest, we headed down to Yaletown to check it out. I was surprised at the place once we walked in. I was expecting a bar-type atmosphere but was pleasantly surprised at the coziness of the place (cloth napkins)! I wasn't expecting that, nor the wine and water glasses on every table, but there they were! We were seated at a table by the window, and not made to feel like a nuisance, even though it was 10:30.
As we were perusing the menu, our server came by to describe the specials of the night. We were there for steak, so even though the specials sounded good, we had red meat on the brain.

We decided to start off with half a dozen oysters, which arrived less than 5 minutes after we ordered them. This made me question how 'freshly shucked' they were, but they were good. However, I was surprised that they came with some greens, but not on ice. I was a little worried as to their freshness, but I really wanted oysters, so threw caution to the wind. One thing that was disappointing was the lack of fresh horseradish, which I really enjoy with oysters. Given the classic setting, I was surprised that no bread was served 'gratuit'. Oh well, guess we'll have to manage without.

We also got the Pork Chop and it was amazing! Juicy, moist and huge! This was one of the best pork chop I've ever had. And the gravy with the bacon? Over the top!

The Pork was really thick...this is a better shot of the thickness!

We were there for steak, so we got their New York Steak, which was described on the menu as Blackened. When the plate arrived, the steak was topped with onion fries, but the steak wasn't really blackened. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, but the flavour was a little mild.

As you can see, the steak was really well-cooked, with a nice char on the outside and red medium center. So although it wasn't a 10 out of 10, I'd give it an 8 with an intent to retry, possibly earlier than 10pm. I thank my twitter followers for introducing me to this place, and I am delighted to have tried it.

Lao Shan Dong - Noodly Goodness

2012-02-26T13:19:00.002-08:00

One cold wet day in December, we decided to try out Cattle Cafe in Burnaby. Unfortunately, the place was jammed packed with a 45 minute wait. We trotted over to Lao Shan Dong instead where the wait was a mere 5 minutes. This place has been around for years yet I never knew of its existence. They serve noodles primarily, but there are some other Taiwanese appetizers offered as well. We didn't try them this time around, but would likely be back to give their marinated stuff (pig ears, tendon or tripe to name a few) a try.

We didn't think just noodles would be enough, since we were pretty hungry. So we ordered a small plate of the Pork And Vegetable Dumplings. These are simply boiled and served without any soup. A small serving gets you 10 for $5 and a large serving of 15 will cost you $7.50. It's plain but they give you soy and vinegar to dip the dumplings in, but I opted for chili oil instead. These dumplings have a great mouth feel with a nice chewy skin and a good meat to wrapper ratio.

We tried their Ground Pork Sauce Noodle, which as you can see, is a non-soup, drier noodle. The ground pork is a little sparse, but the noodles were really good. You can tell these aren't store bought noodles, rather someone in the back is likely making them by hand. It's cooked to a perfect al dente texture and the porousness of the noodles really help it absorb the pork sauce. I just wish there was more of it!

I like a soupy noodle, so I opted for the Braised Beef Flank And Tendon with Noodle In Soup, Spicy, of course! The flank and tendon were quite aplenty here, much better than the pork sauce, I would have to say. Cooked to a nice meaty moistness, these were really well done. I liked the overload of green onions and a pickled mustard greens. It gave the whole dish a fresh and acidity that helps cut through the beef and broth.
Oh, and beware, cash only.

fEASTVAN - Les Faux Bourgeois

2012-02-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

Although Dine Out Vancouver is the more popular Prix Fixe dining bargain in early 2012, another up and coming event is fEASTVan. With participation from East Van restaurants, $1 from every prix fixe dinner sold will go towards the Vancouver Inner City Back Pack Food Program. Great cause with Great Food!

We tried their Assiette de Charcuterie, which features a changing assortment of cured meats, cheese with some dried fruit and nuts. This is one of my favourite ways to start of a meal. Lots of selection and salty flavours. Things like this really whet my appetite.

For our mains, we selected the Canard Confit, which was a duck leg confit, with a load of du Puy lentils. Rounding out the plate were some green beans and a mustard jus. The skin could have been crispier, but the mean inside was nice and tender. Although I've never been a huge fan of lentils, their presence here gave this dish the comfort factor that I didn't expect.

The other main we got was Le Steak Frites, a generous portion of hanger steak with frites. On the side is your choice of a red wine shallot jus or herb butter or green peppercorn cream sauce. We went with the red wine and was really happy we did. The butter or cream sauce would have been too rich for the steak, which was just gently seasoned with salt and pepper. Grilled to a medium rare, they let it rest and then slice it up for your enjoyment. And yes, the portion is really big, and definitely ample for one person. I've come here quite a few times with my parents before and it has slipped my mind over the past few months. But now, I remember and will definitely be back. It's a warm and cozy room and the wait staff really know their stuff.

Dine Out Vancouver - Cobre

2012-02-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to try Cobre for months now, and finally, during #DineOutVancouver, I finally did it! They were ONLY offering their Dine Out menu, and nothing from their regular menu. I found that a bit odd, but that's how they decided to do it.

The first course was Tacos and we got the Pulled Duck and Prawn ones. Each appy comes with four tacos, so yes, definitely a generous portion! O the left is the Pulled Duck, and although I prefer my duck done in the Chinese way, like at Grand Dynasty, this version was pretty good too. They serve theirs with some crackling, scallions and roasted garlic, and the creamy garlic and crunch crackling made for a nice texture. The duck was well seasoned and you get quite a bit in one taco. The Prawn one was nice, but there was too much sauce from the roma tomatoes for my liking, but the horseradish gave this a nice kick. After four tacos, I was already getting full.

For our mains, we both ordered the Grilled BC bison strip loin. Three generous pieces of sliced striploin each topped with some mushrooms and an empanada. The sauce was a lovely mole-based sauce and very fitting with the strip loin.

The empanada was stuffed with a bit of blue cheese and it reminded of a cheese filled dumpling. I really like the play of meat and cheese, so this was really delightful. I found the meat a little tough, but it was well seasoned and cooked to a nice medium rare. Perhaps it's the nature of bison?

Our first dessert was a Tres Leche cake with a bit of lemon ice cream on the side. This cake was quite light despite being soaked in evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. The lemon ice cream was a nice accompaniment, as it served to further "lighten up" the cake

Our second dessert was a Phyllo Pastry with Coconut and Banana cream. This was very delicate in flavour, which was a good thing, since I'm neither a coconut or a banana fan. I much prefer the the Q4 version of Phyllo Dessert, with mascarpone cheese and cherries!
Although I don't agree with the "forced" Dine Out menu, what I tried was good and I'll likely return to try some of their regular menu items.

Lunch with Work at Mosaic

2012-02-23T20:04:00.001-08:00

I work really close to the Hyatt Hotel so on several occasions, we've had some working lunches there. Here is a compilation post of a few visits. Be sure to tell them you're there for a working lunch and they will show to you a larger than usual table, perfect for note-taking and spreading out papers.

One visit in the winter resulted in a comfort food meal of French Onion Soup. It's hearty and cheesy. Not overly salty like some other places. They lose out to The Keg because they just didn't have the cheese that overflows and oozes over the bowl. The cheese was sufficient, but not excessive, which is what I liked.

After having the soup, there was no way I could finish a whole sandwich. Fortunately, my co-worker also got a French Onion Soup, so we decided to split their Club House with bacon, and turkey. As expected, you get some tomatoes, cheese and lettuce. We both opted out of the mayonnaise but requested the garlic fries! Hey, we're healthy...not sadists!

On another even healthier occasion, I decided to get the Cobb Salad. I know it doesn't look very big, but it IS! Loaded with grilled chicken, bacon and egg...it was topped with some avocado, blue cheese and a lemon-dijon dressing. It's good if you're in the mood for healthy...and it's hearty too, I couldn't even finish it!

#VeraceAmore - Love for only $15!

2012-02-22T15:34:00.003-08:00

Verace Pizzeria and Enoteca is launching their #VeraceAmore this week (February 22 - April 22, 2012) in conjunction with VANEATs.ca. I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the menu. You get 4 dishes for $15, there is a little bit of everything. This deal is a limited offer and you can only purchase it via VANEATs.ca. There is also a few chances to win this great package from their site too.

Once we were seated, we were offered a choice of still or sparkling water, both of which are free. We opted for the sparkling...bubbles! I also ordered a class of Sangiovese and noticed that they have a special contraption that sucks the air out of the bottle once it's been opened, so it keeps fresher. It's on the top part above the bar

First of the food to arrive was the Burrata, a scoop of this rich and creamy cheese is a great accompaniment to their Rosemary and Grana Pandano bread. It was a nice way to kick off dinner. The lemon oil and the balsamic took it over the top.

The second dish to arrive was the Salati Assortiti, an ever-changing assortment of cured meats and cheese, vegetables, and marinated olives. On the day I went, we got Genoa Salami, Proscuitto, Brasaola, Fontina and Smoked Mozzarella. We also got some amazing beans, lupini and giacondi. And yes, plenty of olives too! What I really liked about this dish was that everything was room temperature, so that you really got to taste the ingredients. It's the first time I actually enjoyed Fontina...because it was actually creamy!

The pizza the comes with #VeraceAmore is 8" Pizza, 100% handmade. Half of it is their Prosciutto e Rucola, with prosciutto and arugula on top of a tomato sauce with some mozzarella. The other half is their Funghi, made with balsamic onions, assorted mushrooms in a mushroom cream sauce. Both are topped with Grana Padano and EVOO. There was so much arugula I brushed some off and enjoyed as a salad! The proscuitto was plentiful too. I really like mushrooms, so that Funghi was perfect for me...and the balsamic little onions really sets the dish apart.

Not sure if one pizza was enough for the two of us to share, we decided to order another one off the menu. We went with the Srrento ($16.50) with smoked provolone, ham, peppers, fresh basil and the ever present grana padano and EVOO. This was a Biano pizza, so no tomato sauce here. But you really don't miss it, there are so many other flavours going on!

What I enjoyed most about both pizzas is that despite the very thin crust, they don't come out soggy. Oh, and they didn't forget to cut the pizza, that's how they serve it here. Although there is less cheese than you are probably used to, it's under-statedness really lets the toppings sing. They serve all their pizzas with garlic oil, chili oil and chili pepper flakes. And just a heads up, just a few shakes will do ya.

The final dish was the Lemoncello Layer Cake. Two limoncello slightly soaked lady fingers with yummy layers of lemon curd and mascarpone cream, then topped with fresh raspberries. I loved this dessert and could have probably eaten another one. The lady fingers kept their crunchiness and were a great contrast to the filling.

We chatted with our server and he told us that next week, he will start to make gnocchi in-house! Can't wait to return to try!
So if you have been meaning to try Verace but haven't had a chance to, this #VeraceAmore deal for $18 is a great introduction. To learn more, take a look at this 30-second video.

Neapolitan Pizza At Novo

2012-01-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

Many Vancouver-area restaurants are using Twitter to offer promotions and one that really inspired me to try them was NovoPizzeria. We headed there because they were offering free meatballs for following them. It's a small gesture, I agree, but it's incentive. And if it doesn't cost the restaurant too much but can draw people in, I think it's a wise move.

So here are the free meatballs. There were two of us, so we got two. I guessing they give one per person. Makes me wonder what their normal portion would be if you ordered off the menu. But oh well, it's free, and it's good. I liked the marinara sauce and the light sprinkle of parmesan on top. Also part of the meatball were some currants and pine nuts. You can even see a whole one on the lower left.

Knowing that we couldn't have two whole pizzas, we decided to try the Calamari with gremolata, pepperocino, lemon basil aioli. Tossed with diced red onions, the calamari was a perfect mix of tentacles and tubes. A generous squeeze of the lemon heightens the flavour nicely.

We also got the Diavollo, which comes with Hot Capicollo, onions and chilli flakes, and some fresh basil. We didn't think this would satisfy the carnivore in us, so we added some Italian Sausage to the mix. Can you see the nice blistery crust? They serve certified Neapolitan pizzas here, and they bake them in a 900 degree apple wood burning oven. They age the dough for at least 48 hours, which helps it give you this chewy yet crisp crust. They also use a special type of flour, called Caputo "00". Not sure if it's the flour, the aging or the oven, but the mixture of all three results in an excellent pizza!

Smoking dinner at Smoking Dog Bistro

2012-01-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

We checked out Dine Out Vancouver and hit up Smoking Dog Bistro. We actually checked it out on Chinese New Years, avoiding the usual rush at Chinese restaurants. Their 3-course menu was just $28 and had a very interesting bacon dessert.

One of the appetizers offered was the Sliced Flank Steak with Ratatouille. I was pleasantly surprised by the portion, because after all, this was just an appetizer. The steak was done medium rare, with loads of ratatouille. Ratatouille is a toss-up mixture of tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, peppers and flavoured with garlic and onions. It's healthy as it is yummy!

Another of the appetizers we tried was the Grilled Portobello with Mixed Greens, Cherve and Pine Nuts. The mixed greens were a blend of grilled red peppers, beets, arugula, and a shaving of carrots on top. The balsamic reduction was rich and plentiful, so I loved this dish. Not sure how the portobello was prepared, but it kept it's juices and made a nice serving tray for the greens.

If you love, lamb, the you should really try the Braised Lamb Shank. Although not a big fan of polenta, it's not really a large part of the dish, and you've got to have some greens, so the 5/6 haricots verts was just enough. The star of this dish was definitely the lamb. If you fear lamb because it's gamey, you should try this one. The meat was ultra tender and the knife they supply is merely perfunctory. The meat falls off the bone so easily, but it's not mushy. The meat is good and there is a lot of it!

We also tried their Moules Frites, which I don't think was on their Dine Out menu. Using Salt Spring Island mussels, they were steamed with some garlic, lemon butter and a bit of white wine. It did come with Frites, but I missed taking a picture! The portion was generous, about 20+ for the order. The broth was yummy and I'm glad we saved some of the bread so we could soak up every last drop.

Another menu item that we ordered off the Dine Out menu was their Steak Frites. It's supposed to be a Striploin but I think they substituted for a different cut. Not necessarily a cheaper cut, just a different one. Bordelaise sauce is supposed to be made with red wine, marrow and butter. This was a good sauce, I just wish there was more of it. My steak was cooked to a medium rare, as requested, and was definitely enough for an entree portion. I didn't like my cabbage and celeriac slaw served in a separate container. Somehow, that screams diner, not bistro. However, the dressing was good and I did finish the whole thing. And yes, pommes frites were good...crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside...not as crispy as you get to the bottom, but still good.

This was the much anticipated Candied Bacon Chocolate Fudge Cake. We expected crisp bits of bacon sprinkled amongst rich dark chocolate fudge. Unfortunately, we were a touch disappointed (having anticipation can cause that) with the cake that arrived. The bacon was mixed into the cake and the fudge was the topping. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as we had hoped.

As a fan of tart desserts, I was delighted to see the French Lemon Tart with Raspberry Coulis. The crust was surprisingly light, and the lemon curb was nice and dense, just the way I like it. The fresh whipped cream and mint were a nice touch, as was the coulis, but I was all about the lemon tart!
I noticed that many of the Dine Out dishes are not on the regular menu, and this baffles me. Why would you introduce people to your restaurant with dishes that they might fall in love with, only to never serve it again. Shockingly, the lamb shank isn't on their regular menu (at least it's not on their online menu). I just don't get it.

Red Ginger - Kam's reincarnated

2012-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

Kam's closed after being on Davie for years but the new incarnation is now on West Broadway, serving much of the same fare that was at the downtown location. Although I'd only read about the old location, I was excited to try this place.

Let me first apologize for the overly yellow tones on all the food photos. The Torch has a horrendous flash, so despite what you see here, I didn't have curry everything! The first thing we got were the Spring Rolls - these are filled with vegetables and vermicelli and served with a slightly sweet plum sauce. Flaky skin, piping hot filling, it's exactly what a spring roll should be. Get some hot chilli sauce on the side for an additional punch of heat.

Another go-to dish is their Lettuce Wrap which we got with beef, but you can also get it with chicken. Mixed in with a lot of diced veggies, this dish almost feels healthy. The hoisin sauce is a good addition and serves to hold the diced filling together. Everyone has their own way of rolling a lettuce wrap, but one thing to remember...less is more. Don't overfill it and you'll be fine.

Next up was the Green beans with Spicy Chicken. Green beans are great, richly flavoured and just a bit spicy. But I didn't enjoy the shape of the chicken. It made serving the dish quite awkward...long green beans and chunks of chicken, I think I would have preferred chicken strips instead of chicken chunks. But alas, that's a purely presentation criticism...the tastes are all there.

The last dish we got to round out dinner was the House Special Chilli Beef. Large beef slices tossed with even larger slices of peppers, onions and zucchini. Again, as with the Beans & Chicken, I didn't like the presentation even though I liked the flavours. I don't enjoy rough cut vegetables, and that was what ruined the dish for me. The peppery sauce was good, and great to mix with the rice we got on the side.

Since we had so many saucy dishes...we needed something carbs to soak up all the sauces. We got an order of their Coconut Rice, and I fell in love with the presentation. instead of a rounded bowl as expected, the fragrant rice was served in a banana leaf envelope. Gorgeous and tasty.

One dish we really didn't need was the Pad Thai. It's a gigantic portion of noodles, bean sprouts, shrimp with a topping of scrambled egg and peanuts. The sauce was actually really good, although I don't know if it's authentic. To serve this, toss everything together (yes, it can get messy) and get a bit of crunch from the peanuts and sprouts to go with the tender noodles and egg.

Nine Dishes - Spicy!

2012-01-15T16:51:00.000-08:00

I've heard a few things about this place, most noticeably, Mia Stainsby article for The Vancouver Sun. From other blogs, it looks as though service is inconsistent, but the food is good, well-priced with portions leaning on the big side. One quirk about this restaurant is that the rice is free...self-serve and free!

The first dish we ordered was the Shredded Tripe with Soy Sauce. Loaded with chillies, peanuts and preserved veggies, this was a great starter. It really stirs up your appetite. There are a lot of dried chillies and but they aren't really that spicy...it's the seeds that truly packs a punch!

Now I know that this dish looks insanely spicy, but amazingly, it's not really that not. It's their signature dish...Boiled fish slices with chilli oil. Again with a generous portion of chillies, the heat is enhanced with more peppercorns. Would you believe this is AFTER they came by with a ladle to scoop out some of the chilies and peppercorn. The fish is really tender, soft and juicy. And yes, huge portion. This fed four of us easily.

One dish on many people's "Must Try" list was their Deep Fried Lotus Root with minced meat, This was reminiscent of Hapa Izakaya's Renkon Gyoza (my post). It's a dumpling of minced meat sandwiched between thin slices of lotus root, the whole package is then battered and deep-fried. The lotus root skin keeps the minced meat moist, but the meat filling was a little bland for my taste.

They also have a lot of skewers, ranging from chicken, eggplant, squid and even lamb tripe. We got their Lamb Kababs and Bean Curd Skewers, I think they were all a dollar each. The lamb is really good, loaded with spices such as cumin and chilli powder. We really liked the bean curd too, very soft and tender on the inside with a light coating of barbecue sauce. This is one of the least spicy dishes on the menu.

I've never tried Steam Buns on a skewer, but it's such a natural, since my favourite burgers are the ones that are made with slightly grilled buns. I found these buns overly spiced with cumin. If you brush off some of the spices, (the same way you'd "de-salt" an overly salted pretzel, then these are good to go.

Needing a bit more seafood to round out the feast, we also tried their Spicy Saucy Shrimp, also available with Crayfish, but that was $20 per order and the shrimp were a bit cheaper. I really like shrimp with the shell on, and these were done very nicely. The flesh still had a bit of of a bite to it, but I found it just a tad too oily.
Because we were with a toddler, we had to get something not spicy, so we went for the Pork Wonton Soup. These were okay, but again, as with the lotus root dumplings, I found the meat a bit lacking in flavour. But then again, I had been dining on the fish in chilli oil, as well as the overly spiced grilled buns, so take my comments with a grain of salt...

And there you have it, our table at a glance. This was enough food for 4.5 people. One interesting thing I did notice...most pictures of the Lotus Root dumpling were in portions of 3. However, we got 4 with our order. Could the order taker really notice that and added another one just for us? Probably not, but I'd like to think so! Oh, and note that they are cash only.

Cheezy Goodness at Mac Shack

2012-01-14T14:08:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like Mac N Cheese? We've all been there, chowing down on the 99 cent box of KD during university. Fortunately, this is NOT that type of Mac N Cheese. For one thing, it's not made from a powder, and it's not the crazy orange that you get after being in the fake and bake just a tad too long.

We had a kid with us on this taste test, so his meal was the Mini Mac with a side of milk/juice/water. We picked milk...moo! And all this for only $6 and it comes with a freshly baked cookie too! Great deal for children!

We decided to go for the Bacon Cheeseburger, easily my all-time favourite pizza choice. So instead of being in a pie, it's baked into some macaroni?! As you can see from the image above, their macaroni are curly AND grooved! All the better to hang onto the sauce! Loaded with ground beef, cheddar and bacon, this was really good. Lots of cheddar on top and a handful of bacon too. I didn't think there was enough cheese, but that's a personal preference, I guess. I do like how it comes piping hot from the oven though.

We also got The Royale, or now renamed The Ultimate, which has tons of protein, with bacon, chicken, chorizo and shrimp mingling with peppers, broccoli and mushrooms in a gooey sauce of mozzarella and gruyere cheese. There's not much colour to the sauce, but there's definitely flavour. The chorizo slices and shrimp give a nice balance of salty and sweet, and the chicken and bacon are great for texture.

No 9 - one of my guilty pleasures

2012-01-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

Is there one thing that you think you can eat for the rest of your life and you'd never get bored? Well, this post is that for me. I rarely venture into Richmond, but on a cool wintry day, I did! I went to Lansdowne Mall to revisit #9 Restaurant. I used to go lots before because they are open 24 hours a day. And after those random late night karaoke sessions, some Chinese comfort food was just what the doctor ordered.

I love BBQ Duck. I love rice noodles. I love rice noodles in soup. But I don't like my BBQ Duck in soup. So when I order my BBQ Duck Rice Noodles in Soup, I always ask for the BBQ Duck to be served on the side. So when my food comes, the rice noodles come in a bowl of hot broth, topped with seasonal veggies. Yes, they force you to eat veggies here. It's a healthy serving, but I polish it off everytime.

On this afternoon, instead of just getting BBQ Duck, I got my noodles with a combo of BBQ Duck as well as Roast Pork. And just so you know...Roast Pork ≠ BBQ Pork! Roast Pork is a pork belly roasted with the skin ON until you get crackling. BBQ Pork, aka Cha Siu, is a pork tenderloin barbecued until it's juicy.

Here is my complete lunch...noodles with a plate of two meats on the side. The skin on the duck is shiny, crispy and sinfully rich. The crackling on the roast pork is totally bad for you, but honestly, I believe in moderation. Don't eat this every week, and you'll enjoy it for what it is. Be sure to ask for the plum sauce to dunk the duck on, and some hoisin sauce to dip the roasted pork skin in. And once you try this, you'll realize why the meats and noodles have to be separated...who wants soggy crackling, right?

Combo Platter at Pink!

2012-01-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

I've been to Pink Elephant Thai several time before, but this was the first time we went when we weren't in the mood for Pad Thai. So instead , we tried out their newly launched Alberni Platter, where you can mix and match appetizers: 3 for $22 or 4 for $28. We weren't hungry, but we were curious, so here are the 4 appies that we tried.

One of my favourites at Pink is their Floating Market. It's a plate of deep-fried spinach topped with Tiger Prawns. The sauce on the side is a spicy apple sauce, and it's good. I'd ask for extra spicy if you like heat. And it's got spinach in it, so Popeye would be proud.

The next appy we ordered is their Peeg Gai Yaad Sai (Boneless stuffed chicken wings). I love how they debone the chicken wing, yet the veggie and glass noodles are stuffed inside, yet retain the shape of a chicken wing. These babies are deep fried and served with a sweet and sour sauce as well as a cucumber & onion mixture. Yes, you can double dip!

We also tried their Ostrich Satay, which I have had before. I found these just a bit dry, but the peanut sauce helped. Ostrich is quite lean, so that might have contributed to the dryness factor. To avoid, get the chicken satays instead.

For those of you that visited Charm in Yaletown, you'll be pleased to know that their yummy Fish Cakes are served here as well. These little patties of fish are juicy and have the bounciness that great fish cakes should have. They also have Shrimp Cakes too...that's next on my "to-eat" list!

A foray to Fray on Fra(y)sier

2012-01-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Nestled amongst a bunch of Asian restaurants along Frasier is Fray. I headed down on a Sunday night to see what the fuss was all about. The menu was all over the place, I couldn't quite decide what to get, so it was a good thing that there were a group of us. Lots of Tongue-in-Cheek names (Sex Pistols, F-bombs, you get the picture) for their offerings, and that annoys me. Let's see if the food can overcome.

Here is the Portobello Fries...and yes, they call it that on their menu. I liked the architectural presentation, but I liked the taste even better. Lightly battered sliced of portobello...these were shocking good. Wonder how many other restaurants are going to imitate this!

We had a kid with us that night, and his meal came while we were eating the Portobello Fries. This is their Macaroni & Cheese for kids. I regret to say that I didn't try this, but as least it's not the neon orange KD that I was expecting.

Our next appy was their Rosemary Fries. I like the curl and crunch but the rosemary was lost on me. They charge $4.95 for these but reminded me of the ones that The Keg gives out for free with drinks at their Thurlow location. The rosemary sort of got lost on me.

This is a shot of the TaunTaun Burger (yes, another punny name), and it was good. Pemberton beef with pulled pork, bacon cheese and all on a purple yam bun...served with some salad to make it all better. It was a good burger but gosh, I wish more people would toast their buns!

My mom got the Spinach and Blue Cheese Salad...and um....yeah, that's exactly what we got here. The veggies were fresh, and I would have to say...plentiful...if you like that sort of thing.

We also got the Porchetta Sandwich with bacon and horseradish mayo, on top of a "rustica bun". To be honest, the bun was the same as the purple yam bun. That aside, it was a healthy serving of roast pork, and oh, yes, bacon! But the crackling was missed!

This was my dinner, the Fat Bastard Pork Belly (yes, punny). Unfortunately, the bastard they harvested this belly from was anorexic. I wanted more...more pork, more skin, and more taste! What I was served was decent, the skin wasn't crispy enough, but my biggest complaint was the portion. There was more porchetta in the sandwich than what I got. Perhaps they were running out, I don't know...but the caramelized apples are supposed to be an accompaniment, but were it not for them (and I hate warm fruit in a savoury dish - no Hawaiian Pizza ever), I would have been hungry. As it was, I was loading up on Portobello Fries and coleslaw!
I think this place deserves a revisit, but not for a few months. The servers are fairly new, ours certainly was. I believe she had to "check with the kitchen" three times during our order. I would rather go to a place where the staff have eaten everything and have informed opinions about everything on the menu.

Munchies pre-concert at Rosie's

2012-01-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Rosie's on Robson has been around for a long time, and here's why: Just steps away from Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Rogers Arena and the newly re-opened BC Place Stadium, this place is great for pre/post- event dining!

We were definitely in the mood for pub fare and nothing scream bar food like Potato Skins! How can you not like potatoes topped with gooey cheese and bacon bits!? I can't resist these, I don't indulge often, but when I do, this is a go-to dish for me. And really, what better way to add some sour cream into your diet, right? The ones at Rosie's are good...not too loaded as to be soggy, but cheesy enough to satisfy. I would have like them under the broiler just a tad longer, but that's all good. The thing that I found weird was that the green onions were obviously sprinkled on after. I question that, because I think heating them up brings out their flavour just a bit more, no?

The other item we shared was their burger...complete with bacon, cheese and onion rings. They also give you the usual...lettuce, tomato and red onion. I'm not a fan on raw onions, white or red, but I realize how some people do, so I understand why they are there.

Although I never eat the burger with the onion rings stacked inside, I do like having them as a side. One thing I would have liked though is a slightly toasted bun. I think this one might have gotten some heat on them, but just not enough.

Oh, and if you're having a pub night, fried are kind of mandatory, right? These ones needed salt but their done-ness was perfect. Crispy on the outside, and just cooked enough on the inside. No complaints here!

Omakase at Kimura

2011-12-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

It's been a few months since my visit to Kimura for omakase, and knowing their menu changes frequently, I decided a revisit was in the making. A friend from YYC had heard great things about it all the way from cow-town, so I figured, why not?

Very weird eating a salad with chopsticks! The fish were a nice touch, but the parmesan was weird. I wasn't quite sure what to put all these flavours together. I found the dressing a little too oily, and a bit undersalted. But onward after eating the obligatory greens.

This is the cold plate and I regret I didn't write down everything on this platter. There was jellyfish, taro, Japanese squash, fish liver, and oysters. Some of the other things I didn't like and I ended up taking a small bite of everything just to "try". This differs from my past experience, where I inhaled absolutely everything!

Fresh oysters on the shell with a mignonette sauce...these were fresh and tasty! I liked that they weren't big like Fanny Bay oysters...these were like Kusshi...unfortunately, our server never told us what they were. Notice how two are dressed and one isn't? I'm sure it's because the undressed one is different, but I would have liked to know what was what, and why chef did that. Ah well, must sit at the sushi bar next time!

Salmon Carpaccio was amazing. Slices of salmon topped with vinegar for tang and a bit of sesame oil for flavour and richness. (not a smidgeon of wasabi in sight!). Eat this quick because the tangy vinaigrette could easily overcook the fish if you wait too long. This was a portion for one...so yes, very generous.

Then we got the yakitori dish. On the top was the Nasumaki, which is eggplant wrapped in chicken. I've never had eggplant this way, but it works! We also got some chicken bites as well as some pork. These were all good, and to be honest, I was craving cooked food after the salad, salmon and oysters! I think I would have like a bit more char on the skewers, but with the ventilation in the restaurant, it's probably best they didn't!

The next dish that came was a complete surprise...Ox Tail Braised with some really sad looking grilled potatoes and broccoli. The ox tail was huge, and very tender but the flavour profile was very mild. It could have used some more salt, spice or maybe some smokiness. I love ox tail and enjoyed this dish despite the slight blandness of the dish.

Another hot dish! Yay - perfect for winter! A hot bowl of Tofu Soup (not miso-based) with pork meatballs, yam noodles and shitake mushrooms. The broth was slightly oily and again, mild in flavour, but the pork meatballs were really good. I think the addition of a few more noodles would have benefitted the soup.

To finish off the dinner, we were presented with four pieces of nigiri...Ebi, Eel, Tuna and Salmon. Finally, wasabi arrives. I found it weird that the sushi came after the ox tail and the soup...but nevermind that. The sushi was good, and it was presented much nicer than the last time I had this. The knife cuts were more refined, and as with before, the rice to fish ratio was perfect.
To sum up, if you want to revisit Kimura fora repeat of your previous experience, you will be disappointed. However, if you approach each visit with a brand new outlook, you will be pleasantly delighted. So yes, I will revisit, without any expectation that I will enjoy the best dish of my last meal. That was my problem this time; I was hoping for a repeat performance of the highlights from my last meal, and that served to cloud the whole experience. Learn from me!

Dinesty for lunch

2011-12-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

One weekend this part winter, I went to Dinesty for the very first time. I was really looking forward to having some Sticky Rice Roll (Salty, of course), but they were sold out. So let that be a lesson to you...go early!

This is one of my favourite go-to dishes at Shanghainese dim sum places. It's simply Marinated Beef wrapped in a fried pancake. Yeah, meat rolled up in a pancake...it's like a fajita, but what gives it the Asian touch is the addition of green onions with hoisin sauce to make the beef and pancake lighter than you would expect.

We also got their Noodles topped with Home-made Meat Sauce. I don't think there was enough of the meat sauce, but that might just be a personal preference. I do like the shredded cucumber and egg on top...adds great texture to the noodles buried underneath. While I liked this dish, I found the addition of the cool cucumber and the room temperature egg hastened the cooling of this noodle bowl, and I like my food hot!

These are the Xiao Long Baos, filled with just the right amount of soup, and served piping hot. I like the slight chewiness of the skin, which were thin enough to balance the meatiness inside. I think these are one of the best in Vancouver, well, Richmond. There were four of us and we ordered two of these. Yes, they are that good.

Stewed pork in brown sauce...with a bit of Bok Choy. The brown sauce isn't spice, but rather a thick gooey sauce that slightly sweet and does a great job of permeating throughout the pork. Shred this up a bit and add a bit of the vegetable. Then, grab the steamed buns that accompany it and make yourself a sweet chinese sandwich!

These buns are so good...at a glance, these reminded me of madeleines! Soft and doughy, these are great for absorbing the sauce from the pork. Their sponginess is what I really cherish. You might find the pork a little bit fatty (I did) but the buns make up for it. Trust me.

Kingyo Craze for just $19

2011-11-30T16:37:00.000-08:00

Have you tried Kingyo? I was invited by VANEATS.ca to try their latest package...$19 for amazing 5 courses! I was smitten when I watched the video, showcasing all the yummy dishes I was going to sample!

The first dish we tried was their Sashimi Salad...loaded with salmon, scallop and amaebi. With organic greens and a light soy vinaigrette, this was a great palate cleanser to start the meal. The salmon portions were generous and the scallop was moist and sweet. The amaebi was head on...just the way I like it!

We also added a Cha-Su Rice Paper Roll, it's like a Vietnamese Salad Roll, but loaded with diced pork and veggies. If you are looking to add something to your tasting, I'd suggest this because it's like nothing on the courses you will get. The pork is very juicy, and the rolls are stuffed to the gills!

Next is the Chicken and Cod Spring Roll. Delicate chicken breast and cod rolled into a tight little cone, and then all deep-fried. Very nice crunch on the skin, and sliced chicken and cod were good and aplenty! The mayo soy dipping sauce is good too, adding some tanginess to the dish.

This is part one of the Mushroom and Tofu in a hot stone bowl. The deep fried tofu is topped with bonito flakes and okra. And yes, the bowl is insanely hot.

And here is the second part of the dish, a bowl of mushroom broth. To complete the dish, you pour this saucy goodness into the stone bowl...and wait for the sizzle!

And here is the completed dish. So great on a cold wintry day. Hot mushroom sauce ladled over fried tofu pieces. And the stone bowl ensures everything stays hot while you slowly enjoy the mushroomy goodness.

Our last dish was the negitoro roll, a generous portion of 6 pieces. The toro really stands out and the green onion is pared back to let the fish flavour shine. I loved the sprinkle of tobiko on the plate, as well as the seaweed paste, eliminating the need for soy sauce. Another pretty adornment is the tealight candle housed in a turnip case. Definitely a first for me!

See the yummy crispy lotus root chip? Yes, that garnish is present in almost all their dishes. So healthy and just a nice light crunch.

And to round off the meal...a tiny Almond Tofu. Very smooth and creamy, this dish was a nice light dessert. Unlike the dishes at some Asian restaurants, the almond flavour of this is very true to form, and not the chemically almond "paste" some places use as a substitute.

The bill comes with two frozen grapes, just like at another Izakaya. Not sure why, but this was nice pleasant touch. It's always nice to get something for free when you get the bill, right?
For $19, you get everything I tried here, with the exception of the Rice Paper Roll. This is more than enough food for one person, and for $19, it's a heck of a deal!

Tasting at Mahony's

2011-11-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

Mahony & Sons has been opened for a few months now, and I finally got to try them for dinner last week! It's an Irish pub with a huge variety of other cuisines. Would you believe they have Thai Chicken Curry and Italian Thin Crust Pizzas too?

The day we visited was an insanely cold day, so we all started off with their French Onion Soup. It's a hot tasty concoction of Guinness (it IS an Irish pub after all!) & onion broth. There is also chunks of gammon bacon (made from the hindlegs/rump) in there, add extra depth and richness to the soup. And to top it all off, there is a crusty bread dunked into the soup and then smothered with cheese and broiled. This was really good and perfect way to start the meal and warm the tummy!

Here is a shot of the Mahony Platter. It's loaded with tons of the usual bar favourites and also some things that are not your average Appy Platter. Sauces are Honey Mustard, Tzatziki and something that seemed more like sour cream than anything else. Feel free to mix and match!

The Calamari is lightly breaded, and served with Tzataki and a sprinkle of red onion. The pieces are nice and small, a perfect bite-size portion. The calamari was cooked just enough, with a crispy breading and a nice chewy centre.

Next up were the ribs and wings. Now this is more like the appy platter you'd find at other sports bars. The wings were nice a spicy, with a cayenne rub. They were juicy and slightly wet with just a hint of stickiness. These were big meaty wings and drummettes, and really finger-licking good. The ribs were flavoured with a dry spice rub and cooked to a meaty crispness. A great meat-to-bone ratio here.

One unexpected favourite were the Fresh Cooked Potato Chips. I didn't really know what to expect, I think I was expecting potato wedges or chunky potatoes. But what came to the table was actually thinly sliced potatoes, deep fried to a crisp, but with a soft and tender inside. These were just lightly salted but that's all the flavouring it needed. I could definitely eat all of these, and more!

Also on the platter is the Focaccia Parmesan Bread...sliced into triangles, and richly flavoured with the parmesan, this was chewy and yummy! The Chicken Tenders were breaded with Panko, making it very light. I really liked these with the Honey Mustard Sauce.

We also tried the Mahi Mahi Tacos...loaded with fish and greens, this actually seemed healthier than anything else we tried. This is a great way to eat light, and if you're looking to share something as an appy? One of these for two people would be great.

We also tried two items off their Fall Menu...the first to arrive was the Truffle Mushroom Poutine. Ladled with gravy and cheese curds, this was an extraordinary poutine. I'm used to the usual cheese curd and "brown" sauce, but I have to admit, the addition of Truffles and Mushroom really elevates the dish. But be warned, this is definitely a main course meal, and not a simple side dish.

The other Fall Menu item I tried is their Paddy's Turkey Dip. This is Thanksgiving Dinner in a bun! There's stuffing, cranberry sauce with actual chunks of cranberries, all topped with slices of turkey (dark and white meat!) Oh, and you need to have that side of gravy for dipping! The bread really makes the dish, a nice yeasty and chewy bread quite similar to a baguette. You need a substantial bread to hold all this goodness in, and this one is up for the job!

One dish we were given to try was their Seared Jumbo Prawns. There are two versions of this available, one is a Thai curry sauce, but the one we tried was topped with a Moroccan style seasoning. You really do taste the cumin and turmeric spices in this dish, and they are heavier than in Middle Eastern cuisine, but that's the way it should be.

They have a Mahony Sundae Sampler...we started off with the Strawberry Cheesecake Sundae, made with vanilla gelato and topped with yummy strawberries! This was refreshing and very good

Another sundae we tried is the Chocolate Sundae, with the same vanilla gelato, but this time, topped with a Frangelico chocolate sauce, more strawberries , nuts and even some caramel for good measure.

The last sundae I tried was the Coconut Mango Gelato Sundae. I'm not a fan of coconut but I'm a huge fan of mango...and in gelato form? Oh yes, you bet I'm trying this. The sundae is topped with pineapple and some pecans. Nice and light, this ended up being my favourite dessert of the night!

Here is a shot of all three sundaes together and yes, those are our leftovers behind them. We totally over ordered, as usual. Funny thing? We polished off the desserts though! So next time you're in the Coal Harbour area and looking for a casual bite, give Mahony and Sons a try. They have a large menu and with a wide variety of items suitable for groups!

Dim Sum at the Prince

2011-11-15T12:05:00.000-08:00

After a week on the Allure of the Seas, one of the things we were craving was DimSum. Not wanting to head into Richmond, we opted for something closer to home.

Talk about going back to basics...we just wanted plain comfort food dim sum, so we started off with the Har Gow (蝦餃). We loved it because it was the first real Chinese food we were eating in about 10 days. In reality, it was filled with plump shrimp but the skin was a bit thick, and not as translucent as some higher end places.

Another staple at dim sum is Chicken Feet (鳳爪) - fried, boiled and marinated. These were really good...richly red and nice and bony, just the way I like them!

The highlight of the lunch was the Eggplant - four pieces of stewed eggplant stuffed with deep-fried shrimp paste. Lots of shrimp and really tender eggplant. The flavours of the eggplant were fragrant, and the shrimp paste had a great bite to it. It was sweet and served to set off the eggplant perfectly. One of the best versions of this I've had in a long time.

As is my habit, I always try to try something new at every dim sum lunch and this one was no different. They had a sticky rice dumpling on the menu and I decided to give it a try. Since they are cartless, you order off a menu sheet, not knowing what you're going to get exactly. I imagined a sticky rice dumpling wrapped in a bread-like dough. I was surprised when it arrived as a dumpling, wrapped in a Sui Mai dough.

Once I took it off the dim sum basket, I dissected it to see what was going on inside. I was greeted with the usual sticky rice with dome shitake, dried scallop and various preserved meats. But be warned, this is a heavy dish. You eat one of these babies, and it will ruin your appetite for anything else...best to save this for last!

So although Prince isn't the best dim sum in town, it's a decent place for an afternoon lunch. I've heard that service can be slow, but if you stay the course and order the usual dim sum dishes, you'll be just fine.

Cheesy Goodness at American Cheesesteak

2011-11-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

The American Cheesesteak Company held a media event this past Tuesday and I was one of the first ones to arrive. Knowing how great their sandwiches are, this was an easy invite to accept.

I was early, arriving at 4pm, and the place was fairly calm. They asked me what I wanted to try, actually, Anthony Sedlak asked me what I wanted to try. He loves the whole menu but told me to pick two that really appealed to me. Once my mind was made up, meat got thrown onto the grill and we were rocking away! The sandwiches are all made to order, so onto the grill went the thinly shaved meat. In less than a minute, the meat was cooked and passed onto the "dressing station".

What you see here is The New Yorker, one of the "traditional" items on the menu. While many of the Specialty sandwiches are served with sauteed veggies (onions, mushrooms & peppers), this is one of the few that come with fresh veggies, so I had to try it. It's made with their shaved prime centre cut prime rib, loaded up with some sauteed mushrooms & peppers, but add some fresh shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes. The gooey sauce you see there? House made roasted garlic mayo.
This was a big sandwich, and super messy. I think sauce was dripping down my arm at one point, but oh, was it ever tasty! The fresh lettuce, the melted cheese whiz (yes, I went for the whiz), and the freshly cooked prime rib came together like magic.

The other one that I was really interested in trying was Le Bifteck...it's one of the Specialty sandwiches, and they had me at Double Cream Brie. Again topped with fresh arugula, this was made with caramelized onion compote and a smidgeon of dijon. The cheese melted so well, it honestly became part of the sauce. The arugula helps a bit to cut the richness, but in a duel between arugula and brie, the victor will be brie!

Another of the Specialty sandwiches was The Cowboy and this was made with the usual shaved prime rib, this baby was topped with bacon mayo, fried onion strings, cheddar cheese and a sweet & spicy bbq sauce. Yeah, this was like a BBQ on a bun.

The other sandwich I sampled was their Chicken Milanese...for you non-red-meat-lovers, this is a great option. The chicken breast is breaded and thinly sliced, and then topped with the tasty trio of grilled mushrooms, onions and peppers. For this sandwich, they chose the fontina cheese, which was rather mild but allowed the flavours of the tomato sauce to come through.

Oh, and you can't have a sandwich without fries...can you? I tried the ACC Fries, which are tossed with garlic and topped with shredded parmesan and some parsley. I decided to forgo the usual ketchup here, and instead opted for the Truffle Aioli Dip...you can see the specks of truffle in there. That was heavenly.

While I was chatting with Anthony, Omni TV showed up and he made a sandwich for them on the spot. Talking as he was cooking, it's easy to see his passion for serving up fresh food and ingredients at affordable prices. Check this place out next time you're hungry...and oh yes, they're licensed!

Tasty Bites at Terracotta Van!

2011-11-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to win a gift certificate to Terracotta a while back and decided to come try out their food. I'd been there before "just for drinks" and have sampled their dishes at various events where they catered some of the food.

The first thing we ordered was the Szechuan Green Beans. Tossed in a spicy sauce, these were tasty but the presentation left something to be desired. I am used to the traditional serving of veggies in noodle houses, where each stalk/bean is placed uniformly against each other. I get that theses beans were tossed in a wok (instead of boiled or steamed) but I can't ignore the fact some of the beans were literally falling off our plate. Aesthetics aside, these were done nicely, not overcooked and there was a good heat to the dish.

These little deep-fried nuggets of Chicken Knees are common in Taiwanese tea houses, and these were a pretty good version of them. Chicken knees are mostly cartilage, so that batter served to enhance the crunchiness of the dish. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of greasiness here, as is too common with most deep-fried dished.

They also had dim sum on the menu, so we tried their Siu Mai. It's made in house with a combination of pork, prawn and mushroom. Chewy and meaty, I really liked them! Though I probably would have asked for hot sauce instead of the sauce that it came with. I'm not sure why they served this with a mayo/tartar like sauce, but the dumplings themselves were done well.

As a huge fan of duck, I had to get their Barbeque Duck Wraps. I found this the greasiest of all the dishes we had. Yes, even more so than the deep fried chicken knees. I think they used more of the fatty duck skin instead of the leaner meat part, and so the whole thing became quite greasy. Served with the obligatory hoi sin sauce, these were also wrapped with green onion and cucumber. However, the wrapper itself seemed a little off, almost as though it wasn't cooked through properly.
I would return to try other items, but would probably skip the Duck Wraps next time, despite my fondness for duck. They aren't serving traditional Chinese dishes, they are doing it in a whole new fusion style. I found the prices fair when compared to a regular dinner out. If you want to try traditional dishes with a spin, then you'll find it here at Terracotta.

Dim Sum at Golden Ocean

2011-11-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

I know most of you probably head into Richmond for Dim Sum, but sometimes, fighting the "L" & "N" drivers on a Saturday morning just isn't my cup of tea. So instead, one weekend morning, we decided to check out Golden Ocean in Kerrisdale. Now I'm probably going to regret this, but they do take "phone-ahead-line-up", so if you know you're heading down, it's best to call ahead. They will still make you wait, but it's a different line that the "walk-ins". Another great thing about this place is that it's one of the few places that still have the carts! So although you can still order what you want from a waiter; sit there long enough and someone will "drive" by with something to tempt you with a dish that doesn't jump off the order sheet.

The first item we got was the Deep Fried Bean Curd Roll, and it's stuffed with diced shrimp and veggies. The top one had the most crunch, seemingly haven't spent the most time being deep-fried. The other two on the bottom were good as well, but missing the browning of the top one. The filling is good, after the crispiness when you first bite into it, you are then biting into tender shrimp mixed with some Asian veggies. So a little oily, but the inside is nice and piping hot.

So, after the slightly overly oily first dish, we flagged down a cart carrying Steamed Spare Ribs. The serving was a healthy portion, but I'd have the say that one piece at the 6 o'clock position bothered me. And, overall, it was a bit too bland for my taste. For those of you who don't appreciate black bean, this could be your dish, since it's mildly flavoured with garlic and not much else. You'll always get some fatty pieces along with the meaty pieces, but I found the ratio to be good overall.

I've never been a huge fan of Spring Rolls, probably because most are stuffed with ground pork and way too greasy. The only thing that makes them palatable is the Lea & Perrins you dip into so as to cut the oiliness down. However, I wanted to try these ones because they were filled with shrimp, sans the mayo dressing that most shrimp ones come with. Yeah, deep-fried shrimp and mayonnaise isn't my thing.

I'm glad I gave these ones a try, because as you can see, they aren't overly greasy and stuffed with a fair amount of shrimp meat. Oh, and judging by the flakes all over, they were sort of nice and crispy too!

One my my go-to dimsum dishes is the Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf. When you order these, you never know if you're going to get one "big" one or three "mini" ones. I personally prefer the mini ones because I always find the Big ones to be very poor in terms of Meat vs Rice ratio. They stay nice and hot in the wrapper, so take your time trying out other things before opening these babies up.

Unwrap these and you're rewarded with a meat filled rice dumpling. The rice should cover the filling entirely, but I don't mind if the filling spills over a a bit, like the one here. The filling is usually a mix of ground pork/chicken, chinese sausage, shitaake mushrooms and the yolk of a salted duck egg (my favourite part and I always leave this to the end), with an oyster sauce based concoction. These were nice and saucy and great meat to rice ratio. No complaints here!

After the Bean Curd and Spring Rolls, we decided to go the route of less fried greasiness. One of my comfort food as a child is Rice Noodle Rolls. So we got one with shrimp (whole shrimp, not shrimp meat/paste). I loved to play with these as a kid, unrolling the noodle, dipping the shrimp in hot sauce, and then rerolling it. Yes, it was labour intensive, but it was good! The shrimp here kept falling out of the roll when I picked it up with my chopstick, but it didn't stop me from engaging in my childhood past-time. Steamed and splashed with some soy sauce when they bring this to your table, this really lets the ingredients shine. I liked it quite a bit. Oh, and there were three rolls with the order, I started playing with one before remembering to take the photo!

And no, it's not that I don't like the traditional "Har Gow", but since we'd already had a few shrimp dishes, we decided to go with the other must have, the "Sui Mai". I've always liked the fish roe topping on these little open-face pork dumplings, but wow, they really spread it on unevenly here. Not sure if that is because these are made in-house, but I have to say, I grabbed the two with the most roe on top! Poor other soul who was left with a rather naked dumpling.
So if you're in the mood for dimsum and want to try a few new things...head to Golden Ocean and their push-cart style service. At least you can take a peek at what you're getting rather than ordering it off an order sheet!

Hidden - Great for Pre-Event Meals

2011-11-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

If you're in the downtown area for a show at The Centre, Rogers Arena or BC Place, check out Hidden for a great pre-event dinner. Located in the Westin Grand, Hidden really is hidden! Serving up tapas that are tasty and great for sharing, this place is worth a visit.

We started off with their Inukshuk Onion Rings, and although not stacked like an actual Inukshuk, these were crunchy rings with a light batter. I found them a little oily, but then aren't onion rings supposed to be? What I really liked was the smoked ketchup that these little rings came with, and I found myself double dipping quite a bit!

We also tried their Steamed Mussels which were done in a smoked paprika-tomato broth. The mussels came with and andouille sausage and plenty of bread for soaking up the broth. I found the mussels plump and meaty but the best part was the slight heat from the sausage.

We also tried their Baby Back Short Ribs, which were doused on a honey & knob creek bourbon glaze. These were really tender and truly falling off the bones. Served on a bed of Fraser Valley fingerling potato salad, this is a whole new way to enjoy Meat & Potatoes!

I know it doesn't look like there is a lot of meat on the plate, but the three pieces that you do get are so good that you just need a little bit!
For some reason, most of the tapas that I observed other people order were also in "trios". If you're dining with just one friend, you should each try one of whatever appy you ordered, and then choose your favorite so you can have one more of what you liked.

Remembrance Day

2011-11-11T09:43:00.001-08:00

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Chez Meme - a hidden gem in Burnaby

2011-10-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Chez Meme is a really well-hidden gem. I know people who live/work in the area that don't even know about it. The awning isn't splashy, just a beige covering with Baguette Bistro in red. It's easy to miss. It's located between Gilmore and MacDonald Ave. There, no way you'll miss it now.

All sandwiches come with either their Soup of the Day (usually a vegetable-only soup) or a Green Salad. On the day we went, the soup being offered was the carrot or squash soup, neither of which are my favourite. However, they also offer you the option of upgrading to a French Onion Soup. I love FOS so the upgrade was a no-brainer. The soup was nicely done, with a rich broth and tons of caramelized onions! I also liked the gruyere mozzarella topping but felt that it could have sat under the broiler for just a touch longer.

We paired the French Onion soup with their Bourguignon, a boneless beef short rib, caramelized onions and horseradish sub. First off, these baguettes are huge. I could barely finish my half of this one, in fact, I didn't. I think I only tackled a quarter of it, wanting to save room for my Jarret sandwich (more on that later). The Short Rib was meltingly soft with the fat slow-cooked into the meat. It was super tender. And the bread, just crusty enough on the outside, and moist enough on the inside so that the juices from the short rib actually gets absorbed by the bread.

For our other sandwich side, we went with the Basic Salad with a homemade creamy balsamic dressing. Nothing spectacular about the salad, but at least it was fresh, leafy and quite plentiful. Good complement to the sandwich.

The other sandwich we ordered was the Jarret, made with slow cooked lamb shank, roasted garlic jam and grainy mustard. This was meatier than that short rib one, but I don't know why? The lamb shank held together better than the very tender short rib, so the meaty mouth feel advantage went to the lamb. Honestly though, both sandwiches were amazing and I'll definitely be back to try brunch (omelettes!) soon. Service is excellent too. We had one half sandwich leftover, and got it packed to go. Unfortunately, we were five blocks away when we realized we had left it there. We called an they remembered us, and said they stowed it in the fridge for us. How nice! Usually, most places just toss anything that is left behind. I guess they knew we would be back for it, that's how good it was!Beware, they are only open for breakfast and lunch, so don't be heading that way for dinner. And weekends? Well, call ahead because they are only open every other Saturday, and not at all on Sundays. So given this very limited opening range, it was hard for me to give this place a try. In fact, it wasn't until I had to work from home after my car accident that I even got a chance to be in the area when it was open!

Cheers Ebisu!

2011-10-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

The good folks at VANEATS.ca again invited me to do a sneak peek of their November deal. The first one was of Suika, and this one is a Japanese restaurant again. Good thing I love Japanese food! Launching on November 1, the #CheersEbisu package is available for $25 and includes 6 tasty tapas and a pitcher of Sapporo. I'm not a beer fan, but for those of you who are, this is an awesome deal. Most places charge at least $15 for a pitcher of Sapporo, so you're getting 6 appies for $10! What a deal!

The first two items we were served were the Cajun Tuna Tacos and the Tiger Mayo. I liked the presentation of this...cute pair of each, don't you think?

We started with the Cajun Tuna Tacos, fresh tuna seared and tossed with some salad, topped with a mayo based sauce and a little bit of caviar. This was really tasty, with a crunchy shell and chunks of cold refreshing tuna that wasn’t too oily.

The Tiger Prawn Mayo had a thicker breading than I’m used to but the prawn itself was cooked just right, with a nice bite to it. ANd yes, I like that they used a larger prawn - just one was enough!

The next item we tried was the Chicken Karaage. Again, the batter is a bit thick, but wow, the inside more than made up for it. The chicken was super juicy, tender and piping hot. Squirt some of the lemon juice on it to really bring out the flavour of the batter and to lighten the dish up a bit. So good!

They also had Kansai Steak Sliders, which were not your average burger. For one thing, it's not a patty, instead it is beef sliced and marinated in the yakiniku sauce.

There's also avocado, onions and mushrooms too. The bun-to-meat ratio was fairly good and I liked that it was topped with a jalapeño slice for extra kick!

The one thing we didn't have any pre-conceived idea about was the Chikuwa Cheese. Described as "deep fried fish cake stuffed with melted mozzarella cheese", we had no idea what to expect. Basically, it's a mozzarella stick with fish paste wrapped around it, and then deep fried. This was good, but a touch oily. Again, squirt with lemon juice to bring out the fresher flavours.

The meal was rounded out with our only carb of the evening, Yam Fries. I'm not a huge fan of these, but my friend was, so we were all set. Can you see how thick and wide these yam wedges are, she was happy! Can you spot the odd item in the basket? It's lighter colours and slightly thinner. Do you know what it is?

It's their cheese stick, essentially a mozzarella cheese stick with a sliver of green onion, tucked into a spring roll / wonton wrapper and then deep-fried. Oh my gosh, these were super yummy...we actually ordered more.
There was more than enough food for the two of us, we actually had to pack some of the chicken karaage and yam fries to go. The focus of this meal is definitely one of sharing, and would be great on a hockey night...a sort of Japanese / Western pub food. They do have lots of TVs so this would be a great place to catch the game. If you've wanted to try Ebisu but haven't had a chance to, this #CheersEbisu deal for $25 is worth a shot, especially if you like beer! To learn more, take a look at this 30-second video. The packages go on sale on November 1, and only 150 are available. Go to VANEATS.ca to buy!

Omakase at Kimura

2011-10-05T00:24:00.000-07:00

I've heard great things about the Omakase at Kimura, apparently, it's the only thing you should order here. So once I got my twitter foodie pal, @vanessa_chu, to agree to come with me, we were on our way! Located in East Vancouver (22nd and Rupert), it's not where you would expect to find amazing Omakase, but we did!

When you order the Omakase from Kimura, you get a few choices in terms of price, but I think we settled on the $40, so not the cheapest one at $30, and not the pricier $50 option. I've heard that you get lobster with the pricier option.

With the appetizer plate, you get quite a few interesting items. At the very top (2 o'clock position), there is a cube of monkfish liver, with a berry puree. This is homemade and just has the slightest hint of fish flavour. On the skewer are sea snails, breaded with sesame. These were really fresh, with a nice crunchy texture. We also got a whole smelt, which is essentially masago, all grown up. It was slightly sweet, with a chewy meaty texture.

So...turning the plate around a bit, you now see the oysters at the 2 o'clock mark. There's nothing I love more than raw oysters (well BBQ duck and Hot Pot are tied for #1 spot), but these were doused lightly with a ponzu-like sauce. We also have a small nugget of lotus root, as well sa kobach, a Japanese squash. And don't forget the little bit of gomae too! And in the center of it all...the oyster shooter. It's simply a freshly shucked oyster, drowned in sake, topped with a fresh quail egg & special chef sauce served in a shooter glass. I don't know if you're supposed to stir it, but I didn't. Just take the whole thing and shoot it!

The next course was the Sashimi course. There's Hirame, Red Tuna and Tako.

I've never had Hirame before, it's actually halibut. It's cooked/marinated with some acid, and was really refreshing. The texture was a little tougher than I expected but the flavours were really mild.

Red Tuna... very red, very fresh, and despite other reviews I've read about the chef being "rough" with his cuts, I don't see that here. I think these were sliced very cleanly, and the thickness was pretty uniform throughout.

This one wasn't my favourite...there is Tako and Miso. I normally love tako (octopus), but this miso glaze they put on it was just too heavy. The sashimi part was good, but jut not ladened with the miso.

One item they had that wasn't part of the Omakase was their ChawanMushi. So I decided to order one just to try. It's a steamed egg custard, loaded with chicken, shrimp, and shitake mushrooms. When it's done right, it's really smooth and almost like a soup, but slightly solid. It's done right here.

Our next course was the Grilled Quail. This was really good...I love quail, and it really is best simply grilled. There's something about the little bones that just make me feel like a giant. Yes, I imagine that this is an actual chicken and I'm a giant from Brobdingnag.

The next dish that came was a Grilled Salmon. It was by far the largest portion of food that we got per course, but unfortunately, it was also the least satisfying. The salmon was dry, cooked too long or waited too long to be served. Either way, this was the first dish that I wasn't impressed with.

We were also served a miso soup, with a little clam inside. It was a really light broth but the miso was very pronounced. I have to say the addition of the little clam was a nice touch. And the soup was served piping hot, just the way I like it. I don't know if the clam was actually cooked in the miso broth, but there was a slight flavour of the clam in the soup itself.

Our last course (before dessert) was a Nigiri and Crispy Rice dish. Salmon, Tuna and Toro. Here I can see the rough cuts that people have repeatedly referred to. Again, the salmon was sloppily done, as were the other pieces too. But if you're not into presentation, then the freshness of the fish is still there and you'll be happy.

This next dish, crispy rice with some spicy tuna on top. The rice is sort of like a pancake...they call it Crispy Risotto, but not really. It's almost like the rice at the bottom of the pot when you overcook the rice, and then deep-fried. I found it quite oily, and to be honest, a little stale. Instead of being crunchy, it was kind of chewy...and for the first dish of the night, the fish to rice ratio was off. It wasn't spicy either, even with the jalapeno sliver on top.

And we ended this meal with a simply green tea ice cream. It was good, but I was just a little sad that there wasn't a single embellishment on the dessert...even half a maraschino cherry would have been appreciated.
I would come back again to gry this, especially with someone who hasn't been here before. Two things to be aware of...this meal takes quite a while from beginning to end, and know that though the fish might be cut roughly, it is good, fresh and tasty.

Trying out Kiyo in Richmond - on company time / dime, no less

2011-10-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

During this past summer, I had to attend a trade show in Richmond. We decided to stop for a quick bite before heading back to the office...so we hit up Kiyo, tucked away in a small street mall. And the first thing that took me by surprise was how busy it was! We ended up sitting at the bar because the restaurant was fully packed!

I got their Bento Box for lunch, complete with prawn and vegetable tempura, maki rolls, gyoza and four pieces of nigiri. I don't remember the price, but it was probably $15.
The nigiri is a little sloppy, three of the four pieces were good, but the salmon has a little tail from careless slicing. Having said that, the portions were generous and not loaded with rice.

The California Roll is as expected, loaded with pollock-based crab meat, avo and cucumber. I'm not a fan of California Rolls in general, but it was decent. The Spicy Salmon was actually spicy, which isn't always the case. The little Tuna maki seemed like an afterthought, but you can't really go wrong there, right?

The two pieces of gyoza were quite oily, but at least they did have a nice crispy skin. Filled with pork, and paired with a soy dipping sauce, it was a good "hot" option in the bento.

The other cooked item on the menu was the Tempura. Two prawns, a zucchini and potato, breaded and deep-fried. I was actually surprised by the lightness of the batter. I expected heavy batter and was pleasantly surprised.
My dining companion ordered the Chicken Teriyaki and her experience differed from mine. The chicken arrived with nice grill marks, but when she cut into it, the meatier part was raw. I mean, it was actually red and bleeding. We showed the server and she quickly apologized and brought it back to the kitchen, where they "recooked" the same piece of chicken and brought it back. I'm disturbed by this. My friend cut into this piece of chicken, and it concerns me that they re-cooked it on a grill where other people's food were being cooked.
Had this not have happened, I would have come back here again for a quick and easy lunch when I'm in the area, but not anymore. I've heard that it was better before, when it was run by Japanese people, and I think I'd agree.

Food Truck - Nu Greek Street

2011-10-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

Taking a stroll down on Granville and smell something yummy? It's probably the aroma of the grilled lamb or chicken (or vegetables) from this food truck. I tried their Lamb Souvlaki Pita and after a short wait, the hot little bundle was in my hands.

Two of my pet peeves about Food Trucks is the messiness of the whole thing, and the other is that trucks parked nowhere near a decent seating area. Well, these problems do not exist here. These little hot pockets are packaged tightly, so no risk of dripping sauces onto your nice work clothes. What struck me first about the pica was the hotness of it. We trekked to Nu on a cool day, so it was nice to hold this to warm up, akin to holding a mug of hot chocolate on a wintry day.

The pita is filled with grilled lamb, a healthy squirt of satziki and some roughly chopped tomatoes and onions. The lamb chunks were tender, well marinated and quite flavourful, though I do wish there was more of it! The pita is more naan-like in texture, super doughy, soft and fluffy. The wrapping keeps the pita together while you eat your way to the bottom, so no mess, no fuss.
They have a few other options in addition to their pitas, you can get just the skewers or just the pita, and then add a side of satziki or hummus. Oh, and yes, they do have a Greek salad too, must try that next time!

Food Truck - Cartel Taco

2011-10-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

Over the summer, I went on a bit of a Food Truck Tour and tried quite a few trucks. One day, I was meeting a twitter friend, and we decided to take on another food truck This time, we chose Cartel Taco. Why? Because my friend is on a gluten-free diet, and that is what their hand-made corn tortillas are, gluten-free! Located outside of Culinaria, the smell of barbecue coming from this truck makes them easy to find.
They only have two things on the menu, beef or pork tacos. With a deal of 4 tacos for $10, the decision was pretty easy. One of each for each of us!

The beef was served with their green salsa and the pork was served with the red version. I know the red looks like it would be spicier, but it's not...the green one packed more of a punch.
The kimchi was applied a bit erratically, but it didn't matter, the taste was fairly mild, and not as crunchy as I normally like kimchi to be.
I like how they double up on the tortillas, and for $5, it will fill you up. Meat to Tortilla Ratio was fair so I'll probably come back. However, I wish there were more areas to sit and eat this. It's kind of hard to eat these daintily while standing up, or god forbid, while walking.

Food Truck - Bada Bing Bomb

2011-10-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

In our search for a Food Cart lunch one Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves at Robson and Bute, where the Bada Bing Truck was just opening up for the day. They are supposedly known for their Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, as well as poutine, I think.

According to the menu, the sandwiches are made to order and can come with Beef or Chicken. We weren't overly hungry, and were looking forward to a big dinner later, so we decided to share one sandwich. These are pretty much made to order, so once you place the order, you've got quite a wait ahead of you, and we were like second in line. Once we got the sandwich, we asked them to cut it in half...the filling, along with your choice of protein, is supposed to be a mix of melted Monterrey Jack cheese, mushrooms, with grilled onion and peppers.

Well, I had to admit all those things were probably present in the bun, but I think they forgot to season it. The sandwich was bland, the bun to filling ratio was way off, and it wasn't even messy to eat! If they are going to cook the meat to order, they should take the time to toast the bun too. And I think they should marinate their meat and fixings a bit more, instead of giving you an assortment of hot sauces so you can "do-it-yourself". I can think of many other trucks I would spend my $7 at instead of this one.

Dinner at Charm - appies and more!

2011-09-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

I've been to Charm many times for their great lunch specials, but rarely make it there for dinner. Here is a post of the time I went this past summer. There were 4 of us, and none of us were really hungry, but definitely wanted to try a things.

I've always loved the appetizers at Charm (perfect for grazing with friends over cocktails), so we decided to order the Appy Platter for 4.You get five different items in total. Top shelf were the Rock Pepper Garlic Prawns with a bit of papaya salad n the side. Second shelf were the Crispy Prawn Wontons with a plum dipping sauce. Also, we have their drool-worthy Duck Sticks (no, not duck on a stick, they are duck confit spring rolls! Really tasty with the chilli sauce. On the bottom shelf, there are the Thai Spring rolls, vegetarian with a homemade carrot dipping sauce. The Chicken Satays aren't visible in this picture, but they are chicken breast marinated with lemongrass. They serve these with a cucumber & red onion chutney and also a peanut sauce.

The first of the main course was a seafood dish...it's their Chiang Mai Bouillabaisse. There are mussels, prawns, fish and some squid served with a refreshing cilantro and lime infused broth. The seafood was cooked just right, and the prawns were nice and firm.

My mom is a huge fan of their Pad Thai - it's the only thing she orders whenever she comes. They make this in the traditional way, with fresh tamarind juice! We had it with chicken this time, but you can choose to have it made with prawns instead too!

And this is probably my favourite dish of the night (next to the Rock Pepper Garlic Prawns), their Thai Pappardelle. It's served with braised short ribs, in a Thai basil red curry. It's definitely got some heat to it, but the noodles work really well here with the beef and sauce. A very asian spin with the pappardelle.All in all, this was a well-balanced meal for 4 people, a little bit of deep-fried goodness, some seafood, some meats and lots of noodles!

Suika Me Silly! Oct 1-31st

2011-09-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Suika is launching their #SuikaMeSilly promotion this Saturday (Oct 1-31) in conjunction with VANEATs.ca. I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the menu. You get 6 dishes for $16, there is a little bit of everything; meat, carbs, sushi, and yes, even dessert! This deal is a limited offer and you can only purchase it via VANEATs.ca. There is also a few chances to win this great package from their site too. The menu has been clearly designed to showcase the various cooking styles of the restaurant, and each dish was exquisitely executed.

This was my first visit to the restaurant, and although I knew I was there for the #SuikaMeSilly menu, the manager, Makoto, presented me with their regular menu, so I could get a good idea of all the dishes they had to offer. I have to admit, the above caught my attention...what exactly is "W" lbs of beef for $38, and really? You need 4 people to try...I will return to take on this super mega size steak!

The regular menu is two-sided, one side features their starters, sashimi and salads. Quite a few of items on the #SuikaMeSilly menu is on this side. It also features Doraemon as the watermark. Too Cute!

The second page shows their more heartier dishes, such as rice, noodles meats and seafood offerings. The one item that stood out here is the Tokyo Oxtail Ramen. I will be back for this! And its watermark is Doramo-chan, the sister of Doraemon!

Before our food arrived, we took a look at the surroundings and fell in love with their Sake-Bottle Chandelier. My stepdad sells lighting fixtures for a living, and believe me, I'm sure he's never seen anything like this before!

To accompany our meal, we selected a MomoKawa sake, a Junmai Ginjo Craft Sake that is creamy because it is only partially polished. After my Sake Tasting at Umi a few weeks ago, I've been trying more and more sakes lately.

The first dish to arrive was their Beef Tataki. You get several thick slices of beef that were slightly grilled and marinated with a soy, mirin & green onions. Served on top of a bed of daikon and onion shavings, and a sprinkling of pea shoots, this was a great starter.

Hot on the heels of the Beef Tataki was the Corn Kakiage. It's such a simple concept but the sum of the ingredients is really more than its parts. The corn is held together in a light batter with cilantro, soy and butter. Yes, corn and butter DO go together! I eat my corn on the cob on niblet at a time, and this was perfect for me, they did all the work! The sweetness of the corn really stands out, and the whole piece stays together until you tear it apart. Brilliant!

This next dish was probably my favourite of the night, it's their Pork & Tofu Mochi! The picture doesn't do it justice, but essentially, they took a mochi rice ball, deep fried it until it has a nice crispy skin, then split it open and poured a slightly spicy pork sauce all over it. It's like nothing I've had before; the gooey mochi inside, combined with the crunchy exterior and the sauciness of the pork is a great twist on the Chinese Ma Po Tofu Rice. I've been warned that this could be salty, but I think they've heard the feedback and have adjusted the seasoning accordingly.

The next two dishes were both sushi, but boy, at this time, I was already getting a little full. The first of the two was the Negitoro Battera. It's a blend of tuna belly with green onions, with a touch of avocado, atop some rice. The soy and seaweed sauce they topped this with eliminated all need for wasabi. This pressed sushi highlights the gentle flavours of the tuna, and the avocado helps to give it a nice creamy texture.

Here is a close up of the Negitoro. The sushi rice is in good proportion with the amount of Negitoro on top. It's a great balance. Three pieces might not seem like a lot for a serving, but hang on, there are another three pieces of sushi right behind it.

So the last savory dish we had was the Aburi Shime Saba Sushi. It's their seared cured mackerel atop a small bed of sushi rice. Can you see the grill marks? The mackerel was marinated in a slightly sweet concoction, and the searing gave it a nice crust. They add a mustard soy dressing and a handful of green onion to finish up the dish.

Look, here is another closeup. As I was eating each piece, I noticed a strong hint of shiso throughout. Whenever I have sashimi and it is served with shiso, I'm the type that wraps the sashimi up with the shredded daikon in a shiso leaf. So when Makoto came by to see how dinner was going, I asked him about it. Turns out, they put shiso right into their sushi rice. Seems so simple, but what a flavour punch!

So we're coming up to the dessert...it's a Matcha Brulee! I've always been a fan of Green Tea Ice Cream, partly because I don't like uber-sweet desserts, like lychee or mango ice cream. Green Tea desserts offer a slight bitterness to cut the sweetness of the dessert. So how they make this is really interesting; they make the whole matcha brulee, torch it, and then freeze the whole thing! Served with sliced strawberries and whipped cream, this was a really unique dish. Also on the plate is some matcha powder and a drizzle. I know you might think the drizzle is chocolate fudge, but it's not! Would you believe it's a red bean sauce? Yes, green tea and red bean...what a great combination!
This six course dinner is only $16 for a limited time, October 1-31, and it's well worth a try.

I couldn't finish all my sushi, so I asked for it to go. They packed the pieces I had left over, and then gave me a napkin and two pairs of chopsticks. Can you believe the chopsticks they give you? Take a closer look...can you see the toothpick as part of the package?! Isn't that awesome???
So if you have been meaning to try Suika and haven't had a chance to, this #SuikaMeSilly deal for $16 is a great introduction. To learn more, take a look at this 30-second video.

Food Truck - Feastro

2011-09-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

On a week of food truck hunting, we found ourselves at Feastro, the Rolling Bistro is parked at Thurlow and Cordova, near the Olympic Cauldron. YOu can't miss the Purple Truck!

As this was during spot prawn season, i tried their Spot Prawn Taco. It's pilled high with organic greens, and mess of spot prawns as well as some tortilla strips. The version above has a fresh mango salsa, however, it wasn't the one I wanted.

This was the one that I wanted...still with Spot Prawns, but with their handcut salsa. Is it just me or is the second portion suffering from a lack of prawns? It was still good, but comparing the two now, it's evident the second one was a little malnourished.

We also tried their Fish & Chips with red snapper. I really like the fries and homemade tartar sauce, key to any good Fish and Cips. The batter was light, and fried so that it wasn't soaked with oil. There is a little bit of coleslaw hidden behind one of the pieces of fish, so it was a nice well rounded meal.
Mind you,, this stuff isnt' cheap...I don't remember how much my taco was, but I would guess about $8. The fish and chips were $12, so a bit more expensive than Fresh Local Wild just a few blocks away. Try both and decide for yourself which is better.

Food Truck - Coma Food Truck

2011-09-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Back in August, Eat Street was in Vancouver to tape some footage for their Food Truck show, and one of the places they were showcasing was Coma Food Truck. I hightailed it downtown and grabbed a few co-workers with me. All food photos are of half eaten food, because we were more concerned with eating than taking pictures of the food.

The first item we dug into was the BiBimBap, hot rice mixed with julienned zucchini, carrots, daikon and slices of cucumber. There are also piles of Korean bbq beef, a bit of spicy kochujang, topped with a sunny side up egg, and then topped with a drizzle of sesame oil. This was delicious, filling and comforting. There was quite a bit of meat and the yolk was nice and runny...once you break the yolk, it makes a nice sauce for the rice bowl. Oh, and the sprinkle of sesame seeds is a nice touch too.

The second item we tried was their Korean BBQ Burrito. It was loaded with cheese, onions, corn, tofu, Korean beef, all wrapped up in a tortilla. This was massive, and definitely a two-hander. It was piping hot, and a great blend of sweet and spicy. Every bite offered something different, definitely a winner.

We also tried their Stuffed Seaweed Roll, basically a spring roll filled with vegetables and potato noodles and then rolled in a sheet of seaweed. The roll is then battered and deep fried. It is a little oily but the insides are healthy, I mean, it's veggies, right??

We were interested in trying EVERYTHING on the menu, so the last item on the menu was their Kimchi Quesadilla. It's filled with veggies, kimchi and cheese...lots of cheese. The kimchi was more on the mild side, but the quesadilla was nicely fried on both sides, and the cheese was melted into ooey gooey goodness.
Of all the dishes we tried, my favourite were the burrito and the bibimbap. Enjoy either of these and you'll be more than full enough for an afternoon back at the office...

Carvery Lunch at Pacific Rim

2011-09-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

We decided to use the Carvery Lunch Social Shopper Coupon that the BFF had bought a few weeks ago. With BFF's little one in tow, we set off for lunch at the Lobby Lounge at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.

Since he couldn't partake in the carvery lunch, we ordered Spaghetti with Tomato sauce for him...Although this was a kid's portion, I still found it quite generous. Love the melted parmesan on top, along with the basil leaves as a garnish. I like how they don't dumb down the food just because it's for a child. I really like that.
So here's what you get for the Carvery Lunch, regularly $19.95, we got it at 2-for-1 due to the Social Shopping coupon. The plate was so big it was hard to fit two on the table, along with the Spaghetti & Tomato Sauce.

We both started with the Caesar Salad, your usual blen of romaine, parmesan, cherry tomatoes, garlic and croutons. We both got the dressing on the side, and were glad we did, since the greens themselves were refreshing enough. The anchovy-caper dressing was nice, but a touch too tart for our liking.

Here is the star of the show...a pile of prime rib loaded onto a crusty sour dough bun...topped with horseradish. The prime rib was cooked to a medium rare, and the horseradish was spicy but not blow-your-mind hot. And the meat was tender enough that you could actually eat this as a sandwich, no knife and fork needed!

There are four toppings that you get to enhance your burger, the horseradish was great, as were the peppers. However, the beef jus was a syrupy cool concoction that tasted like nothing. The grainy mustard was good as well, but more grainy than mustard-y. I would ask for extra peppers and have them hold the beef jus next time.

The fries are supposed to sea-salt dusted but I didn't get any salt on mine. They were nice and crispy, as evidence by the BFF's munching down of most of hers!
It's really way too much food for one person...I ate all the salad, half the sandwich and most of the fries. But then again, I wasn't crazy hungry to begin with so maybe that was part of the problem. Go hungry and enjoy!

Oru - lunch and dinner

2011-09-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

After having a really great lunch at Giovane Cafe (reviewed for VancityBuzz) a few months ago, I had always wanted to return to try Oru at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. I managed to convince a few co-workers to join me.
Click here for the AYCE dinner post

Heading out for lunch with a few co-workers and we all decide to indulge in a non-alchoholic beverage, the choice today? The Oru kaffir colada, made with pineapple juice, lime and sparkling soda water. It was topped with a coconut foam and a kaffir lime leaf. So refreshing!

Their lunch menu is pretty substantial, but the best deal is their Set Lunch for $26. You get your pick of Four Courses...a cold appy, a hot appy, a main and a dessert. Since this was our first visit, we figured this was the best way to get a taste of everything. What you see above is a cold appy of the Oru Sockeye Salmon Sashimi, a hot miso soup, their hot entree of butter chicken and a dessert of mango cheesecake. The sashimi was amazing, thinly sliced and richly red...the butter chicken was nicely flavoured and the basmati rice was fluffy. It was a great dish, but alas, it wasn't mine.

The four-course deal that I got was completely different...I started off with the Thai Lettuce Cups, I just like food that I can play with. It helped that it was loaded with prawns, pickled vegetable, basil and a tamarind-lime vinaigrette. It was a great starter and really primes the palate.

The lettuce they chose was your basic iceberg, but butter lettuce would have been better for wrapping. However, the iceberg did give it a nice crunch.

For my entree, I got the Hoisin Glazed Beef Short Rib Panini, with pickled red onion, apple smoked cheddar. This was a generous portion and sweet and savory at the same time. I really liked how tender the short rib was too!

Another co-worker also got the miso soup and sashimi to start but decided on the Masala Poached Prawns Salad for her main. Loaded with greens, raisins, cashews, & prawns in a light lemon-yogurt vinaigrette. I sampled this and wow, was it ever tasty. Very light and the prawns were perfectly poached!

You don't get a lot of prawns, but the trio you do get are well done.

This mango dessert isn't on their menu anymore, but it's no great shame, since none of us could really get any mango flavour from it.

Here is a closeup of the sashimi...perfectly red, thinly sliced and served nice and cold as I like my sashimi. This was definitely a win. An as an appetizer, the portion was fair.

The trio of pork wontons as part of the hot appetizer was really good too. A little darker than I normally like, they had a good meat to wrapper ratio so no complaints here. The dipping sauce was a little oily for me, so I didn't really enjoy that.

AYCE Prawns, Crab Legs and Oysters!

Since I had such a good experience for lunch, I decided to bring my parents there for their wedding anniversary. They treated us to some sparkling wine, but check out the slice of strawberry...with a little heart cut-out! Such attention to detail...gotta love it!

This dinner took place in the summer, when they had their Seafood Buffet, and has been extended until end of October, so go check it out before it's gone! Check out the pile of shrimp...and they don't let that thing go lower than this pile...jumbo prawns, cooked to juicy tenderness and then peeled for your eating ease. What a treat.

Oh, and it's not just prawns that are in huge abundance...there are crab claws too!

And see how they make it really easy for you to eat? All the extra shells are removed for you, with just the "handle" remaining! All you need to do is dip into their cocktail sauce and you've got yourself a meal!

Oh, and did I mention oysters? Yes - all you can eat oysters. I think I've died and gone to heaven. I was eating them as fast as the poor shucker could shuck!

There was some hot food too, like this butter chicken above. Surprisingly, the rice was fluffy, quite unexpected in a buffet, but the same as in our lunch previously. The chicken itself was slightly spicy, but not overly pungent. The raita accompaniment was light and paired with the richness of the butter chicken sauce nicely.

We finished off the meal with a great blend of desserts, including home made marshmallows dunked into their chocolate tower. There was also cheesecake bites, chocolate and red velvet cake and a coffee mousse too. So whether you're enjoying lunch or dinner here, you'll be treated to a wide variety of dishes, in generous portions and all tastefully done.

Rangoli - First Time

2011-09-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

We started off the weekend lunch with a Mango Lassi. Now, normally, I'm not a fan of thick beverages, but this blend of water, yogurt and mango pulp is really tasty. Rich, creamy and tangy. It tastes as healthy as it sounds!

I also like how they give you your own pitcher of water so you don't have to wait for the already busy servers to come around. And given the small table, I really appreciated the tall but slim pitcher.
The best part of the meal was the above...their Lamb, Beef and Lentil Kebabswith a sweet and sour chutney. Perfect grilled juicy morsels of meat and lentil, slightly spicy but not overly so. This was a generous dish for an appetizer, at less than $9. I really love the char and the heat of this and I am eagerly looking forward to my return visit for this dish alone!

We also got their Goat in the Cumin and Cream Curry, served with a Cabbage & Coconut slaw, with some basmati rice and slices of naan. The flavours in this dish was good and although the portion looks small, you have to realize that this dish is quite rich, and a little bit of goat goes a long way!

Here is the goat curry and despite it looking a little oily, it was rich but not greasy. Large chunks of goat paired with the light and fluffy rice is awesome. The naan was doughy and chewy, though just a touch bland in terms of taste. But not to worry, the cabbage and coconut salad in the upper left hand corner was also tasty, crunchy and refreshing, serving to lighten the richness of the curry.

And here is a close up of the naan...light and not greasy at all, the two slices were a little scant for my taste, but it was a good enough size with the rice as well. I would definitely go back for the kebobs and maybe a side serving of naan instead. I would also try another curry, their Beef Short Ribs in Kalonji Curry with spicy pickled vegetables, rice and naan.

Food Truck - Sausage a Trois

2011-09-17T16:06:00.001-07:00

In an attempt to visit all the food carts near my work this summer, one of the places I tried was Sausage a Trois, owned by the same person who owns Fresh Local Wild, Chef Wolfe.

The special thing about these sausages is how they are cooked three ways...thus the name. They are steamed and smoked beforehand, and then grilled at the time you order them.
The beef they use is certified organic, as the other meats they offer, pork and lamb are all ethically raised as well. I love the little char they get onto the bun. Topped with mustard, ketchup or sriracha, these are really good. You can really taste the flavour imparted by the smoker...and for $5, it's an awesome deal!

A great co-worker lunch spot - Yew

2011-09-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I went for lunch with a co-worker because our boss was away, and we could afford to take a slightly longer lunch for once. We trekked over to Yew at Four Seasons for a treat and were really happy we did.

I'm a sucker for fresh bread and an even bigger sucker for fresh butter with sea salt sprinkled on top. So as you can see, I was a happy camper!

We started lunch off with a Lobster Roll, which is simply lobster meat, mango jelly, cucumber and vermicelli in a rice paper roll (like the Vietnamese Salad Roll you see everywhere). This was good and the chunks of lobster were quite generous. The mildly spicy sweet sauce isn't really necessary, but does serve to heighten the sweetness of the lobster and mango.

See, no skimping on the lobster here! And thank you for not putting avocado in this! :)

We decided to get two mains and told the server that we were sharing everything. They delighted us by serving us individual portions of our main. The one you see above is the Fish and Chips. And I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of batter, but the extra chunks of batter on this batch were really good, extra crispy and not oily at all. In fact, I didn't feel any guilt chomping down on all of this, including the fries. The fish was kept moist by the batter and flaked off nicely when forked. The fries were good, and I do like my fries with the skin on!

The next thing we tried was their Squid Ink Linguine with Crab. The portion here is only HALF an order but you can tell how much crab they loaded onto this baby. Add a few peppers and a squirt of lemon juice and this dish is amazing. You can't taste the squid in the pasta (or at least I can't) but the blackness of the pasta does add a novelty to this dish. I loved it!

They also treated us to a dessert sampler, and yes, it might look like floating eyeballs, but it's actually a coconut juice ravioli in a fruit juice emulsion. You just down it and the coconut eyeball pops in your mouth! Genius and a great Halloween idea!

We were treated to some cocoa dusted nuts and a bit of other sweets too! Wow, with food and service like this, I'm going to have to take long lunches more often! One note: this lunch was actually back in April and some menu items have changed. The lobster roll doesn't seem to be offered anymore and the a variation of the pasta is only available in the evenings now. I believe they have also switched out halibut in their Fish and Chips in favour of ling cod, but I'm not 100% sure. This means that they will have new items on the menu now, and I can't wait to go back at try!

Sake Tasting at Hapa Umi

2011-09-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I was invited to the inaugural Sake Sessions tasting event at Hapa Umi, hosted by their sake expert, Miki Ellis. Miki is the youngest person to complete the Advanced Sake course. She picks the Ginjo-Style sakes and tasting plates are created by Chef Tomoki Yamasaki to complement the sakes. These tastings are held on Wednesdays in their private dining room and are intimate with a maximum of 12-15 guests. This ensures that your questions are answered and gives you a great chance to meet and chat with other sake enthusiasts.

Upon arrival, we are given a menu card to follow along and to pass along to other friends who might be interested. As each sake type is featured for six weeks at a time, you can go back after a few weeks and try a totally different type of sake.

The table was beautifully set, and I took advantage to use my iPad again and test out my Instagram skills. The four glasses were all laid out (empty for now but ready to be filled) and we were given a map that clearly showed us what we were having.

Here's the non-doctored photo...seems to lack a bit of "oomph" right? So onto the first tasting, the Mizu Basho Ginjo. I'm not an expert on sakes by any means but Miki does a great job of telling you where this was made, who, how and anything else you want to know. She's a great presenter and handles questions with ease.

Kombu cured sea-bream sashimi was served with the first sake. Mild in flavour and light in texture, it was a great way to start the meal. This picture is not representative of the actual portion size...I inhaled mine and forgot to take a photo. They were nice enough to mock something up for me so you could see how delicate this appetizer was.

The second sake was called Jun is differs from the first in that it is only 45% versus the Mizu Basho's 50%. This refers to how much milling, or polishing of the outer coating was done to the rice used in the sake production. To accompany this dish, we were served a Steelhead Trout confit with crispy lotus root chips and a yuzu-miso sauce. This dish was heartier than the appetizer by far, and I felt that the Jun sake stood up nicely against it.

Our third sake was the Goku Jo, first of the ginjo (versus the junmai ginjo were were drinking earlier). From what I remember, a ginjo has distilled alcohol added to it, where as the junmai ginjo do not. *Miki: correct me if I'm wrong!* But the Qualicum Bay scallop that came with this course was just spectacular. I'm not normally a scallop fan (usually only in a spicy scallop roll) but wow, this one was amazing. Perfect seared with a nice crust, but super moist and tender on the inside...and uh, it was kind of huge! There was a blend of greens underneath and a light touch of umeshiso dressing. So good, one of the best scallop dish I've had in years.

For the final Ginkessho, we were served a Sake marinated bavette steak and a fun crispy potato salad. The meal so far had been quite seafood focused, and I thought maybe that's what sake is best paired with, so I was delighted to see that it can indeed be paired with a red meat dish as well. The steak was done just right, tender and juicy throughout, and the potatoes were tiny bites of crunchy starchiness. Delicious!

As with all good things, the evening had to end and we were served a final shaved plum wine ice with some mint on top. Delicate and refreshing, a great way to end the tasting.

From left to right, these are all the sakes we tasted that night. All are recommended to be served chilled. To learn more about these tastings and to register, check out http://hapaumisakesessions.eventbrite.com/. Or give them a call at: 604.420.4272 to get all the details. All in all, this was a great way to spend a Wednesday night, meeting new friends and learning a bit more about the sakes that we drink and the process behind making them.

Dim Sum at Peaceful Cafe - and someone stole my food!

2011-08-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

After a great dinner with @vanessa_chu and @onehundredfeet @BonetaVan, they recommended we give Peaceful Restaurant a try for Shanghainese dim sum. So the very next day, that's exactly what we did!

The picture above is the first time I've used instagram on my iPad to take a picture, so apologies for the less than stellar photo. The food was really good, light flakey rolls of green onion pastry rolled with some more green onions and very tender and thinly sliced beef. Enough hoi sin sauce to keep it all together, so salty, sweet, flakey and chewy. Yes, definitely a successful execution here. I think we got a total of 6 pieces here...or was it 4? Either way, it was fair for the price $6.95.

No visit to a Shanghainese place is complete without the Xiao Long Baos (XLBs), little bundles of pork soup dumplings steamed to doneness with the soup bursting as you bit into it. These ones were good, not the best I've ever had, but definitely good and soupy. I found the skin a little too thick, but the balance of soup to meat within the dumpling itself was good. This was a good deal too, at 8 for $6.95.

Sorry for the aerial view of this lettuce wrap, but I was testing out the iPad's camera and this was the best I could do. This was by far the most expensive item from our lunch at $13.95, and it was also the most disappointing. It was loaded with chopped veggie fillers such as celery, and even when we did find pieces of chicken and ate it on its own, there was no way we could tell it was chicken. I would easily order another XLB instead of this next time.

We also ordered a Shanghai Pork Chop Soup Noodle, another great value for $7.95. Only thing was, we had to wait 30 mins for it. No, it wasn't that the kitchen was slow, it was due to a server error and they brought it to the wrong table, in fact, the table next to us. And they just started eating it...and then we heard the waitress come and tell them that they didn't even order that dish!? Who does that...when I get food served to me that I didn't order, I refuse it, I don't just start digging in! Who knows if there was something in there I might be allergic to!? The dad at the table even said...Thanks for getting us to try something new. I was so livid...GRR!

They make their noodles in house and the guy who does it is quite the ham...posting for shots midway too! They can make long thin noodles similar to spaghetti, but we got the "knife cut" ones, which means they slice it through into shavings of noodles, each one different from the other, with a richer mouth feel that your average noodle.
I would definitely come back here to sample other dim sum and noodle dishes, but will keep a close eye on where my food is being brought. Oh, and I'd probably skip the lettuce wrap.
Interestingly enough, they had signs posted the day that we went, saying they would be closed the following Tuesday and Wednesday, because Diners, DriveIns and Dives with Guy Fieri would be visiting them. How cool is that! Will need to go again before the episode airs, because then, the lineups will be interminable.

Supping at Sanafir

2011-08-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I tried dinner at Sanafir on Granville. It's one of those places you tend to have a few drinks in, but never really have a sit down meal. So this time, we decided we were going to go for it. Their menu is broken up into Tapas and Ceviche, a few more substantial items in the Mezze section, and then rounded out with a Mussels and Clams section, a few Curries, and finished off with Larger Plates. We kicked things off with the Grilled Octopus from the Mezze Section.

For ~$8, you get a smattering ofgrilled octopus, but also some potatoes, musssls and chorizio, and chillies! Oh, yes, this had a kick to it, not overwhelming, but definitely heated!

The next dish to arrive was the Large plate of Vegetarian Mushroom Risotto. This was made with farro, so not your usual aborio rice. I actually enjoyed this better, since this gave the dish an added depth of texture that you wouldn't normally expect. There was a variety of wild mushrooms, so you could get something different in every bite. Oh, and yes, fresh peas! I never realize how much I like them until I get them, but yes, definitely a nice spring touch!

Now here is where my camera gets a little stupid. The food isn't nearly as "yellow" as it comes across...these were NOT the Yellow Curry Mussels, even though it may look like that. In fact, we ordered the Roasted Garlic and Tomato Clams.

These clams were really good, every clam still sitting pretty in its shell. Lopped with lots of chorizo, this was another mildly spicy dish. Good thing they werve it with some grilled naan bread. Perfect to soak up the sauce!

We were treated to a dessert from the staff and it was a labour of love...times three!

I didn't take notes of the dessert, but from what I can remember, this was a chocolate ganache with crispy rice. I remember it being really rich and I don't think the two of us even finished it!

The second one (and my favourite) was the chocolate cake...the mint was a nice light touch compared to the heaviness of the cake...dark, chocolate cake...and dense, almost like a really rich brownie.

For the life of me, I can't remember which one this was...if you've had it and recognize it...please comment below!

Dim Sum at Grand Dynasty

2011-08-07T10:55:00.004-07:00

Since I'm off work on Wednesdays during the summer, I try to make all my friends take the day off (cough, cough) so they can come eat and play outside with me. A few Wednesdays ago, I headed out for a dim sum lunch in my hood with one of my besties! We checked out Grand Dynasty, where I had been for dinners, but never for lunch.

We started off the meal with a fried goodie - this one isn't much to look at, but wait until you hear what's inside! There's taro paste, duck and enoki mushroom. This was my favourite by FAR! One thing about dim sum is that it allows you to sample without having to make a meal out of something. But boy, I could have 6 of these and call it a day!

We also tried their Baked BBQ Pork Bun. I know, on the outside, it's a little boring looking, but don't let that fool you! The bun is a steamed Chinese bun with a crumbly topping. And inside, there is a load of BBQ pork. If you don't like the traditional steamed BBQ Pork Bun they have at Kirin because it seems too plain, or the overly sweet baked BBQ bun at other places, this is the one you must try! It's so good you will wonder why they haven't made something like this before - a perfect hybrid.

Next up was their Deep Fried Bean Bead Curd with crab meat - loaded with crab and deep fried, this was good for you and bad for you at the same time.

One other item we ordered was the Chicken Wrapped with Fish Maw and Bamboo Pith. I've had this dish before in variations, usually with the chicken and fish maw totally wrapped in bamboo and hidden from sight. But this was a delightful surprise! Not only did they use black silkie chicken, the fish maw was the actual wrapping. Delightful to look at, but one out of the three pieces here was really dry. Not sure if that is how silkie chicken is supposed to be? Anyone out there know?

And to round of the meal, we also got the Fried Steamed Bun. Essentially it's a XLB you'd find at Chen's but with a denser skin and they fry the bottom after it's been steamed. So beware, yes, there is still soup loaded inside. Eat with caution.
As this restaurant is close to my home, I will be back. They have a lot of interesting things on the menu so it's best to go in a large group so you can sample the variety.
On and there is one thing weird about the presentation/garnish on three of the five dishes here...can you tell what it is?

Food Truck - Fresh Local Wild

2011-08-03T20:27:00.005-07:00

Last month, during a week of Food Trucking, I managed to try Fresh Local Wild's new location and truck! I first walked by the truck and recognized it a few months ago, but it's got some add-ons now! Something about it being carbon neutral because it runs on used frying oil? And Chef Wolfe added a little patio on the side, so you can dine somewhere instead of the stairs of the building nearby...but yeah, um...but how does the food taste?

We tried two items, with a side of fries...the first one you see above is the Chicken Club, the guy from Sausage a Trois recommended it to me, and hey, from one food truck to another, it's high praise indeed. (Yes, same owner, but I liked the fact he didn't just say "everything is good there". Lightly toasted and stuffed full of marinated chicken, hand cut bacon and fresh lettuce and tomatoes, this was an excellent sandwich. Getting it whole and uncut is the best way to do it, it gives you more leverage to hold everything in, and believe me, the way they pile the toppings on for this sucker, you need it! I was really hungry that afternoon, and managed to eat half of the sammy before passing it over to try the Tuna Melt...

I am a sucker for Tuna Melt. It's one of the few indulgences I allow myself for breakfast on weekends. However, my version with canned tuna and a slice of cheddar pales in comparison. There is just so much albacore on here, it's insane. Chunks of tuna and loads of smoked cheddar. I honestly could not say which one I liked more. I know we finished both sandwiches but we did sacrifice some of the bread in favour of the fries.

Boy, I look like I ate both, don't it...I swear, I didn't, I had help. :) And I just had to post this shot...we got a seat on the cherished patio! Thanks @ChefWolfe! You can also follow them @FreshLocalWild. The next time I go (and soon since it's 5 mins away from my office) I am going to try their Fish and Chips, and the Poutine if they have it. Can you share your favourite Fish & Chips (salmon, coho, halibut or cod) and if you've had poutine there, what's a great one to try?

Pre-Concert Dinner at Chambar...

2011-08-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

Looking for a spot for dinner before an event at Rogers Arena? Try Chambar out. We went pre-Katy Perry Concert and loved it. Just a short walk to the stadium afterwards, it is quite the ideal location. Dinner started off with a yummy bevvy called the The Blue Fig. The name says it all, figs are oven roasted and then steeped in gin. Freeze the concoction and there you have it. Why Blue? Well, they serve it with a side of Danish blue...don't put this in your drink, but just nibble and sip. The sharpness of the cheese mellows out the sweetness of the figgy gin.

The other pretty drink at the table is their Pura Vida Punch, made with 5-year old rum, chartreuse, cinnamon and shaken with pineapple juice, then a splash of prosecco on top to finish it off. If you're a fan of tropical cocktails, here is one you should try.

Below are some great words to live by...just leave your day at the door.

We started off with their scallop appetizer, which is simply seared scallops, with some smoked kurobuta pork cheek, thinly sliced cheese all sitting on a bed of pickled green beans & drizzled with a horseradish vinaigrette.

Three to an order, I took one portion and have to say, this combination of salty, tangy sourness with a bite of sweet really made me happy. I'm not a huge scallop fan, but they do it well here, so if you are a fan, you're in for a treat.

Oh yay, bread! This is the second place I've been to in as many weeks that charges for bread. See my other post for Hawksworth. Warm and served with paprika butter, this was quite good, and at $3 dollars, it seemed like a worthwhile deal. Afterall, you can't have mussles with bread to soak up the juices with, right?

The next dish to arrive was the Canard et chevre, a roasted duck breast with a healthy dose of goat cheese & tarragon gnocchi. There's a smattering of julienned apples along with sauteed scallions, and a hazelnut sauce to round out the dish.

And then, the moment we were waiting for, the Coquette! A big ole bucket of mussels steamed in a white wine cream sauce.

Once opened, you see the smoked bacon lardons and spring onions. Oh boy, I forgot how much onions there were until I just looked at this picture again. But hey, I'm a fan of bacon and green onions, so load my mussels up, I can take it!

Don't mind me, I'm just going to help myself to a little bit. Perfectly cooked musssels, most in their shell, little flecks of bacon and freshness from the spring onions. Yes, this is a good bite indeed. Be sure to save the bread to soak up the white wine cream!

And yes! Frites are included...nice crunchy exterior and a soft middle, these runs give McD's a run for the money, but they are definitely less liberal with the salt here.

Given its close proximity to Rogers Arena, I'd highly recommend this place for your next pre-event dinner. They do take reservations via Open Table, something I'd recommend just to be on the safe side.

Rumbling for burgers at Romers

2011-07-25T21:09:00.003-07:00

Needing some girlfriend time and some comfort food...me and the BFF headed to Romer's Burger Bar's newest location in the SW Marine & Kerr area. It was her decision and I had to do some preliminary research...so I spent most of my morning drooling at their website.

Although we both ordered burgers, the first thing to arrive were the garlic fries. Holy crap, they weren't kidding when they said garlic, eh? Chunks of raw garlic with sea-salted fries. Yes, kiddies, I said it, raw garlic, none of that sweet mellow roasted garlic you are thinking of, this is in-your-face RAW garlic. It makes for the best aroma when it lands on the table, but if you're like me, start offering to EVERYONE at the table. If you are the only one having raw garlic, you're just being mean. But once they start, dare them to stop! The fries itself were good too, with a crisp outside and a tender inside. Eat them when they come, don't bother waiting for the burger, these fries are best when they burn your tongue a little!

Since there were two of us and we had ordered two burgers, it only stood to reason that we would order two sides, right? So we decided to go for one of my favourites, the onion rings. Very crispy and delicate, they were dusted with a lightly grated sprinkle of reggiano. Once you bite into them, the onion comes apart from the batter and you're left with a crunchy exterior. Some people might love that but I like a bite of onion throughout my onion ring, and that was missing here. I had to note too, that the batter itself was bland, I think they need to add some salt and smoked paprika to the batter to punch it up a bit. Texture was excellent, but taste was a little mild. Mind you, I had a clove of raw garlic before this, so my taste buds might be wonky here.

The BFF ordered the Rodeo Burger, described on their website as a burger flavoured with Aancho starbuck spice, topped with applewood bacon, red onions, tomatoes, horseradish jack and cilantro, yes, cilantro. Oh, and it would have come with a blob of smoky bbq sauce but she got it on the side...as you can see. All their burgers come with an olive and a pepperoncini, a pickled pepper, sorry, it got cut off from the photo.

Oh, and here's what you get when you "make it green". Instead of the yummy and light brioche bun (yes, I stole a bite off the BFF's ), your patty is sandwiched with two wedges of iceberg lettuce. They charge you $0.75 more for the honour which I think is kind of silly, since you're saving them the brioche bun, but @RomersBurger, if you're listening...care to explain?

Never one to eat a burger without analyzing it, I peeled the iceberg top off and was glad I did. I asked for a spoon and scraped the mayo off the top first. But then I noticed...the perfectly cooked short rib sitting atop a burger patty, drenched in a gorgonzola cheese sauce and with some apple smoked bacon in between. Upon lifting the burger patty itself, I discovered some red onions which I removed, since I don't like raw onions. Oh, and you can see the pepperoncini in all its glory.

And after all that food, we had to take a break and walked outside to enjoy the rather warm day. And right outside Romers is a doggy parking lot. Too cute! Alas, I digress...after the break, we were ready for dessert, and oh, what a dessert we had in store for us!

We were too full for the Kraus Bakery Pie, but there is always room for donuts. So we placed an ordered and awaited the sweet heaven to come. For $5, you get about 10 mini donuts...fresh from the fryer. The donuts are great, but the highlights are the sauces on the side. From the top, we've got a limoncello dip, then a maple whisky dip, ending with a kahlua nutella dip. Oh, I know people wax poetic about the maple whisky, but I have to say, the kahlua nutella has a depth of flavour and syrupy texture that really can't be beat. Most people know I love tart desserts, but donuts and limoncello just don't jive. Try them all for yourself and let me know if you agree!

Hungry for Hawksworth

2011-07-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

Finally managed to try the latest buzzed about restaurant, Hawksworth, over the past two weeks but only for lunch, haven't had any luck with dinner yet. But after these two lunches, though I am still curious to try it for dinner, I'm not overly eager to do so. It's not the food, wait to the end of the review for the real reason I won't be back for a while.

During my first visit, I ordered the special of the day, which was a steak salad. I didn't catch the price, but for a steak salad, there was more steak than salad. The greens were lightly dressed, and I liked how the meat was placed alongside it, instead of plopped on top, making for a more elegant presentation. I really enjoyed this and it's what made me plan a return visit the following week. Oh, I don't recall what the smear of orange was, but I'm not really a big fan of smears.

The following week, I went back for lunch again, this time, I wasn't on the clock. I started off with a drink...as all good lunches should...their Hotel Georgia, a modern take on the gin sour. It starts off with an egg white, and then you add some some gin, lemon juice, orgeat liqueur and orange blossom water... give the thing a good whirl in the martini shaker with some ice, and then serve it after double-straining it. Dust with some nutmeg, and you've got a floral and frothy beverage. So good!

The first dish to arrive was the Morel Orchietti. It is supposedly served with brocollini, chili, parmesean and fennel crumbs. There was plenty of morels in the dish, as you can see, and the broccolini was there as promised, with the addition of fresh peas (which I love), but the chili and parm flavours were barely there. The orchietti was cooked to an al dente, and the small shape was a perfect accompaniment to the peas and morel bits. All in all a good solid dish, but not overwhelming.

We had also heard great things about the 48hr Short Rib, so we decided to give that a go as well. The accompaniments are black pepper jam, honeydew cubes, shaved green papaya and thai basil, as well as a few petals of edible lilybulbs and some sliced chilies as well. The short rib was cooked just right and the chilies and basil were a good blend of flavours for it. The green papaya and honeydew seemed a little odd, but I'm just not a fruit/entree person. This was the entire dish, and $16, it's a little on the steep side. Oh, and I am not a fan of smears...especially black/brown ones, if you get my drift.

The third dish we ended up ordering was their Oyama Prosciutto and Pear Panzanella Salad. It was the 3 Ps alright, served with smoked buttermilk chunks, pickled leeks (NY's Momofuku does this too), and mizuna greens. This was a dollar less than the short rib, but much more substantial. And although the prosciutto and pear were good, the panzanella was really oily. Reminiscent of the bread they put on the bottom of the bacon some buffets use to soak up the bacon grease. Yeah, and although you could tell the oil used here was olive oil, dousing it they way they did made it really hard to swallow. Oil would actually ooze out when you cut into it.
Another reason why I won't considering coming back for dinner, (in the short term anyways) is their Front of House staff. For my first visit, I booked a table for 6 and one guest was sick and didn't join us. When I told them that we would only be 5 today, they seemed completely flustered by the change.
On my next visit, I arrived early and was asked to wait in the hotel lobby since the lounge was full. I was 20 minutes early, so we sat for about 5 minutes and then decided to walk over to the VAG to see what their exhibit was. When we told the hostess our plans, she then informed me that she didn't actually "have" a reservation under my name. Had I not went back to her, would she have just left me waiting for 20 minutes only to tell me she didn't have a reservation for me?
At it turns out, I made the reservation under my company name, so it was all right, but shouldn't she have come over to the hotel lobby, where she told me to wait, and informed me of the "lost" reservation? And even when we returned on time, the two hostesses looked lost as to where to place us...pointing back and forth at each other. The more senior one just seemed bossy, while the junior one seems eager to please, yet helpless to do so.
For me, a dining experience isn't just about the food, it starts right at the moment I enter your restaurant and doesn't end until I leave.
I might go back for dinner, but will give them a few weeks to work out the kinks in service. Anyone else had similar experiences with the hostess?

Catching up at Culinaria

2011-07-17T18:52:00.002-07:00

Long overdue for a work get together, I took it upon myself to find somewhere close but new (at least to me). We settled on Culinaria and to my surprise, of the four of us, none had tried it although we've all walked/driven by lots of times.

We started off with a Beet and Prosciutto salad for the table. This was really good, with both yellow and red beets and lots of greens and two fairly generous slices of lean prosciutto. This was enough for four people to share as one of two appetizers.

For our other appy, we got the mussels...simply poached with some chopped tomatoes, this was clearly a miss. Several of our mussels were undercooked, although the shells were technically open. We pried one fully open and used a fork to nudge the meat out...well, it was VERY reminiscent of the sea...too much so my colleague spat it out. I guess it was our fault for not mentioning it to the waitress, but my co-workers are just too shy at times.

Our waitress told us that they were completely out of bread due to an early lunch rush. Understandable, but regrettable, I was curious if their bread would be served warm. Since there wasn't any bread, we ordered one extra side...fries...Don't ask me how this substitutes for bread, but it does. And their real mayo aoili on the side was amazing.

One of my co-workers got the Spring Vegetable Tart...it looked pretty good, with a some tomatoes, zucchini and other assorted veggies and greens. I didn't try this dish, but the oil/jus at the bottom of the dish did scare me a bit...to tell you the truth...

One co-worker got the lamb, and decided to split it with us. We each got a slice but I have to say, it was a little fatty, and unlike the mussels, a bit over cooked. I do like asparagus though! I guess it's harder to cook a lamb shank perfectly as opposed to little racks of them. A good sauce did help to take away from the "done-ness" of the lamb, but perhaps undercooking it would have been better. The sauce was probably hot when it was poured onto the lamb, and further cooked the lamb.

Two of us got the Prawn Tagliatelle...sorry for the slightly blurry picture, but I really wanted to eat. There were 5 perfectly cooked prawns sitting on a bed of al dente pasta. The light tomato sauce was well-suited for the pasta, and served to complement the prawns.
Although there were some misses during this lunch, I would say that the hits really made up for it. I would probably avoid the mussels in the future. And likely ask for my lamb to be very rare to avoid the over-done-ness in the future...but considering this is a school, the food (and service) was surprisingly good.

Lunching at Pink Elephant Thai

2011-07-13T21:12:00.002-07:00

I've been to Pink quite a few times in the past few months but just haven't gotten around to writing a post. As a result of this laziness on my part, this post will be an amalgamation of several visits.

It's quite close to my office, so I've been frequenting it more for lunch rather than dinner. I did attend a media dinner there, and that's where I had this...their Siam Caesar - watch out kids, this one is spicy but yummy.

The appetizers are a-plenty so I will show you two of my favourites. The first one is their Spicy Butterfly Butter Jumbo Tiger Prawn. I'm guessing it's made with butter, but not oily, so that was okay. The prawn is gigantic with a light coating before being deep fried. Served with fresh peppercorns and swirled egg, this was a very pretty dish. The egg comes out almost noodle-like. Very interesting texture.

Another one of my favourite appy is their Ostrich Kabob. Two skewers per order, it's perfect for sharing! The skewers are loaded with cubes of ostrich and pineapple, and then grilled to a nice char. Topped with some spicy hot sauce, this dish is innovative and really fun way to try ostrich for the first time. And no, it doesn't taste like chicken...it tastes like beef. So for all you red meat avoiders out there, here is an option. I've read somewhere that it's even lower in fat than turkey or chicken.

No Thai restaurant review would be complete without a curry dish, so we tried the Keang Keaw Waanm Pink's green curry which is available with chicken or for my vegetarian readers, you can get it with their fish tofu. The curry is very mild and loaded with snap peas, peppers and basil. Order it with a side of rice and use that to soak up the abundant sauce.

There are lots of noodles on the menu and the one featured above is their Pad Kee Mao, one of their spicier noodle dishes. It's a blend of ground beef, Thai chili with basil all stir-fried with fresh rice noodles. The secret to this dish? Make sure you toss it all around first or else the noodle will become harder to manage. I asked for a wedge of lime to accompany this dish and squirted some juice all over to add a little more citrus flavour to the dish. I didn't find it overly spicy but I have a high tolerance, so ask for extra hot sauce if you like it hot, hot, hot!

They also have a section of noodle soups that you can customize, picking the noodles, the soup base as well as the meat/seafood accompaniment. I chose the Tom Yum Soup and fresh rice noodles with shrimp wontons. Other noodle choices are available, and a clear soup is also available for those who don't like spice. Mea/Seafood choices include pork hock/belly, housemade beef/fish/shrimp balls, as well as sukiyaki beef and chicken with cashews. All the noodle soups come with oyster mushroom and their homemade fish tofu. It's also topped with green onion and cilantro so if you're not a fan of either, let them know.

They have quite a few rice dishes too, and the one I tried was the Khoa Ooop Rummitr. It's a hot pot baked rice with tiger prawns (chopped up) and some coconut strips, and in the centre of it all, a giant scallop. It's a good option of you're looking for a seafood dish and not a fan traditional fried rice. There's no heat in this dish so it's a safe choice for those who want to avoid spice.

If you do like spice, then try the Kra Poa Kook - a fried rice made with ground beef and fresh chilies and basil. I still didn't find it overly spicy, but there is definitely heat involved. I really liked the deep fried basil, it's crispy!

Of course they have Pad Thai on the menu, but it's also with a twist. Instead of with the usual chicken and prawns, they give you the option of tiger prawns or deep fried soft-shelled crab. We got the crab version and as you can see, the topping is quite generous, as is the mound of noodles that the crab is hiding. If you like Pad Thai and you like soft-shelled crab, this is the perfect meal for you!

After trying my hand at making my own noodle soup, I decided to try one of their two custom soups. They have the Keaw Taew Moo with ground pork, prawns and bacon, but I went with their Yen Ta Foo, which is a fresh rice noodle soup with loads of seafood, prawns, fish tofu, fish and shrimp balls, fish fillet and even two tiger prawns. The deep fried wonton paper is a fun touch. Just take it out of the soup when it arrives so it holds the crunch! And yes, my soup is pretty red because I asked them to make it "extra hot". It's normally not that spicy, but I like how the staff will accommodate and even added chilies to heat things up.
I've been coming to this restaurant since they first opened and I honestly have to say, the service and food have definitely improved in the past two months. The front of house team is definitely coming together and the kitchen is getting their groove on with each other, especially during the busy lunch hour rush.

Landmark - Hot Pot without Meat...sort of

2011-06-01T20:14:00.003-07:00

Over a year ago, I reviewed Landmark as one of my very first post on this food blog. I was nostalgic and reread my first post and wow, my writing style sure has changed! If you've never tried hot pot, this will be a revelation. Upon arrival, you will be asked for a choice of soup base and there are a lot of choices. You can pick a medicinal soup complete with ginseng, a century egg and parsley soup, a peppery pork stomach soup, a tom yum soup and if you're less adventurous, a basic chicken stock based soup. The heating element at your table brings the soup to a boil and keeps it there as you dunk all the following raw ingredients into it. Don't worry about the soup boiling away, as the waiters continue to replenish the soup as you dine.

However, some things never change, and as with my last post, we started with live prawns. Since my dining companion doesn't eat shellfish, I only got a 1/2 a pound for myself. These were still moving when we got them! I know it looks a little cruel with the skewers and stuff, but really, it makes much more manageable when you dunk into the soup, much more civilized in a way. When you get live prawns like this, be sure you only cook them for a few minutes or else they will get rubbery and tough. And after they are cooked, return them to your plate and leave it there for about 3 minutes before you attempt to peel and eat.

We also got some taro, which adds amazing rich sweetness to the pot as you let it slowly cook. On the right, we have bean curd skin...they were previously dried and then resoaked to soften them up. These are great in the broth since they don't have much flavour of their own, and will take on whatever soup base you have as well as any sauces (think chili, satay and soy) that you dunk it into.

One thing about hot pot is that fresh fish slices tend to get lost in the soup and end up being totally overcooked. One way around this? They make the fish slices into a paste and stuff it into deep fried tofu puffs. Ingenuity at its best! This ensure that the fish stays in the tofu puff and firms up nicely to give the puff a unique soft and chewy texture. These here are halved and served open-faced, but some places actually inject the fish paste into the tofu puff and keeps it whole, with the fish paste inside a wonderful surprise!

Since this dinner took place during Lent (and I had swore off meat and coffee), this delicious plate of beef was my friend's to enjoy all on her own. Check out the marbling on this! They freeze the meat and then slice it paper-thin so that it cooks in minutes.

The last item we ordered was the Deep Fried Fish Skin. The pieces are actually okay to eat without even using the soup to cook it in, it's like fish chips, complete with crunch and all. You either like it or you don't. But when you dunk it into the soup, the pieces softens and becomes chewy.

I regret not taking a picture of the soup pot with all of the goodness cooking inside, something I will rectify on my next visit!

Ki at the Shangri-La

2011-05-31T22:34:00.003-07:00

I have been to Ki in Toronto and was quite eager to try the Vancouver location at the ShangriLa. Having been open for only three weeks or so, I decided to go for lunch with a colleague just last week. It's owned by the same people who own Hy's and The Keg, so we weren't overly surprised to see a Hy's waitress serving us.

The first thing we ordered was the Beef Carparccio. Instead of slices of beef, we were presented with thinly sliced pan seared strips of beef, rolled around scallions and watercress. Served on a thin and long slice of cucumber, and topped with crispy shallots. The shiso vinaigrette is richly scented with shiso, so avoid it if you don't like the flavour of that. The meat had a nice texture and the presentation was really pretty. Do yourself a favour and eat the cucumber too, I did!

Next up was their Sashimi Salad. Slices of sashimi on a bed of lettuce. The dressing is a good mix of sweet and spicy. It won't blow your mind, but the heat is definitely there. They serve the dressing in little fried wonton skin cups as well as some fresh seaweed tossed with sesame seeds and oil. Great for a textural change from the sashimi.

We also got their Dynamite Roll as well as a Spicy Scallop Roll. The Dynamite Roll was as you would expect, with the usual Tempura Shrimp, mayo and julienned cucumber and some tobiko. It wasn't exceptional, it was just average, and not really worth the price. Afterall, it's a shrimp and some rice. so this wasn't bad, but I'd have to say that the Spicy Scallop was. I know my tolerance for heat is quite high, but the heat factor was completely absent here. We did tell the waitress, and to her credit, she did ask the sushi chef about it. He told us that the spicy mayo is very mild and gave us some on the side to enhance the roll. It did help and I also like the presence of asparagus in the roll for added flavour, but it's not spicy! We also got the Ki Spider Roll, made with soft shelled crab, made with mango and perilla leaves. I didn't take a picture of this one, but I remember it well. Perilla leaves are really strong, even more than shiso. As a result, the mango and crab were pretty much lost in the roll.

From their Kushiyaki menu, we got their Unagi skewer. In total, we got four pieces of Unagi, each wrapped in Pancetta, along with some onions and pickled daikon strips. For $12, I would say this was a good deal!

On each skewer, there were two pieces of unagi, perfectly wrapped. The pancetta was salty and crunchy with a great charred flavour and texture. The sweetness and the delicate texture of the unagi makes this a perfect bite.
All in all, the restaurant is good and definitely priced on the high side. If you avoid the rolls (ie. Lobster Tempura Roll for $20) and concentrate on the other items, you can have a great meal at a decent price. For example, their Ikura (my all-time favourite) is $12 for two pieces of nigiri...when other places charge ~$3/piece at the most. As you can see, this was not ordered. However, their Vegetable Tempura is $11, which is fair market value, I'd say.
Have you been, either to the Toronto or Vancouver location? They also opened one in Calgary...let me know your thoughts if you've been!

Late Lunch/Early Dinner at Kita

2011-05-28T20:23:00.002-07:00

Kita is quite close to my home and after having living here for over a year, I finally paid it a visit. I gave it two shots, just so I would know enough about the place to write a decent review. I dined in the restaurant one evening, and got takeout at home another time.

Both visits, I got the Tako Sunomono to start. The photo above is dine-in serving and as you can see, it's as you would expect. Vermicelli noodles in a vinegar broth, topped with tako, cucumber, fresh seaweed and lemon slices.

And in the Tako Sunomono that I got to-go, I had slightly more tako, cucumber, and if memory serves me right, even more vermicelli! But in both cases, I was satisfied with this as a starter.

For a touch of Sashimi, we got their Appetizer Sashimi, two pieces each of salmon and tuna, and one piece of tai. I loved the touch of butterflying the kai to insert a few pieces of ikura (my favourite). Fresh but slices were just a touch too thick for my liking.

We wanted something just a bit heavier, so we tried one of their Special sushi rolls. The one we decided on was the Scallop Tataki. Essentially, it's a Californian Roll (imitation crab meat with avocado and cucumber), topped with scallop mixed with mayonnaise, and then torched. The scallop doesn't get cooked through, but you can see the burn marks on the topping as well as on the rice too! Although I am not a fan of avocado, I liked this roll (after poking out the avocado), and was surprised that a small casual place like this could pull it off.

As most of you know by now, Ikura is my favourite, and I tried one here during my dine-in experience. Simply presented and freshly made, I thought it was a good serving for $2.50.

However, they made it decidedly fancier for my take-out order the next time, with the addition of sliced cucumber, diced mint and a few sesame seeds. So far, both the take-out items were winning in the presentation department. I was surprised, but happily so.

Given the two "wins" from the take-out point of view, I decided to try them on another weekend when I was simply too lazy to cook, drive or go out. This is their Spicy Combo - with 6 pieces of Spicy Tuna and Spicy Salmon each, and then a piece each of Tuna, Salmon and Ebi too. The spicy rolls were mostly California rolls but made with the assorted fish rather than imitation crab meat. I would say this was actually an improvement! The sauce you see on the side is the "spicy" factor. I like the care they take to package this separately so as to not make the whole box a soggy mess.

This is their Assorted Sashimi. On the take-out menu, it promises the following, 3 pieces of Salmon, Tuna and Hokkigai, 2 pieces each of Toro, Sockeye Salmon, Saba and Tai, and 1 piece of Ika. As you can see, I got a few bonuses such as 1 amaebi and some Ikura in the Tai. And do you spot the piece of Tako? Rarely have I been given MORE food than promised but I'm not complaining. This was $16.95, meaning less than $1 for each piece. I have to note that I did order it once after this picture was taken, and I was given exactly what was listed, nothing more. Guess the chef was in a good mood the first time I went, but a good solid value nonetheless!

Phnom Penh - in a whole new way...

2011-05-23T18:47:00.003-07:00

This is my second or third review for Phnom Penh, see my most recent one here if you are looking for the usual Deep Fried Chicken Wing praise. This post is a little different because I am actually going to focus on their "other" specialties.

This is their Beef Brochette...two skewers of grilled beef slices served on a bed of vermicelli. There are also some cucumbers and tomato slices to lighten things up a bit. Pour a little of the fish sauce that comes with it, and you're all set.

We also tried the Deep-Fried Pomfret - lightly battered and deep fried whole. Don't like the fish staring at you? Turn it away like we did here. The sauce is a slightly thicker version of the more common fish sauce. The fish is scored so it cooks through quickly, and the flesh inside is still moist. If you like skin, you'll be delighted with the crunch of the skin. Yes there are bones to deal with, but worth it, I think. Oh, and yes, that is indeed an order of the famous chicken wings in the background.

The other dish I want to draw your attention to is their Claypot Chicken Rice...it takes about 20 mins to prepare when you order it, so expect to wait. The rice is slow-cooked or baked in this casserole, along with bone-in chicken, wood ear (essentially a tasteless fungus used for its crunch).
Wood Ear is mildly sweet but takes on the flavours of the dish it is being cooked in. High in protein and rich in iron, this little fungus packs quite the nutritional punch! Another ingredient is something called Golden Needles, now these aren't fungi, instead they are actually edible flower buds. Normally sold dry, you have to rehydrate them before using them. These are also flavourless but again, great crunch. As you near the bottom of the casserole dish, you'll notice that the rice is stuck to the bottom. This is intentional! Scrape at the pot to get all the stuck-on crunchy bits - some say this is the best part of the dish!
As I have found with another favourite restaurant (Hapa Izakaya), I will always have my standbys, but sometimes, going out of your comfort zone is a good thing too.

Tasty Eats at Trattoria

2011-05-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

A few months ago, I tried Trattoria on Fourth for the first time for dinner. As a fan of the Glowbal Group, I had some high expectations. This place doesn't take reservations for dinner so show up early!

We started dinner off with their burrata cheese crostini...so good. I could eat burrata all day long. It's a mild-flavoured cheese but so rich in texture. Creamy and buttery, a spoonful is pretty much all I can handle at a time.

Since we had a toddler with us, they gave us another appetizer more suitable for him. Their famous Kobe meatball. It was a hit and was gobbled up in minutes. After we painstaking cut it into quarters. No doubt about it, this kid eats well.

In order to make sure the kid was fed, we ordered their cheese pizza as soon as we sat down. Cut into quarters, the pizza was doughy enough to be filling and cheesy enough to be tasty. After taking a quarter, the boy fell asleep for about two hours. I don't know what they put in that pizza, but for him to fall asleep in the noisy Trattoria, you know he was fully satisfied.

With the toddler asleep, the adults could dine properly. We started off with the calamari. The breading was thin and deep-fried to golden crispiness. Served atop some spicy tomato sauce, this was definitely a good starter. Definitely whetted our appetite for more food!

For the past few months, I had been craving linguine...in a light non-cream based sauce. When I saw the Linguine Vongole on the menu, I was sold. As with Italian Kitchen, the pasta was cooked to al dente in a simple sauce of tomato and thyme, with a bit of peperoncino. The clams were all still attached to the shell, avoiding the dreaded and all too common "empty shell, clams on the bottom" syndrome.

We also tried the Special of the Night - a homemade gnocchi with salmon and tiger prawns. I think the server said there were supposed to be three prawns but when the dish arrived, we only had two. The spinach gnocchi was good and you can definitely tell it was homemade that day. Really fluffy and pillowy. The salmon was grilled nicely, with a crispy skin, just the way I like it. The prosciutto wrapped prawn...well, anything with a prosciutto, pancetta or bacon wins me over every time. And yes, it helped that these prawns were pretty big!

Although we both had pastas for our mains, we definitely had room for dessert. We got a few to try...from left to right, they are the Zeppole (home made choco filled fritters) served with vanilla cream, a biscotti and the decadent Tiramisu.

I am not a huge dessert fan, but this was one of the best tiramisu I've had. Layered with just the right amount of wet cream and soaked biscotti, it was really good. If you're like me and not a fan of really sweet desserts, (I usually go for the lemon tart at most places), then this is worth a shot. It's rich and indulgent, but not sugary sweet. I'm glad I saved room for dessert this time!

Afternoon at Joey's in Burnaby

2011-05-21T21:26:00.002-07:00

I have to admit - I love playing with my food, or just getting food into my mouth via my hands, instead of pesky utensils such as chopsticks and cutlery. This time, I managed to circumvent utensils by going for finger foods. I tried the Lettuce Wrap from Joey's and was pleasantly surprised. It was way more filling than I expected, and the flavours were indeed Asian-inspired. It's definitely worth a try if you're in the mood for something light, but if you're looking fill up...get their burger. See my post about it here.

The sauce is a mix of what seems like teriyaki sauce blended with Hoisin sauce (more commonly known as Chinese BBQ sauce). It's slightly overly sweet if you eat the filling on it's own, but after placing into the crunchy lettuce wrap, the filling does mellow out.

The other appetizer we tried was their fish tacos...another "eat with your hands" type of dish. The Baja Fish Tacos, though they are in the soft tortillas versus the crunchy corn tortillas I had expected. Inside are breaded and deep-fried fish and shrimp with some guacamole and chopped tomatoes. A bit of heat is provided by hot sauce, but we asked for it on the side. It's not crazy hot, so if you're looking for spicy, load it up with some tobasco instead.

Once taken out of their signature "taco holders", you can see how much filling is really in there. The chopped lettuce and tomato give the taco much needed freshness to counterbalance the deep fried batter of the fish and shrimp.
All in all, both are good sharing appies and great for an afternoon on the patio with a few martinis or glasses of white.

Dim Sum at Kirin on Cambie

2011-05-20T18:33:00.003-07:00

One weekend in April, I convinced some of my friends to have dimsum with me. We decided to head to Kirin at City Square. I got there right on time for our reservation but still had to wait another 20 minutes before our table was ready.

This is one of our Go-Tos - it just doesn't feel like dim sum until the Har Gows have been ordered. They are one of the most popular items. The ones here are fairly average, although the skin is translucent and thinner than other "discount" restaurants. The shrimp inside are usually deveined, as was the case here.

We also got their Lotus Leaf Wrapped Sticky Rice. It's sticky rice with chicken bits, shitake mushrooms, preserved Chinese sausage, scallions, dried shrimp and usually a duck egg yolk (the yellow in the top left). It's not a big portion of rice but does a good of curing the "you're hungry an hour after dim sum" blues.

Here is a shot of the unwrapped package. The was a bit more rice in the package, but I had to eat some of it to expose the filling inside. The rice is the wrapper for all the filling and then the whole thing is wrapped in the lotus leaf and steamed when you order it.

Since we had a toddler with us, we also got the Spring Roll since most kids love the crunch of the skin. Our little guy was no different. It is commonly served with some Lea & Perrins so add some tartness to the meat/vegetable filling.

Next up was the Assorted Beef "innards". The various parts are tripe, stomach, tendon and occasionally lung and intestines. All these organs are slow cooked in a beef broth flavoured with soy sauce and Chinese herbs. Granted, it's not for everyone, but the surprise here in the rice noodle rolls they tucked into the dish too, great for soaking up the gravy.

Another thing that's not for everyone...yes, Chicken Feet. These are basically bones and skin with a bit of cartilage. I've read some recipes for these that include deep-frying the feet first, and then they are slow-cooked in a blend of oyster sauce, soy sauce and even black bean sauce. However, these ones are so tender that I find it hard to believe they were fried first.

I always try to order one "different" dish each time I have dim sum, so I get the usual favourites while making it possible to discover new items. The one I tried today was their Quail Egg Siu Mai. Sui Mais are a pork dumpling, usually open faced with the pork exposed and a yellow skin, meaning they look nothing like this. The one is made with a wonton wrapper, with a cooked quail egg inside. I think the potential for the dish is high, but perhaps they overcooked the quail egg initially, before combining it with the pork filling. Once they steamed the whole dumpling all together, the quail egg was way overdone and dry and mealy.
Dim Sum here is solid, with prices in the slightly higher than average range.
One thing we found weird...our bill was $28.50 pre-HST for this meal, and after paying in cash ($20*2=$40), they never brought our change back. I normally would tip 15-20% but this is a +25% tip! Presumptious...

First Time at Hapa Umi

2011-05-19T15:53:00.002-07:00

I've been looking forward to trying Hapa Umi for weeks now and after two months, I'm glad to say I had visited them two times, so this post will be a longer one combining the two visits.
One of my favourite items from the two visits was the Sashimi Salad. The baby root vegetables are too cute! There were 8 pieces of sashimi in total, two each of ahi tuna, toro, albacore and some sockeye. The light citrus-soy dressing was a great complement to the delicate greens and sashimi. It's loaded with butter lettuce, mini root veggies like carrots and radishes and even some asparagus.

Another must-try is the Kaisen Don - the bowl presentation is amazing, a bowl of sushi rice and topped with tons of sashimi as well as fish cake and tomago too. The ebi and ikura are a nice touch too. The fish is sliced nicely and evenly, with a little bit of shiso thrown in to lighten things up.

Another great dish to try is their Scallop roll. There is nori in it, as you can see but that is just wrapped around the scallop, cucumber and mayo. A layer of rice surrounds that roll, and then it wrapped again in a delicate egg crepe skin. So pretty and tasty. Large chunks of scallop and great crunch from the cucumber.

Here's a closeup of the roll. Not too large to be unwiedly, but filling if you ate all 6 pieces by yourself.

We also sampled the Dynamite Roll. I like how they used green bean instead of the usual avocado at most places. I also liked the ratio of prawn to rice...yes the prawn is quite big, but I am glad then didn't try to make the roll appear bigger than it actually was, by padding with rice.

We also got the their Bento Box which features four Umi specialties and are changing based on fresh ingredients. That day, ours came with a potato salad, with large chunks of potatoes on a mayo based dressing. I've heard that the Bento has undergone some changes so please remember that this is from a few months ago.

Another dish was the Unagi on top of a bed of greens cucumbers...really nice and tender. Don't let the size of the unagi fool you, it's got big flavours!

And another side dish was the salmon maki...with some gomae on the side. What I like about the presentation is that although there was a main component in each dish, the accompaniment is well thought out and beautifully executed.

The fourth item of the bento box is their halibut tempura. Essentially beer-battered fish, but so much more than that. The fish inside is moist and flaky, and the crunch on the batter can't be beat. The tartar sauce is creamy and nicely flavoured with dill.

Here is the full box as served. I started with the salad, moved over to the unagi, then the roll, and finished off with the halibut tempura. My aim was to go from light flavours to rich, and i think I succeeded. All items are subject to change based on fresh ingredients too.

The bento is also accompanied with their takikomi gohan, complete with carrots, mushroom and bamboo. It was unexpected but I believe their menu has changed to include simply steamed rice to go with their bento box.

And no good bento is complete without miso soup and I am happy to report this is no exception!