Carvery Lunch at Pacific Rim

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

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

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 Kebabs with 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

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

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

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.