My first Tweetup...

A few Sundays ago, I hosted my first un-official tweetup at Yew. In attendance were @bennettchin, @omurices, @dennispang and @pawspix. There was one more girl there that night, but she's not on Twitter! Shocker! We scored the BIG table, probably made of a yew tree, not to be confused with the Big Room, which is like their wine room and probably seats about 12. I've been to Yew several times but never with enough people to warrant the Yew table. I was excited!
The one thing that joined all of us strangers was our common love of wine. I hate to spill the beans (so I won't) about Yew, but suffice it to say...they have a WICKED deal on vino on Sundays.

We received some bread and butter to start. The bread was rustic warm and filling.  

The butter was lightly dusted with some fleur de sel.

We started with eight oysters, four miyagi and four kumomoto. Instead of coming atop a bed of ice, which eventually melts into water, these arrived on a bed of salt. Really good presentation without risk of melting water.  

The oysters come with four homemade sauces (that's why we got eight oysters, so we could try one with each sauce. See what we are willing to do to get you the best vicarious experience? We will try everything, so you don't have to. 
Going from upper left (clockwise) a Icewine Mignonette, a Citrus Ponzu, then the Guava Horseradish and lastly, the House Made Tobasco. My favourite was the guava one...tangy with a little bit of a kick.  

@dennispang had the calamari, with a tzatziki sauce. It looked a little soggy and soft, and I've never been a fan of calamari strips, always loved it in rings and tentacles...Oh, and tell them to "go easy on the salt"...

@pawspix and another girl ordered a cheese plate, it came with blue cheese and another hard cheese called Alaskan Gold. I've never had the latter, but it is reminiscent of an aged cheddar. Served with some nuts, and honey and a few slices of bread. A very good choice for accompanying wine. 

Our entree came next, and it's a pork belly with a shrimp dumpling. Sounds simple, but it's so not! 

Sitting on top of a bed of spinach and shimeji mushrooms, the pork belly was topped by a shrimp patty. 

The belly was nice and tender, and a huge portion. We removed the dumpling so you can see how nicely done the belly was. The dumpling was the only disappointment in the dish...again...overly salty. 

The other entree we ordered was the Cold Appetizer selection...for ~$25, you get to sample four of the appetizers from the Cold appys section. 
Oh, that's right, it came with some flat bread too!

The scallop ceviche was the one I was looking forward to the most. I don't like cooked scallops, but I love it raw/sashimi style and I also love it dried, Chinese style. The ceviche was really refreshing and the radish and black sesame gave the dish some much needed crunch. A little hint of jalepano peppers made it even better!  

The next dish we tried was the Tuna Nicoise...the most lacklustre of the bunch. Overly dressed and almost cloyingly sweet. I guess they tried to counterbalance this with some olives, but the flavour just became all blended, leaving you with a taste of overpowering olive tepanade...the tuna flavour was completely lost. I ddin't enjoy this one at all. 

The lobster roll has long been one of my favourites from Yew...one of the few places I've found in Vancouver that doesn't believe every roll can benefit with the addition of avocado. The lobster meat, the cucumber and the mango...it's really all you need. The rice paper wrapper is a pleasant change from nori, which probably would get too soggy with all the juiciness of the roll. 

My other favourite dish was the tako...a perfectly tossed mixture of peppers, parsley and dressing. If you like octopus, you'll love this dish too! 

We also ordered a side serving of Gnocchi, the minute I saw that it was topped with truffle oil, it had me. It was delicious...rich and topped with buttered bread crumbs. Probably way too much food, but definitely worth trying.

@Omurices ordered the Surf and Turf. It was a rather small serving of tenderloin, with a little iron crock pot of lobster macaroni and cheese. 

Sitting atop a bed of fresh white asparagus, the tenderloin was perfectly cooked (yet a bit salty), and it was clearly quite juicy. The Lobster mac and cheese wasn't really made with macaroni...more of a long pasta...still rolled up to soak up the cheese goodness and the sweetness of the lobster. A good dish if you are sharing, because the pasta pot is quite filling. 

After dinner, we received a small smattering of dessert nibbles...nuts rolled in cocoa and powder, as well as some gelee gummies. All delicious and a great way to end the meal! 

Wines we consumed tonight included a Quail's Gate Gwertz, a Kim Crawford Pinot Noir and the Joie Farm Rose...awesome prices for all the wines.  

Our server was a delight, handling all our photo demands, billing requests and general rowdiness. No complaints, and I'm sure we'll be back! 

Kicking it at the Keg

The night before my work/fun trip to Toronto, we decided to head to the Keg Yaletown to use a Vancouver Art Gallery coupon we had, something about either a New York steak or a Keg Prime Rib dinner for the price of the steak only. Don't ask me about coupons...I don't remember details, except for the expiry date.
Since my friend couldn't be a babysitter, we went with a child in tow. Little did we know...they have the cutest kids menu. It starts off with a Kid's Appetizer...with fresh veggies & dip, some crackers and fruits.

As all wait staff know, a kid with food is much more pleasant than a kid waiting for food. The next thing to arrive at our table was the chicken strips and fries. It was a generous portion of chicken strips, way bigger than the McNuggets most kids are used to. The fries were really good...I'm guilty of stealing fries from kids...hey, it's not like it was candy!

As the kid was eating, our salads arrived...undressed, exactly how we ordered it. The cheese was freshly shaved and layered on top. The croutons were fresh and crunchy, way better than the Keg in Burnaby near the Costco. I dipped my romaine chunks into the dressing and was pleasantly surprised, it didn't kick you in the butt with garlic. I couldn't believe how much dressing they gave us for a side salad, so glad we got it on the side!

The next plate to come were the Mushrooms Neptune...an order comes with 6, but as I am just an amateur blogger and an experienced eater, I ate one before remembering to photograph the food. The mushrooms were stuffed and overflowing with cream cheese and crab meat, and perfectly browned. Be careful, this plate and the contents are HOT! The mushrooms are really moist and juicy, so when you bite into it, expect a burst of juicese and boy, it's HOT!

I got my usual NY cut...and was a little bit surprised at how well done it appeared. However, upon slicing into it, I was even MORE surprised at how juicy and pink it was. The steamed veggies were completely overdone, but then again, this is a STEAK house...so maybe I was setting my standards a little too high for the veggies.

My friend got the Prime Rib dinner, and OMG...Will you take a look at how GI-normous this serving of meat is!?! Perfectly medium rare, I was about to toss my dinner aside, or sweetly offer to trade. We reached a happy compromise and each shared a bit of the steaks. Surprisingly enough, neither of us were willing to take the veggies instead.

As those "more-observant" of you have noticed....both our baked potatoes were naked. It's now I always order my potatoes, because I never know how much of each topping I want until I am about to eat it. Butter, sour cream, green onions and bacon...all on the side, and all you have to do it layer those babies on!

I was delighted with the meal and the very generous portion side. I think that is the allure of a chain restaurant...the right ones have a certain standard, and no matter where in the city you go, you should expect the same service, quality and experience. My only exception...the Keg by the Burnaby Costco...truly disappointing. It's the only place where I actually complained, only to have the manager return my call, and say "I have no idea why you are complaining".

Earls for Seattle Seahawks

Last Thursday, we headed to Earls Yaletown for a Meet and Greet with some of the Seahawks, namely Wilson and Hawthorne. We had heard about the event from Sepy, the assistant marketing manager at Earl's Restaurant. There were some RCMP manning the door, and we wondered how they got involved. We got upstairs just in time to see the last of the sliders being passed out. However, we grabbed a bottle of white wine and got comfy at the bar.

They did pass around a plate of ribs and we managed to snag the largest rib I've ever seen. Really juicy and meaty. Enough for two people to share...unfortunately, that was the last of the free nibbles...for now.

We grabbed a table by the inside patio and decided to order some food...the wings and ribs as usual.

Perhaps because of the larger than expected crowd, our food took rather long to arrive. It was good when we got it, but it was just slow, I guess the kitchen was a little backed up.

The waitress acknowledged our wait and thanked us for our patience. She was also nice enough to come by with some sliders and some bacon wrapped shrimp.
They were passing out some shirts too...i managed to get one black shirt, and scored some red shirts for the friends that were patient enough to wait for the food with me.

It was a great night topped of with photos with the RCMP. I actually have photos with the RCMP from back in the Olympics, none with VPD, paramedics or FFs, so I guess they'll be next on my list!

Centro - Failsafe - mostly

Centro is one of those tony places everyone must venture into at least once in their visit to Toronto. Everytime I come, I see celebrities. My first visit here was during Winterlicious but we ended up ordering from the non-prix fixe menu that time, and have never looked back.

Tonight, I was definitely in the mood for lamb, and they know how to do it right here. Upon being seated, they bring you out some freshly baked bread, wrapped in a burlap-like cloth to keep everything warm. It was served with a side of butter sprinkled with fleur de sel, and some other churned butter curds. Upon asking, we found out that it was a form of cow's milk cheese...called cashew cheese. Nice cheesy flavour with the appearance of cheese curds.

Tightly bundled up…

Unveiled…

My martini

The wine storage. If you are rich and famous, why would you keep your good wines at home, and bother with transport whenever you dine here? Well, you wouldn't! You'd just bring a few of your favourites and have Centro store it for you, when whenver you pop in for a bite, your trusty wines are there for your enjoyment. Oh, but of course!

The appetizers we chose were both seafood dishes, as we were both going to order red meat for our main course. I ordered a martini to accompany my appetizer of Spicy Mussels ($20). When the dish arrived, most of the mussels had escaped from the shell. The broth was a bit too salty, but well suited for bread dipping. Lot of herbs and spices, making it a very flavourful dish. At first, I was a little disappointed by the number of shells I pulled out without any mussels in it. But, at the end when I counted all the mussels in the broth (yes, I'm very anal that way), it was all accounted for in the end. The inner accountant in me was satisfied...

The lobster salad ($20) was amazing too...served on a bed of romaine lettuce hearts, you got almost half the meat from a lobster body. The tomatillo salsa dressing was light, and complemented the sweetness of the lobster meat with a slight citrus undertone. On top of everything, there was a chip...a parmesan crisp, pure cheese, toasted to a crisp. So good!! All in all, generous portions of both appetizers...hoping we have enough room for our entree

The beef tenderloin ($38) is a masterpiece of meat. If you can only order one thing from there, order this. The portion is generous, so much so that it's like they grilled the tenderloin, and then decided to add another piece of tenderloin on top of it. , the meat is tender and cooked to perfection. The sauce is nicely reduced and the accompanying marinated mushroom and asparagus and beets.

The rack of lamb ($41) served rare and simply with some fresh green peas and gnocchi. When my rack which was the rarest I had seen lamb served. It is a little underdone, but not overly so. I do enjoy my meat rare, steaks with a cool centre, etc. The deep fried garlic chips were super crunchy and mellow, not too garlicky. The sauce was rich and there was enough on the plate that you could finish and feel satisfied, but not stuffed.

I ordered a glass of red wine to accompany my lamb. It arrived with a little bit of cork in it...so I asked my server to get me a new glass. His response? It's acceptable to have a bit of cork in wine nowadays...but if I "insisted", he would pour me a new glass. He whisked the glass away and returned moments later. I get the feeling he just strained it through a coffee filter or something...not impressed at all.
I would say that was the only thing that ruined an otherwise spectacular night.
I did spot someone famous this time too, but wasn't allowed to take a picture. It was Alex Rodriguez and Rominson Cano frm the Yankees. Who knows, maybe next time I'll be quicker and luckier!

Breaky at CJ's in Maui

Second breakfast out while venturing in Maui. Found a little place in a strip mall that was recommended by the concierge, known for having the best Maui onion gravy in town. Once we walked in, there was an amazing selection of other goodies, which included a Smoked Salmon Bagel with cream cheese. As per usual, I asked for everything on the side, and here is how it came. A perfectly deconstructed smoked salmon bagel.

For all the deconstructed goodness that arrived, this is the end result upon re-assembly. I tucked a brick of cream cheese on each half of the bottom of the bagel. The tomato seemed out of place so that was eaten on its own. The lettuce was a welcome addition, so that landed on the bagel as well. I also put the generous portion of the capers in the crevices and then piled on the smoked salmon. Don't really remember what we did with the top of the bagel, but probably slathered on whatever little packet of jam or peanut butter came alongside and gobbled that up as well.

Didn't really know what to expect with the Loco Moco, but from all sources, it is a traditional Maui dish with a base of potatoes, with a hamburger patty on top, all smothered with Maui onion gravy, and then topped with two sunny side up eggs. This is how the dish arrives.

In order to see the patty, I cut the eggs apart carefully, to expose the burger patty...interesting, eh? The potatoes are melt in your mouth tender, and the onion gravy is the sweetest thing I've ever tasted on this side of savoury. Someone should make this gravy into French Onion Soup. Just throw some bread over a bowlful of this stuff, sprinkle some gruyere and mozza cheese and bake until golden. Now that would be some comfort food.

I had to take this shot...random condiments that somehow just don't fit together. Just think, when was the last time you were in a restaurant where you needed both ketchup, soy sauce, and tobasco?

And here is a completely gratuitous picture of me stuffing my face. Yes, I ate both.