Mooshmouse

Brian, as I said to Lorna last night, there'll definitely be a next time with food that good! Sooner, rather than later, of course. Once again, you hit the nail right on the head. We did have to order a bowl of rice so as not to let that gloriously rich sauce go to waste. And I was expecting a comment like that from you on the deep-fried dumplings... an amazing amount of self-restraint there by not digressing into a full-fledged anti-red-bean rant.

It probably was berry sugar since the granulation was much finer than regular white table sugar. But pink? Awww, what's wrong with those three desserts? Noah can eat his weight in ma lai go... there's two squares of it in my kitchen right now. The mango pudding at Shanghai Chinese Bistro is my favourite; it's especially smooth and creamy, not the horrendous gelatinous kind that seems to be so prevalent, and there's strips of fresh mango in it too rather than just chunks of fruit or nothing at all. However, the grand prize goes to Kirin's baked tapioca with lotus paste. There's absolutely no sharing with that dish! Oh, by the way, if the tofu and celery dish is is on the menu, what time's dinner at your house tomorrow? Edited to add a gratuitous self-invite

In this week's Georgia Straight, Angela Murrills lets the cat out of the bag on the hot chocolate at Anona Fine Food and Catering: "two-percent milk, dark Belgian chocolate, and, the kicker, scoops of homemade marshmallow". You'll find Anona at 3610 Main Street.

This much-anticipated lunch at Shanghai River certainly did not disappoint. A light, well-decorated room. Soaring ceilings with a cool, minimalist Asian-chic vibe... a welcome departure from the often-garish red and gold décor so often found in old-school Chinese restaurants. Friendly, attentive service which is always a bonus during dim sum. Of the dishes that we ordered, I felt that the three pictured above were the definite standouts. The clean, light flavour of the tofu shreds with celery, carrots and mushrooms was a pleasant surprise, and I could have easily polished off an entire dish of these on my own. As noted by Lee, the meatballs were excellent comfort food; their incredible richness belies the fact that fat is definitely your friend. Lorna, you would've loved the red bean beignets. Deep-fried goodness! Very eggy, yet still light. Lee and I puzzled for a number of minutes over whether or not the pink sugar was flavoured. In the end, I thought I detected a faint strawberry taste to it, but we're still not sure. Lee's comments on both the foie gras sticky rice siu mai and the xiao long bao were bang on the money. In other words, that's a definite vote from us for the soup dumplings at Shanghai Wind.

There's a blurb on "about-to-open Quince" in this week's Georgia Straight. Ambrozia has been opened by Stefan Michev - previously the manager of Fleuri in the Sutton Place Hotel. Billed as "The Esssence of the Mediterranean". I spoke with him yesterday and he mentioned there is also a touch of Bulgarian (Stefan's home country) on the menu. Website still under construction. http://www.ambroziarestaurant.com/ ← And, as linked to in this Media Digest post, Tim Pawsey of The Vancouver Courier offered a cursory write-up of Stefan Mintchev's Ambrozia, now open in the former Shiraz space (good memory kontemporary). If you're still curious, the Westender also ran a profile of this former Sutton Place F&B Director in the Lifestyles section of its November 17 edition.

The Vancouver Courier Wednesday, November 16 edition Wines of a feather – "What's in a label? Plenty, particularly in bountiful B.C., which, being a progressive, new world kind of place, seems to offer limitless creativity-particularly when it comes to birds." (Tim Pawsey) The Georgia Straight Thursday, November 17 edition Best Eating: Tea and tarot – "Whether you view it as entertainment or counsel, a good session in a café with a tarot-card reader is one of life’s great midday pleasures." (Leslie Javorski) Best Eating: Australian Bill Granger has built an empire in the name of simplicity – Angela Murrills chats with this restaurateur and cookbook writer from down under. Uncorked: Deli tidbits and wine twin sets make dinner – Jurgen Gothe offers up some of his newest finds for "favourite dinner treats, particularly in fall and winter... something from the deli case and a couple of wines to go along." Food of the Week: Dark Belgian hot chocolate – Find the perfect "balm for the soul on a rainy day" at Anona Fine Food and Catering on Main Street (Angela Murrills) Drink of the Week: Tree Brewing's Cutthroat Pale Ale (Jurgen Gothe) Straight Goods: Cheats' eats – "Chef, sommelier, and teacher [Andrea] Jefferson offers restaurant-quality fare in takeout vacuum packs" at soon-to-open Quince. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Get squashed – Chef Romy Prasad offers a five-course squash menu at Savory Coast for $37.50 until mid-December. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Drink it in – Yagger's is open for business at 433 West Pender. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Two for the stew – Burgoo is slated to open a second outlet in late January at 3 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Taking it to the street – New Chef Graham Trimble offers "two menus—streetside and beachside—with different menus and views" at The Beach Side Café in West Vancouver. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Underground treasures – Truffles are featured until month's end at CinCin, including Chef Andreas Wechselberger’s Bianco e Nero dinner next Wednesday evening. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) The Westender Thursday, November 17 edition (Lifestyles section) Food triumphs, party tanks at Cornucopia – Andrew Morrison finds that "Whistler's 9th Annual Cornucopia Wine and Food Celebration, which took place Nov. 9-13, was one part wonderful wine and food fest, two parts explicit gong show."

Rachel, sounds like two perfect comfort food meals in a row. Mmmmm. Dang! I read your post after coming home from cooking class and got hungry all over again! Speaking of cooking class, here's the menu and photos from last night's final instalment of NWCAV's Serious Foodie course: Classic Cream of Roasted Butternut Squash and Parsnip/Potato Soups Wine Pairing: Dancing Bull 2004 Sauvignon Blanc Seared Ribeye Steak in a Wild Mushroom/Red Wine Reduction Sauce Accompanied by Roasted Vegetables en Papillote and served over Blue Cheese Polenta Wine Pairing: Mission Hill 2003 Shiraz Ricotta-stuffed Pannetone, French Toast Style

Promising a September start-up, here's Quince's still-static website. ← There you go, TFA. Looks like they're still in medias res. Chef Tony also mentioned Quince in last week's Serious Foodie class as pointed out here by BCinBC.

Abra, as stunning as your photographs are, they play second fiddle to the fact that you'll have leftover pizza, carrot cake and coffee for breakfast. A woman after my own heart!

A favourite filling for cucumber cups in our household is cream cheese, minced smoked oysters, dill and Tabasco sauce all creamed together and topped with a sprig of fresh dill. These never last for long.

The Vancouver Courier Monday, November 14 edition Winning whiskies a go-go – "'Reformed fish farmer' [Richard] Joynson is regarded as an icon in the industry: his Inverary haven is celebrated as the ultimate in whisky stores, for its stellar stock of premium and rarer bottles, and world wide [sic] (but not in Canada, please) mail order service." (Tim Pawsey) John Clerides, owner of Marquis Wine Cellars, showcases some of Spain's finest varietals during Spanish Splash on November 16 at the Vancouver Museum. Net proceeds benefit the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre.

And so we have the last hurrah, our final instalment of this term's Serious Foodie class. Chef Tony certainly had us exit in style. First off was an opportunity to freestyle a bit and spice at will, using a classic cream of [insert vegetable here] as our starting point. Half the class did a roasted butternut squash soup, and our group was part of the other half that cooked parsnip and potato. The soups were then simultaneously ladled into bowls; Wes'll have some great shots of that. Classic Cream of Roasted Butternut Squash and Parsnip/Potato Soups Wine Pairing: Dancing Bull 2004 Sauvignon Blanc We chose to flavour our parsnip/potato soup with crushed cardamom pods, crushed coriander seeds, allspice, Granny Smith apple, apple cider vinegar and a splash of lemon juice. Topped with a tiny sprig of thyme. What really made the soup's flavours sing, however, was Chef Tony's addition of a chunk of smoked kipper. Never in a million years would I have imagined that parsnips, potatoes, apples and smoked fish all puréed together would taste so damn good. From here, we moved onto our main course. Roasted vegetables en papillote was first into the oven: purple onions, shallots, tomatoes and garlic all tossed with a spring of thyme, olive oil, pepper and some fleur de sel. Polenta came next which was flavoured with sage, garlic and half a red chili pepper, then finished with butter, cream and blue cheese. Very low cal. The primary component was pan-seared ribeye steak that Chef Tony had been hanging to age since last Wednesday. Here's Wes making the first few cuts of the finished product. Steak was very simply seasoned with nothing more than olive oil, fleur de sel and cracked pepper. For the reduction sauce, we sautéed some wild mushrooms in the steak pan, then deglazed with red wine and sexified with a sizeable pat of butter to add a beautiful sheen. Seared Ribeye Steak in a Wild Mushroom/Red Wine Reduction Sauce Accompanied by Roasted Vegetables en Papillote and served over Blue Cheese Polenta Wine Pairing: Mission Hill 2003 Shiraz At the end of these 8 weeks, our class had come to achieve a great synchronicity which was readily evident in our group's preparation of this dish. It's great to be able to cook with two other people in a kitchen other than your own and have things go like clockwork. The end result was delicious. Perfectly creamy polenta and beautifully aged tender beef, all drenched in (to borrow a 'Chef Tonyism') a very sexy sauce. Last, but certainly not least, was dessert. Ricotta-stuffed Pannetone, French Toast Style I'm lamenting the fact that I forgot to turn on my camera's macro mode as this blurry photo doesn't do this dish justice. We cut rounds out of pannetone slices and stuffed them with a mixture of ricotta cheese, toasted walnuts, freshly ground nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar before dipping them into an egg/cream/milk/sugar/Frangelico wash. However, the berry sauce was out of this world: butter, mixed berries, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar with pinches of cinnamon and pepper. The vinegar's tang accented the tart berry flavour without overpowering it, a lovely foil for the ricotta's creamy sweetness. Was this class worth the money? Absolutely, especially the segments on bread and pasta which were my personal epiphanies. Aside from adding to my kitchen skill set and increasing my recipe repertoire, my primary motive as a Mom for taking this class was to have some dedicated time for cooking the way that I used to during my life before child. It was better than I had expected, particularly with the social aspect of cooking as the members of our Monday-night class really seemed to click. The Pro-Class students who assisted us each session were invaluable, both for their guidance and their encouragement. And Chef Tony? His nuggets of wisdom, his genuine passion for cooking and his ever-present ridiculous wit were the glue that brought it all together. If you have the opportunity to sign up for a future instalment of the Serious Foodie course, don't miss it. Like the rest of my classmates, I know I'll be going through some significant Monday-night withdrawal until the Advanced classes roll around at the end of April. I'll be there. That's for damn sure. On behalf of this motley crew of rabblerousers, this is Mooshmouse, NWCAV food-geek correspondent, signing off. Good night and good eats. Edited because this post was missing a proper ending.

In cleaning out the memory stick for my camera, I came across this photo of our (Canadian) Thanksgiving dinner that I had forgotten to post. Turkey, roasted garlic mashed potatoes with an obscene amount of butter and cream, the requisite carrots and brussels sprouts, *Deborah*'s cornbread stuffing and asparagus (I know, I know, out of season, but I had a craving). The only thing that's missing from the plate is my cranberry sauce to which I had added a bit of grated lemon zest. My original post about our annual joint cooking process can be found here. Wine pairing was a bottle of 2004 Township 7 Sauvignon Blanc and a glass or three of my Uncle's homemade red. And then there was last night's dinner, the inaugural stint of cooking for company in our new kitchen. Herbed pork roast (done in the crockpot as my oven was in the process of being hooked up that afternoon), an encore of the roasted garlic mashed potatoes, honey-glazed carrots, sautéed mushrooms and applesauce. *Deborah* raided her parents' wine cellar and brought over these two bottles. The Gundlach Bundschu 1997 Merlot wasn't bad: a bit past its prime, but not bad. Unfortunately, the Girardet 2002 Grand Rouge was pretty horrendous. Ian and *Deborah* worked through a few glasses each, but I wisely left well enough alone as Ian's feeling a bit worse for wear this morning.

Coincidentally, I just recently made a post on the "New Trends in Chinese cooking" thread (click to link) about a September dinner at Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant in Richmond. As already noted by Ling, you'll find a storehouse of information in the Chinese in Vancouver thread. Happy eating!

In today's Westcoast Life section of The Vancouver Sun, Brooke Larsen profiles Olé Olé, a Mexican restaurant in New Westminster that's been drawing regulars "from North Vancouver, Surrey and White Rock" with its unpretentious homemade food. Owner and Chef Raul Senties has been cooking since the age of eight when he began helping his mother in the kitchen during their years in Mexico City. Apparently, the priciest menu item is $9.75 (Mexican pork stew with rice and beans) with most generously-sized dishes averaging around the $8 mark. Olé Olé Mexican Restaurant 831 12th Street, New Westminster 604-540-7435 Open Noon to 9:00 p.m. daily

In the Diner section of this month's Vancouver Magazine, Jamie Maw dishes on his escape from foul autumn climes at Mistral.

Vancouver Magazine November 2005 edition Take it inside – "Finding warm respite from inclement weather at Lolita's and Mistral." (Jamie Maw) Haute stove league – Jamie Maw offers his "picks for this year's hockey pool of nosh." The Vancouver Courier Wednesday, November 9 edition Vancouver's the real deal – With recent Zagat Survey results showing Vancouver as North America's third least expensive city in which to dine, Tim Pawsey lists a few options for restaurant bargains around town. The Georgia Straight Thursday, November 10 edition Best Eating: Soup and sympathy – Jim Tobler finds homestyle cooking and a neighbourly vibe at the Sweet Tooth Café on East Hastings and Nanaimo. Best Eating: It's the most important meal of the day, so why not try something new? – Angela Murrills suggests a few variations on the usual bacon-and-eggs breakfast theme. Uncorked: All the wine that's fit to drink (whisky too) –Jurgen Gothe is all over the varietals map with tasting options around town. Food of the Week: La Cucina del Diavolo (Angela Murrills) Drink of the Week: Blackwood’s Premium Nordic Vodka (Jurgen Gothe) Straight Goods: Lucky strike – Stefan Minchev makes a go of it on Denman Street with Ambrozia, serving Mediterranean fare. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Habit forming – This new spot on Main Street offers "'70s Canadiana rec-room" chic and Chef Greg Armstrong's "non-clichéd plates". (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Fish dish – The OceanWise sustainable-seafood program has doubled in size to 28 restaurants in six months. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Dog bites – "Newish owners Jean Séguin and Judith Andrews, and chef Pascal Georges have largely rewritten [the] menu at The Smoking Dog" (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Das rind gold – Sample local artisanal products at this weekend's annual Granville Island Cheese Festival. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Don your shoulder pads – Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House celebrates its 20th anniversary by offering 1980s' pricing from November 14 to 18. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Spanish highs – Ticket sales from Marquis Wine Cellars' annual Spanish Splash on November 16 benefit the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) The Westender Thursday, November 10 edition (Lifestyles section) A beginner's guide to the whiskeys of the world – Andrew Morrison discourses on the many wonders of whiskey and three Vancouver establishments boasting sizeable collections of the "water of life". Bring on the bubbly at happy hour – Profile of Stefan Minchev, sommelier and owner of Ambrozia Restaurant and Lounge.

Lee, your post was the gentle reminder that I needed to post about my own meal at the Benoit's new establishment just last week with photos courtesy of Chef Metcalf. The two of us had a leisurely lunch at Mistral on a rainy Thursday afternoon. We were fortunate enough to get one of the last unreserved tables as the restaurant was absolutely packed. Chef Metcalf and I shared the Trio of Duck to start which was a winner right out of the gate: Rillettes, Pâté in crépine and Smoked Duck Breast Prosciutto served with cornichons and onion confit. Admittedly, we both found the rilletes to be a bit on the bland side. However, the prosciutto was lovely and the pâté was nothing short of spectacular, beautifully accented by perfectly caramelized onion confit. I'd go back for the pâté alone. Salade frisée aux croûtons, lardons et œuf dur Ever conscious of her girlish figure, Chef Metcalf ordered a salad as her main course. Unfortunately, the salad was so heavily laden with fat that it remained half uneaten. Blanquette de Veau My main dish, however, more than made up for the misstep with the salad. It was shown as Blanquette de Poulet on the specials board, but I certainly wasn't disappointed with the substitution of veal. Perfectly cooked, fork-tender meat enveloped in a rich, wonderfully creamy sauce. Outstanding comfort food.. Granted, it's been a week, but the wines we had escape me just now. Chef Metcalf will have to help me out on this one: I believe she had a Pinot Grigio and I had a Beaujolais. Two glasses of each, so perhaps we were a bit fuzzy. Dessert was both a hit and a miss. Chef Metcalf's Créme brulée à la Catalane, although nicely flavoured, was on the runny side. But my Warm Soft-centered Chocolate Cake with star anise cream was well executed. Bittersweet chocolate, not overpowered at all by the star anise. The room itself was warm and welcoming, very French provincial and brighter than L'Emotion. Service was great. Friendly and attentive, not obsequiously so. On the whole, we had a very enjoyable meal, and I'm very enthusiastic about returning to sample Mistral's dinner menu.

Oooh, Shalmanese. Holy... errr... crap!

Yup. Someone has.

For something different, try Zakkushi Charcoal Grill at 823 Denman Street (west side of the street, 1 1/2 blocks south of Robson, right by the Dairy Queen). transfattyacid posted his review on this thread in January. I've only been once myself... that was a couple of months ago now, but I enjoyed it just as much as tfa did and have been meaning to head back again. Grilled food on a stick. Mmmmm.

Girl, for someone who claims that she can't cooked, you've cooked up a mighty fine week's worth of food, most of it while entertaining to boot! I've loved your blog.... your casual, witty writing style as well as your three lovely boys who are oh, so cute. Thanks so much for sharing your week with us. And I hope you've been a little less lonely in Sam's absence with all of us crowding your kitchen!

Here's a link to a previous thread that might be of some assistance: Tito Al's Choice Cracklins, I Feel like Chicken Tonight. Good luck tracking these down!

Right. And we had the time to do that in class... when?

From the west side of the country to the east, I'd like to shout out a big "Congratulations, Barbara!" Try and track down a good Filipino restaurant or two, would you?