Mooshmouse

Bear in mind that there have been some changes since the last time we were there for lunch last summer. Chef/Owner Sean Cousins, formerly of Raincity Grill, is now at the helm, and I'm interested in going back to see what he's got in his culinary bag of tricks.

A big ole' virtual hug from me right back at you and the Mr. And so it begins, Deb: six days out of the coming seven that we'll be spending together! Let the eating commence! See you in a few hours for dinner.

From the May 12 edition of The Daily CityFood:

Vancouver Magazine May 2005 edition The 17th Annual Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. The Vancouver Courier Friday, May 12 edition Greek cooking that's a cut above the norm – "Owners Julia and Bobby Bonofas make sure diners eat well and inexpensively at [Kerkis,] their West Fourth restaurant." (Tim Pawsey) Though the doors have shut on the Ordinary Café, devotées of Dennis Huang's cooking can still enjoy his fare at the Gramercy Grill. "Elixir chef Don Letendre promises "plenty of surprises" for his June 22 Duckhorn wine dinner." The Georgia Straight Thursday, May 11 edition Best Eating: Megamarket offers Asian-food favourites – Robson and Seymour's new H-Mart is the downtown destination of choice for those in search of tasty treats from the East. (Angela Murrills) Uncorked: A chardonnay a day keeps the blues at bay – "If you were to set yourself the challenge of drinking a different Chardonnay every day, from what’s currently available here in British Columbia, you could never keep up. Can’t be done—probably not even if you decided to drink two a day." (Jurgen Gothe) Food of the Week: Coast – No more dilly-dallying if you hope to score a reservation for Mothers' Day Brunch. Drink of the Week: O – "That’s it—just O, as in “ohh!” or eau, ’cause it’s only water." (Jurgen Gothe) Straight Goods: Looking inward – "Billed as a “simply offal” event, the Gutsy Affair at Elixir... on Monday (May 15) takes you gastronomically where the sun doesn’t shine..." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Country roads – "Get a taste of summer at Vista D’oro Farms’ reopening party... this Saturday (May 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Truck on down – This year's Granville Island Farmers Market first opens for business at 9:00 a.m. this Thursday, May 11 and runs weekly until fall. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Treat her right – Boom now if you're hoping to get a spot for Mothers' Day Brunch at Trafalgars Bistro. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Fact – Fiction offers a $15 dinner special on Sundays and Mondays until June 21. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Bottom's up – "Vancouver’s Garnish Girls (www.garnishgirls.com/), Alejandra Parra, Danielle Tatarin, and Tina Pelletier, have won the Canadian Youth Business Foundation’s 2006 B.C. Best Business Award." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) The write stuff – "Notorious carnivore Anthony Bourdain is back in town on June 11 with a new book, The Nasty Bits (Raincoast Books, $29.95) for a CBC Radio Studio One Book Club at the Yale Hotel." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Not getting any? – "Doors open at 11 a.m. sharp Saturday (May 13), at Marquis Wine Cellars (1034 Davie Street), but keeners will be on-line hours earlier to get their quota of in-demand wines from two B.C. wineries." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) The Westender Thursday, May 11 edition (Lifestyles section) Ocean 6 Seventeen raises standard of waterfront dining – New at the helm, Chef/Co-Owner Sean Cousins elevates the culinary bar at this under-the-radar Stamps Landing eatery. (Andrew Morrison) No adventure's complete without BBQ ribs and tequila – Profile of "'Chef Ted Reader, owner of King of the Q and Teddy's Island BBQ restaurants, located on the beach in Playa Cofresi, Dominican Republic; host and producer of King of the Q Grilling Adventures; and owner of Toronto-based catering company WeHateCatering.com.' Reader is in town this week to promote Maille's new Sweet & Mild sauce." The Globe and Mail Friday, May 12 edition Beat a retreat to a waterfront hideaway – Alexandra Gill surveys the lay of the land at Ocean 6 Seventeen, a "surprising little bistro where the room is warm, the service is friendly, the cooking is simple yet robust, and the location is slightly off the beaten track. It's almost like a secret hideaway."

I often cook breakfast for dinner; however, bear in mind that a Filipino's idea of breakfast is more like lunch in any other country. Here's a description of one breakfast for dinner I made a couple of months ago. ******* After Noah's big day today, I let him choose what we had for dinner this evening. His answer was quick: eggs. So, I made us a variation of a typical combination Filipino breakfast or silog (pronunced as see-luhg). The si- comes from sinigag (see-nee-gahg) or garlic fried rice, and the -log is short for itlog (eet-lohg) or fried egg (sunny-side up). Examples of typical combinations include the aforementioned two items with sweet Filipino sausage known as longganisa (resulting in longsilog), or cured pork known as tocino (tosilog), or dried milkfish that's butterflied and fried known as daing na bangus (bansilog). Noah prefers his eggs scrambled, so I ditched the sunny-side-up route. And bacon was the meat of choice. Our one concession to good health was a mixed organic greens salad tossed with sliced red seedless grapes and miso dressing. Now that's a Filipino's idea of comfort food.

As a Filipina, I can vouch for the fact that I've never, ever seen this done among Filipinos either here in North America or in the Philippines. Bizarre, all right.

Having recently been to both Jade and Kirin's Cambie Street location, I'd give the definite nod to Kirin. Dim sum there was head and shoulders above Jade's. And I've never been as big a fan of Gingeri as canucklehead is; I prefer Shiang Garden myself with its outstanding char siu bao. Shanghai River is more cool and upscale, whereas Shanghai Wind is your proverbial hole in the wall that's always packed to the gills. Both good on their own merits. If you end up at Sea Harbour for dinner, be sure to order the Dungeness Crab, Pumpkin (Kabocha Squash) and Black Bean Hot Pot. It's my favourite item on their menu together with the Chicken served with Chayote and Preserved Vegetables. And, if it's good mango pudding you're looking for, Shanghai Chinese Bistro downtown (also mentioned by canucklehead) serves the creamiest version with strips of real mango throughout. Heaven in a bowl.

Are you limited to Vancouver or will you have transportation available to travel to Richmond?

The Vancouver Courier Wednesday, May 3 edition Summer's coming and the sippin' is easy – "As the temperature edges upwards, thoughts turn to the wines of summer: lighter bodied reds, fruity, picnic-friendly rosés and crisp, clean, unoaked whites for sippin' and fishin'?" (Tim Pawsey)

Oh yeah. I've been to a few lumpia rolling parties in my day but am, admittedly, out of practice. Last November, half-a-dozen Vancouver eGulleters got together for a Tortellini-making Party. We made over 300 tortellini/tortelloni with three different fillings and three different sauces to accompany them. I think we ate and drank until about 2:00 a.m.!

The Vancouver Courier Saturday, April 29 edition Tomato Café still about 'good for you' food – "Organic, fresh and seasonal are trendy buzzwords these days but Tomato's approach has always been to do more than talk the talk..." as evidenced in the newly released cookbook, As Fresh as it Gets-Everyday Recipes from the Tomato Fresh Food Café. (Tim Pawsey)

The Vancouver Courier Wednesday, April 26 edition Naramata matures as wine destination – "One thing we appreciate about the bench is its collection of strong-willed characters, which results in a wide array of styles and ideas that propels what must surely be the province's most determined of small regions." (Tim Pawsey) The Georgia Straight Thursday, April 27 edition Best Eating: New Tomato cookbook shares juicy secrets – "Tomato Café chef James Campbell and owners Christian Gaudreault and Star Spilos serve 'nonpretentious' food..." (Angela Murrills) Uncorked: Local festivals let slip the dogs of wine – Jurgen Gothe runs through a whole slew of upcoming wine events. Recipe: Oven-roasted Lemon Rosemary Chicken Drink of the Week: Brahma (Jurgen Gothe) Straight Goods: Le buck et le wing – Chefs on Tap, held this Tuesday, May 2 at Provence Mediterranean Grill on West 10th, raises funds for the Les Dames d'Escoffier scholarship fund. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Cheese, louise – The newly opened Les Amis du Fromage in Park Royal is already popular with North-shore residents. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Bloody good deal – Until May 15, Morton's Steakhouse offers a $109 Dinner For Two special. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Tofu time – This week on City Cooks, "local chefs like Tojo, Peter Fong of Ganache Patisserie, and Mosaic’s Chad Minton cook cheesecake, pizza, and more from their recipes in Vancouver Chefs Take on Tofu..." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Dishy potluck – "On Wednesday (May 3), the Girls Who Dish!, a group of local chefs, are launching the first of four Celebrity Chef Potluck Dinners to benefit the Potluck Café Society, a charity that aids Downtown Eastside residents through meal programs and employment-training opportunities." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Reopening soon – "Tamarind Indian Bistro (1626 West Broadway) is still cookin’, but Shaffeen Jamal’s spicy eatery is shut for major renos until June. In the meantime, you can still do takeout, and it’ll do delivery." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) The Westender Thursday, April 27 edition (Lifestyles section) It's hard to digest many restaurants' music choices – "Admittedly, I'm not an arbiter of what makes for music both good and bad in restaurants (I realize one man's Mozart is one woman's Metallica), but questions of taste are irrelevant with regard to how I've come to loathe most of what I hear while dining out." (Andrew Morrison) Pass the perogies and the cold vodka, Mr. Segal – Profile of Tatjana Burakova, owner, chef, waitress and dishwasher at Ukrainian Village Restaurant. The Globe and Mail Friday, April 28 edition Shining still, moon and all – "If you've ever wondered why Vancouver is often ridiculed as a "no-fun" city, look no further than Moonshine, soon to be renamed Six Acres." (Alexandra Gill)

I've never been remarkably impressed with the fare at Notte's Bon Ton. Mediocre at best, at least according to my palate.

I call both your ugly kitchens. Here's what our kitchen looked like when we took possession of the house last June. This 1950s bungalow was been tenanted for 10 years by two chainsmokers with two rottweilers that thought they were inside dogs. In the third photo, you can see a dining-room mural. This was quickly removed after we discovered that the previous owners had drywalled over a lovely paned window with beautiful hardware on it in order to put up that artistic masterpiece. The kitchen is now as far from its original condition as you can possibly imagine. Custom-made Asian mahogany cabinets, stainless-steel appliances and glass (yes, you read that right) countertops. We still have a couple of finishing touches to go, namely the backsplash for the kitchen sink and installing the stainless-steel-boxed hood fan. Once that's done, I'll post photos of the finished product. Even in its nearly-completed state, though, it has certainly made me a lot happier!

The Vancouver Courier Monday, April 17 edition Passion absent at West Van bistro – On his visit to Bistro 1734, Tim Pawsey found that, "omehow, despite the courteous and correct service and mostly well executed cuisine, there just wasn't the passion on the plate or the animation that we anticipated." Tickets are still available for Sandra Oldfield's Tinhorn Creek winemaker's dinner at Fiddlehead Joe's on April 19.

Vancouver Magazine March 2005 edition Diner: The Big O – A table-by-table search for the province’s most satisfying molluscs. (Jamie Maw) The Vancouver Courier Wednesday, April 12 edition World's biggest wine company set to buy Canada's biggest wine company – "Vincor CEO Don Triggs... hasn't announced his next move since Constellation's offer to buy the company last week. " (Tim Pawsey) Tim Pawsey prounounces his picks from Fosters Southcorp's annual portfolio tasting at the Vancouver International Film Centre. The Georgia Straight Thursday, March 30 edition Best Eating: Puting chickens before eggs – "For the [Vancouver Humane Society], egg layers are the top priority in their ongoing fight for animal welfare. Its Web site, www.chickenout.ca/, urges consumers to make informed choices about eggs." (Pietra Woolley) Best Eating: Student chefs battle for cash and glory – 11 student chefs compete for top honours at the VCC culinary-student-of-the-year competition. (Angela Murrills) Uncorked: Pocket wineries produce rocket reds – Jurgen Gothe lists a few small-quantity winners in the $20-$40 range. Food of the Week: Cocoa West organic chocolate Good Eggs (Angela Murrills) Drink of the Week: More Czech brews are appearing on the shelves (Jurgen Gothe) Straight Goods: Brain fodder – April 19th's instalment of Chewing the Facts: Food for a Better Tomorrow focuses on "how to eat healthily in a fast-food nation." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Vintages by the sea – Tinhorn Creek's 2005 releases are paired with a five-course dinner at Fiddlehead Joe's Eatery & Bar on April 19. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Exotica on the water – "Catch the Singapore Food Festival (April 20 to 30) at the Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver’s Café Pacifica..." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Bi-dining – "Bicontinental supping is on the menu April 24 as Saveur Restaurant chef Stephane Meyer uses Gallic technique to prepare a Taste of Australia with a French Twist dinner..." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Crab feed – North Vancouver's Crab Shop has made a full recovery and then some from last year's fire. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Nelson nirvana – Shelley Adams's Whitewater Cooks features dishes made popular at Nelson Whitewater Ski Resort's Fresh Tracks Café. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) The Westender Thursday, April 13 edition (Lifestyles section) Exotic mix keeps savvy diners coming back to Monsoon – "Eight years into the game, I find Monsoon still gorgeous and commendably capable. Still, even if its new menu is something laurel-rested chefs might want to peek at, the restaurant will never register as one of our better ones if it doesn't improve its half-assed beverage program." (Andrew Morrison) The Globe and Mail Friday, April 14 edition A tasty, timely rebirth – "More than just a few new dishes, this menu marks a shift in concept -- one long overdue -- that clearly distinguishes the Tasting Bar as a fully conceived third dining destination in Feenie's West Broadway triumvirate." (Alexandra Gill)

The cassava pone sounds heavenly! Yes to your question about the waxy coating. Here are two ridiculously easy recipes for cassava-based desserts: bibingka cassava and cassava cake. Both insanely good.

Filipinos cook with cassava root all the time. It should be readily available at most Filipino or Asian greengrocers if not T&T. What are you making with it?

Being fans of Hapa Izakaya, *Deborah* and I were eager to check out the new digs owned by former Hapa Chef Takahiro Toyoshige (Shige). The rather industrial-looking metal front door opened into a black room. And by black, I mean black. Like Jim Morrison painted a whole room from ceiling to floor instead of his famed door. The restaurant was about half full -- not too shabby, I suppose, on a Wednesday night for a restaurant that runs no advertising whatsoever. Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed when I glanced over the menu. No silly, fun Japanese drinks. And where was the fish? Three or four tuna specials on the fresh sheet but scant other evidence of sea life other than the much-raved-about crab croquettes and a scallop dish. Asparagus and Bacon Spring Rolls This is two shy of the six that we were served. No worse but certainly no better than any spring roll I've tasted elsewhere. We were given ample warning that the accompanying dipping sauce was "very hot", but it was nothing more than a smoky-sweet tomato based sauce, almost like a banana ketchup, that barely registered on my palate's heat meter. Geez, they look like deep-fried fingers, don't they. Clam Chowder Noodles We ordered this out of morbid curiosity. Tasting it revealed little more than we had guessed at: a low-rent tasting foodstuff reminiscent of clams-à-la-king. Kinda like something we would have made in university with ramen noodles and Campbells Chunky during those lean food-budget months. Next up was Marinated Kobe Beef with mashed potatoes and green salad, one of two dishes that I neglected to photograph. I tasted the potatoes first. Okay, but cold. Odd. The beef was done medium with a barely perceptible patch of red in the middle, very salty but still tender. And lukewarm. Meh. Pork Tortillas Deborah said that the meat was tasty; however, I could barely taste it once it had been wrapped up despite the small portions of accompanying fillings. Perhaps they would have been better served using something thinner and less overpowering than a tortilla like a thin crepe or spring roll wrapper. Pumpkin and Cottage Cheese Dip Of the six dishes that we ordered, this looked the most promising but turned out to be the most disappointing vis-à-vis its delicious counterpart at Hapa. Bland and almost devoid of flavour save for the orange marmalade that had been drizzled over top. Orange marmalade: one sure-fire way to kill a dish for my tastebuds. By the time our Tuna "Tar Tar" arrived, I was perilously close to being overwhelmed by culinary lassitude and completely overlooked photographing it. Four sheets of nori accompanied chunks of tuna topped with large chunks of avocado and a small dollop of tobiko. Deborah deemed it clean tasting, and that it was. No other seasoning had been added unlike the ethereal version of this dish that's served at Feenie's. Thank goodness for soy sauce. In the end, we waited more than 20 minutes before finally receiving our bill. Would I go back? Not for a while. I'll wait until they sort out their menu which, at present, lacks depth and sophistication in its execution. Before tapping out this writeup, I read back through Tim Pawsey's review of 1215 to see if I had somehow missed the point. He writes, "Shige later tells me he's embarked on a "new style of fusion tapas," with dishes that just don't emulate but deliberately differ from traditional Japanese food-not even a hint of sushi, teriyaki or tempura here. 'I want to push the borders as far as you can go,' says Shige, 'without losing that connection to more traditional izakaya completely.'" Ah. Hence the lack of fish. Sure, push those borders, Chef Shige. But don't push them so far that you push the taste out of your food. Take two will be some time in the future. For now, Hapa takes round one.

Wow, Abra, what an impressive effort to replicate that dish! You're a far stronger woman than I am, however, since I highly doubt that I would've been able to get past the gruesome moldy stage, let alone stir the mold right back into the rice. Where's that high-five emoticon?! So, you say the black-cherry liqueur flavour isn't nearly as potent as the stuff we sampled at Phnom Penh? Verrrrry eeeeenteresting.

The Vancouver Courier Friday, March 31 edition Broadway's breakfasts fit for a champ – "There's no denying that breakfast with a capital B is the main event [at the Broadway Grill]. And B also stands for Benny. This is serious Eggs Benedict country." (Tim Pawsey) Sean Heather, one of Vancouver's busiest restaurateurs, is slated to open Salt in late May. (Tim Pawsey)

The Vancouver Courier Thursday, March 30 edition Taking it to the winery – "The organizational glue behind the Doobie Brothers, Bruce Cohn wisely invested money in a California winery when he was 22... And the rest is history." (Tim Pawsey) The Georgia Straight Thursday, March 30 edition Best Eating: Habit mixes the hip with the homey – "The rec-room chic of Habit’s décor displays plenty of cool design, but the payoff comes in dishes that offer bold new approaches to some comforting old favourites." (Angela Murrills) Best Eating: Vancouver food policy council under threat – "[P]opular [farmers] markets are just the front lines in a high-stakes battle for urban food security brewing at Vancouver City Hall this month." (Pietra Woolley) Uncorked: Putting budget pinots through their paces – An overview of Jurgen Gothe's tasting notes of a dozen pinots at the sub-$15 mark. At the Checkout: Punjab Food Centre, 6635 Main Street (Carolyn Ali) Food of the Week: Salt Spring Coffee Company – This island-born company celebrates its tenth birthday by opening its first Vancouver café on Main Street. (Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Food block – "Newly opened Smoking Crust (4027 MacDonald Street) joins a tasty block of eateries..." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Java jolt – "There’s a new spirit in town, and Van Gogh Espresso Vodka, the first and only naturally infused espresso-flavoured vodka on the market, sports a wicked espresso aroma and bite, a smooth just-right balance of coffee bitterness, and the requisite caffeine jolt." (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Straight Goods: Petal pushers – Sample the fruit-and-flower combinations of Petals shortbread. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Academic spirits – The Alma Mater Society Minischool’s 2006 Wine and Beer Festival is being held on Friday, March 31 at UBC's Student Union Building. Java jive – Don't miss three-parter Black Coffee and punk-rockin’ Food Jammers, premiering April 3 and 5 respectively on Knowledge Network. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Vite, vite – The French-passport dining program ends on April 15. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Fresh tastes – Chef Chris Moran rolls out his spring-summer menu at Trafalgars. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) Country matters – Vista d'Oro Farms reopens with a new cooking-class schedule. (Judith Lane and Angela Murrills) The Westender Thursday, March 30 edition (Lifestyles section) Great food and greater service at Abigail's Party – "There's a party in my mouth, and everyone's invited! But seriously. Sous-chef Claire Cameron and chef Ian Reynolds know how to make their menu sing at Abigail's Party in Kitsilano." (Andrew Morrison) Foodie Q&A: Pass the Haut Brion, Quentin – Profile of Sebastien Le Goff, restaurant director and sommelier at CinCin Ristorante." The Globe and Mail Friday, March 24 edition Web darling more weird than wow – Alexandra Gill derides a restaurant, a blog, a culinary website and an eGulleter, all in one fell swoop.

You're right, Kris: ketchup-flavoured chips are very popular here in Canada. As I had noted, the "tomato-flavoured" chips I posted upthread are lighter and sweeter than what I'd deem a standard ketchup-flavoured chip.

Ten points for you, Keith. I'm officially hooked on the Sweet Potato Pecan dessert kolachy that I tried today!

In Japan, a mont blanc is a French-style pastry whose basic components are sponge cake, whipped cream and a cream made from chestnut paste. The main flavor component is chestnut paste. It is a wildly popular pastry in Japan. ← Ah, now I see the light. Thanks for that! I'll have to give it a try.