Eclectic Menu at Sen, from the Chef of Lin's!

Last week, I attended a media dinner at Sen Bistro, brought to you by the owner and chef of Lin's. Although Lin's is most celebrated for their Xiao Long Baos, Chef RuLin Zhang is definitely trying something different here. The menu includes dishes like Celery & Dried Scallop Salad, Flambe Salmon, Braised Pork with Pumpkin. Oh, and they also have Sukiyaki, likely a homage to the location's previous occupant, Posh.  
When we arrived, the waitresses were passing around platters of Cumin Lamb Cubes. These had just the right amount of heat and the cumin flavour was well-infused into the lamb. The meaty morsels were tender and perfectly bite sized for an appetizer. 
The other hors d'oevures was a Beef Curry Spring Roll...again part of a Southeast Asian flavour theme. The filling was moist and the skin was nice and crispy. I didn't get much of the curry flavour here, but it could be due to the spiciness of the lamb I already had.
For the cold starter course, we had a selection of Pickled Lotus Roots, Shredded Chicken with a Spicy Peanut Sauce (which we hung onto like grim death for the rest of the meal, right +Rick Chung?) and a Celery and Dried Scallop Salad. All the dishes were really refreshing and prepped our palate for the other dishes to come.
This is the Shredded Chicken with some cucumber, topped with a healthy dose of the peanut sauce. It's reminiscent of a sesame based shredded chicken dish I've had at other places. I found the chicken surprisingly moist despite the fact that it was mostly white meat.
Do you know the dish most Chinese restaurants have, the Scallop with Vegetables Stir Fry? This is a clever rendition of the same thing, but instead of using fresh whole scallops, they use Conpoy and Celery, a dried cured version of scallops. The conpoy is rehydrated and stir fried with thinly sliced celery. Because conpoy has a much more pungent and salty flavour than scallops, this dish didn't need much in the terms of seasoning. The crunch of the celery was the highlight here. 
We also got something called a Broad Bean and Sherchai (preserved vegetables) Mash...this was nice with the shredded vegetables, but the mash itself was a bit doughy. 
So each of us, we tried a bit of everything and I have to say, I loved the colours on the plate. Fresh, vibrant and very appetizing. 
First of our three Hot Appetizers was the Chicken, Enoki and Shitaake Soup. Served up individually instead of family style, these little bowlfuls had a clear broth with a good amount of chicken and mushrooms. What really stood out for me here was the light lemony note in the broth, which made me think of snake soup, where they add lemongrass.
In more of a dim sum style, our next dish was the Lormi Xiaomai (Sticky Rice Dumpling). The sticky rice ahd good flavour and was quite tender but the dumpling skin was a bit too thick and made the dish much denser that expected. I ended up eating the sticky rice itself and leaving the shell alone. 
Probably the best of the hot appies was this Salt & Pepper Deep Fried Tofu. This was spicy, crispy, and very well-seasoned. If you love bite sized fried goodness, you'll love this dish. The tofu is smooth and is a great contrast to the flavourful crispy skin. The little chillies will be perfect if you love heat! 
Our first entree was the Flambe Salmon, yes, Flambe. The chef went around to each table and lit up each of the salmon with a blow torch. It was impressive to behold but impossible to photograph! If they knew they were going to torch the salmon, I think they should have served it skin-side up, because I do love a crispy sear on my skin. Alas, this was not to be. But the salmon it self was juicy and the king mushrooms were a meaty side dish. It certainly isn't what you would plan to order at a Chinese restaurant, but if you saw the table next to you having it, you might just want to give it a shot too.
After the excitement of the salmon, there was a bit of a lull as we were served some Steamed Buns and Fried Crepes. We knew the buns were to hold the upcoming Braised Pork so we debated on whether or not to dig into the Fried Crepes. I eventually gave in and tried them. As expected, they were a bit oily, but the flakiness was definitely present. I would have liked a bit of green onion or some other herb in this, but texturally, this was bang on. 
This Braised Pork is the dish that we were waiting for to go into the steamed buns. There were slices of pumpkin here with the pork and the sauce was a rich soybean paste. This had a bit too much fat for me, but that is how it's supposed to be. I removed some of the fat and made myself a braised pork slider. This was good and saucy. Our buns were a touch too cool by now, but I expect that was a function of cooking for a large group. If you were dining in a small group, I would expect the buns and pork to land at the same time.  
And for the second of our seafood dish, we got the Double Prawns Delight. On the left is the Wok Fried Prawns in a Garlic Chili Sauce and on the right, we have the Golden Honey Prawns. Although both were good, I would say that the Garlic Chili one was the winner, for two reasons, I like my prawns shell on, and I like my food spicy. The coating on the honey prawns was nice and light, and several other people preferred the shelled prawns too. I liked that we were served both though. 
And now onto the desserts  The first is called Pumpkin Sticks. I had envisioned breaded pumpkin, deep fried with a sugary sauce, but what arrived was completely different. We had a pumpkin pudding with a filled mochi ball, and the stick? It was a Pocky stick. If you like pumpkin, you'll appreciate this dish. I liked the pocky and mochi better. 
These other Lormi-zhi (dough balls) were filled with a black bean paste that was just a bit too sweet for me. The texture of the skin was good though, I loved the chewiness of it.
All in all, I think we had a wide example of the dishes that Sen has to offer and despite some misses, I would head back to try their other dishes. They have Sukiyaki as well as Stone Hot Pot Rice, two things I really enjoy and have had a hard time finding good versions in the city.

Take Note:

• Individual Hot Pot Lunch Set available
• Lunch specials are $8.95 daily
• Closed on Tuesdays

The Wine Bar in Yaletown

A few weeks ago, I was invited to the grand opening of TWB The Wine Bar. It's located inside Provence Marinaside. The premise is that this is the place you come to for a glass of wine with a group of friends where you can enjoy some appies or even a full meal, whatever you are in the mood for that day. 
What struck me most upon my entry was their amazing lighting fixtures, so pretty and incandescent. 

 

Many of their small bites are priced at just $5 and we sampled any of them. This is the Risotto Ball, with a bit of mozzarella and a creamy sweet tomato sauce. 

 

We also tried their Gnocch, which changes daily. The sauce on this was amazing, just a touch smokey with a bit of tanginess. The little slice of cheese rounds out the bite quite nicely. 

 

I was also a fan of their Grilled Squid, with a nice crust on the outside and a tender little morel of squid tentacles. All of the above are perfect foods for pairing with their many glasses of wine on the menu. 

 

They've removed the old section that featured the antipasti for the Provence side and instead, created a bar that features their various little bites. Makes it that much harder to resist getting one, two or three items from the eclectic menu!
If you're in the Yaletown area and want to stop off somewhere for a quite drink, give TWB a try!

Take Note:

• Most bites are just $5 or $6
• Wines are available by the glass or by 1/4 litre
• Bigger bites for a heartier appetite are just $18 and include a Seared Tenderloin! 

Revisit: CinCin

A few weeks ago, a friend from HK visited and wanted a fancy dinner out. We had gone to Black and Blue on his last visit and we thought a nice Italian place like Cin Cin would be a good call. Afterall, the last time I went a few years ago was quite successful.

We should have known that something was amiss when our waiter came over to tell us about the special of the day, and blanked out. He actually said "Oh, I forgot". When he did remember to tell us about the duck breast special, he could tell us about what the duck came with, but couldn't remember how it was actually prepared. 
Someone, not our waiter, brought us some mini-buns, but I avoided it because I didn't want to ruin my appetite. From comments around the table, the bread was fair, it wasn't served warm but we did find out that it was made with spelt flour and accompanied by an olive tapenade.  We got a few appetizers to start and the first to arrive was the "spiedini di capesante e gamberi" aka Scallops and Prawns. These were served on what looked like a skewer, but it was actually a rosemary branch. The base of the dish was cannellini with a bit of gremolata. The scallops were big but I wished they had a bit more of a crust, same with the prawns...it all just seemed undercooked, almost a little rushed. And the white beans were a bit to mushy to be enjoyed.  The "tartare di tonno" was pretty good and the portion was quite large. I liked the chunkiness of the tuna ad the greens on top helped to lighten up the dish. I would have liked a bit more of acid in the dish, perhaps just a bit more citrus? And with the generous serving, we could have easily used more crostini.    Another dish we tried for an appetizer was the "linguine al granchio", which we shared between two of us. The linguine was a perfect al dente and it was loaded with dungeness crab. I could have used a bit more heat in this dish, but the tomato and parsley kept it nice and light.   The special of the day was the "Petto d'anatra" on a bed of polenta with some braised cabbage. The duck was cooked perfectly and the meat was quite tender, without any gaminess. However, the skin was chewy and almost a little bit tough. The polenta was very smooth, but most of its flavour came from the au jus. The portion size was decent though, and made it easy for everyone to have a taste.   Both boys order the "bistecca alla fiorentina", a 16oz certified angus wood grilled t-bone. It was accompanied by a portobello mushroom as well as some slow cooked onions. We had ordered on medium rare and one medium. Given there were only two steaks at the table, you think they would have remembered which was which, but alas, no... That was a little disappointing, considering the location and the price points, I really expected more of the wait staff. When we told him what had transpired, his response was "oh, really?". Putting the service behind us, we all tried a bit of the steak. It was tender and seasoned well, but the cut itself was fairly fatty. The cavolo nero (aka Kale) was nice as was the portobello. The steak was just a bit disappointing.  And despite the fact that I'm usually a carnivore, I decided to go light and had the "filetto di carbonaro", a roast sablefish filet from the Haida Gwaii, accompanied by cipollini onions, some mashed sieglinde potatoes and braised kale. And this wowed me, I really liked how the fish was roasted and the combination of kale and mashed potatoes made this a very satisfying dish. Because we had already decided to head to Death by Chocolate for dessert, we skipped it here. They gave us some chocolate cookies and a pear gelee candy with our bill though, so that was a nice touch.
Cin Cin isn't what it used to be though in terms of service, but I'd say the food is still on par with before.

Things to Note:

• Room can get quite loud and boisterous (at least over the holiday season)
• Staff are okay and seem attentive to the regulars (or pricey wine drinkers) only
• This was Pre-Dine-Out so I can't even imagine the level of service/food during the event 

Dineout #2 - Saucisse

For this year's Dine Out Vancouver, we purposely chose restaurants that were new to us. The first was Fishworks in North Vancouver, and here is my review of Saucisse, also in North Vancouver. Our next two are Oakwood Bistro and Yaletown L'Antipasto. As we aren't too familiar with the area, we were a little surprised that this little cozy restaurant was actually part of a strip mall!

 

Who would expect such pretty lights inside a tiny little restaurant!? But it sure does make the place cozy and  makes you forget your surroundings. Although we intended to try their $38 Dine Out menu, we were informed of another great deal that we decided to take advantage of instead. Every Sunday-Wednesday, Saucisse offers up a Prix-Fixe menu that is hard to beat. For $99, you get 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 2 desserts, PLUS a bottle of their house red or white wine. It sure beats the Dine Out menu plus you get to choose from everything on the menu, and they have a wide selection of seafood, meats and vegetarians, truly something for everyone.

So to start, we ordered a bottle of the Legado Munoz Garnacha 2011 from Spain. This wine was full bodied with fruity flavours and an smooth earthiness. The bread and garlic butter was fairly ordinary, with the bread on the dry side.

 

Our first appetizer was the Pacific Steamer Potage, essentially mussels, clams and octopus steamed in a white wine broth. The baguette on top was an uneccesarry touch. It would have been better served on the side. The seafood themselves were cooked perfectly, with the clams and mussels still in the shell and everything tasted very fresh.
We then tried the Saucisse Signature, a selection of 5 house made grilled sausages. They were out of the BC Craft Beer Brat the night we went, so we doubled up on the Espellette Chicken and Sage because it was denoted as Spicy! Unfortunately, it wasn't as spicy as we wanted and it also seemed a bit too loose to be a sausage. The Smoked Kettle Ridge Beef was very lean, and had a great smokey flavour. The Prawn and Lobster Sausage more like a patty and not what we expected at all. However, the Garlic Pork Sausage had the best flavour the and was leaner than usual. The sausage platter comes with crusty grilled baguette slices as well as three sauces, a dijonnaise, a spicy house tomato compote and a chef’s aioli.

 

For our mains, we chose the Beef and Blue Seared Tenderloin. The beef was done to a medium rare with a slight sear on the outside. It was super tender but the seasoning seemed a little light handed. I appreciate letting the meat speak for itself, but there was a noticeable lack of salt and pepper on the meat, and I didn't really get any of the blue cheese grantinee. The mustard mash was pretty good, but the best part was the caramelized onions with the creamed winder greens. It really made the dish standout and gave it a big hit of earthiness, texture and flavour. The portion was quite large too, and I ended taking some of it home in a doggie bag. 
Our second entree was the Yarrow Meadows Duck Confit Cassoulet and it was quite tasty. The skin could have been crispier, but nothing will compete with my experience in Seattle at Brasserie l'Ecole. The duck is cooked sous vide for 24 hours and is served with a pancetta & white bean ragout. There is also a bit of their pork sausage tucked underneath. This is a very well rounded dish, with a good serving of meaty goodness. I would pick this over the tenderloin, but just ask for a crispier skin. 
We also decided to get a side to go with our meals, and for that, we picked the Sautéed Seasonal Wild mushrooms. This was a good addition for $6 in my books. King mushrooms and oyster mushrooms, braised and slow cooked. They made our entrees much better. You can also add Truffled Pomme Frites, Haricots Verts and there is a Cauliflower Grantinee that I might have to try next time!
As I mentioned before, you also get 2 desserts. The one that I was sold on was the Lemon Sabayon Tart. Although the toasted pine nut crust was more of a cookie, the sabayon was amazing. Add some of those berry pearls and we had just the right amount of tartness for a dessert. It was so good. It's part of the reason I made sure to pack my tenderloin, I wanted to save room for dessert!
Our other dessert was a trio of Cream Puffs, with assorted ice creams, namely Chocolate Mint, Cardamom and Caramel, all drizzled with a dark chocolate sauce. It was a fun way to end the meal. So if you missed out on Saucisse during Dine Out, don't despair, head over Sunday-Wednesday and score yourself an even better deal!

Dineout #1 - Fishworks

For this year's Dine Out Vancouver, we purposely chose restaurants that were new to us. The first was Fishworks in North Vancouver, the second was Saucisse, also in North Vancouver. Our next one will be this Friday at Oakwood Bistro and our final venture will be Yaletown L'Antipasto. Four outings in two weeks might seem like a lot, but it's a huge reduction from what I have done in previous years, including lunches and dinners!
Of the five of us, only two actually ended up doing the Dine Out menu.  

sThis is the Crab Soup that comes as one of the appetizer choices. The description was Dungeness crab in Coconut Soup with Enoki Mushrooms, but as you can see, the crab isn't really in the soup. Nevertheless, the soup wasn't overly sweet as you'd expect with the presence of coconut, and the mushrooms gave it a nice texture. The portion seemed bit small, especially compared to my non-Dine-Out appetizer.

I tried the Lobster Bisque from their regular menu, and my bowl was enormous...it was rich and creamy and never-ending. I really enjoyed this and didn't even mind sharing, since there was so much in the bowl! 

The second Dine-Out appetizer we tried was the Vietnamese Style Salad Roll, with Qualicum Beach Scallops and Prawn. The serving was, again, a little smaller than expected. The flavours were good though and the presentation of the dressing in the mason jar made it impossible to "dip" the salad roll as usual, instead the sauce had to be poured on top. This is not part of their regular menu and could be the reason for the smaller size and odd presentation.

And the second non-Dine-Out appetizer we got was their Dungeness Crab Cakes. This was a healthy portion and there wasn't a lot of filler either. We did find a little piece of shell in one though. It wasn't as good as the one we had at Whet, but then again, it is quite a bit cheaper too.

One of the Dine-Out entrees was the Crispy Duck Breast, served simply with a few carrots. What was on the plate was quite good, although the duck skin could have been crispier. The layer of fat in between wasn't excessive and the duck meat had a rich gamey flavour and texture. I expected a bit of carbs here though, maybe a bit of mashed potatoes made with the duck fat. That would have taken this dish higher.

For our other Dine-Out entrees, we tried the Nova Scotia lobster. This was a good sized portion of lobster and it was cooked perfectly. The meat had a good bounce and was quite sweet. The chowder-like sauce had strong hits of smoked bacon. It doesn't look like this is on their regular menu either, but that is quite surprising for a seafood restaurant, so I'd doublecheck.

Our first (of three) non-Dine-Out entree was the Linguine Carbonara with Prawns. The blend of cream, cheese and egg was rich and creamy, but there was a touch too much of it for me.  The pasta was al dente, and the cubed pancetta added a nice saltiness. Clearly though, the star of the show are the grilled prawns. I wished they got a little bit more colour on the, but they were still quite good. Large and bouncy, it complemented the pasta nicely.

I have only had Salmon Wellington at Pink Peppercorn, with the chef of the Cannery at the helm. When we saw it on their regular menu, we had to give it a try. The phyllo crust is supposed to have cranberry and almond flavours, but they were missing for me, or too subtle to detect. The phyllo was a bit doughy but the salmon was prepared correctly, and flaked nicely on the  fork. The pistachio pesto was quite tasty too. And as you can see, our entrees had a bit more garnish than the Dine-Out dishes.

I know, I know...who goes to a seafood restaurant and orders Beef Tenderloin? Well, yours truly did, and I have to say, I didn't regret it at all. Oh, and FYI, the other non-seafood choice is a chicken breast. The slab of Canadian AAA Beef came on a bed of heady truffle emulsion with a pat of Blue Cheese butter on top. Cooked to a medium rare on the inside but seared on the outside, the butter melted quickly into the steak. The sides were the same as the salmon but with the addition of some pommes frites, which were delicious when dipped into the melted butter too.

Only a few of us were dessert fans so the two that came with the Dine-Out was just right. The first is their Cheesecake, with some caramel apple on top. This was surprisingly light and not as dense as I was expecting. I normally dislike cheesecake but the flavour of this was so mild, I didn't mind it at all. 

The second, less common dessert on the Dine-Out menu was the Poached Pear, with a Toasted Hazelnut Vanilla Ice Cream. The pear was actually quite tender and the ice cream paired (no pun intended) well with this. I also liked the crunch from the hazelnut chunks. 
One thing I have to say about both desserts...why did they use such large plates? If anything, it made the desserts look even skimpier than they actually were.
Dine Out ends on Sunday, February 3, 2013. Details for booking are below.