montrachet

The Straight guy was bolting for the men's room when he realized that he couldn't keep up with AB. The video was very well done indeed. Food TV should run it in place of Man-Made Food.

Does anyone really order the "Oden" from convenience stores? Even the Nikuman looks stale in those glassed-in cases.

I love Bakauke and any type of Bonchi Age type senbeis. They are all too addictive though...

I find Quintessential and Tanq Ten to be ultra smooth and more suited towards martini's than G&T. Citadelle is nice too. Has anyone tried the South Gin from New Zealand? It's the most expensive gin available here on the Canadian west coast.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie which I saw with fellow oenophiles last night. But at Stephanie's house, I definitely would have opened the DRC Richebourg...

Chef Neil, If we do go for the caselot, you can count me in for 6 - 7 lbs or more if need be. I don't have a large freezer but do have an enormous appetite for anything that goes with red wine.

Has anyone had the pleasure of trying the Chartreuse Green VEP? It's about $110 US in the liquor stores. Anyone living in the Seattle area can try it out at Le Pichet near the market. Not available here in Canada unfortunately.

Yes butter, look at the way Shige-san looks at fresh fish. Yes we are perhaps your true friends!

It's sort of hard to tell from the photo but is the Lemon Rice at the Komala Curry House made with Basmati rice? I recall hitting many "authentic" Indian curry houses in Tokyo only to be disappointed in the use of Thai rice instead of Basmati (cost factor). The curries were all very good as real Indian chefs prepared them. Luckily the naans were excellent. I am looking forward to hitting a lot of your recommended sites when I visit Honolulu for 2 weeks in December.

Sorry maxmillan but I have not been to Save-On-Meats. If the store is located in such a "daring" area, who are the target customers? Is it the walk-in clientele or do they sell most of their meat as wholesalers?

sara and liam, I agree with Foodie's choices for where to have your meals in Vancouver. I was at West last night with a client that eats at great places around the world and he was very impressed. Vij's, Cru and Parkside are also high on my list for impressing out of town guests. As a fellow eGulleter, I am sure that Chef Wyles will welcome you at the HSG and perhaps you can give Certified Angus Beef a try if you feel like having a nice steak in a very trendy part of Vancouver known as Yaletown. Tofino is a wonderful destination for a memorable honeymoon.

I too have fond memories of the hangar steak I had at Le Pichet. Didn't know that Elixir had it on their menu. Would love to find out where Tete Carre found this cut of beef.

Bravo Chefs and Jaime for hosting one heck of a memorable event. I came home stuffed, stupefied and sorry to have had to leave the festivities a wee bit early. Opus Hotel book signing, $95 and a book. Bar None appearance, $50 and a book. What us fellow eGulleters experienced at the HSG, “priceless”. Who could argue a “personal” visit by, in Chef Fowke’s words, “a bigger than life deity”. It truly was a magical moment when King Bourdain walked into the room. He walked among us mortals, beer in hand, exuding grace and that “star quality” that I’m sure everyone felt. And there we were with silly grins on our faces and hanging on every word he spoke. We certainly do have a fine forum membership here on the West Coast if last night’s attendance was any indication. Let’s hope for many more of these events!

It's apparent that each country has a different way of preparing "fried rice" in their region. I've had the opportunity to witness the preparation of "Old Style", darker colored fried rice in a Chinese kitchen years ago and rather than being immersed in trying to identify the secret ingredients, I was in awe of the cooking process that I'm sure would be difficult to duplicate in a home kitchen. The day old rice danced in the superheated wok and the chef's uncanny ability with wok and chan allowed ample airtime between the individual grains that I believe is so important to the preparation process. I was told though that only Chinese soy should be used to get the flavor and dark color of North American Chinese fried rice.

bills, Did you buy the Oldfield's Collection duo-pack (one with Stelvin closure and the other with natural cork)? It will be interesting to see how the closure will affect the aging process of the wine.

Has anyone tried the recently opened "Totoya" near Burrard and 4th? I was told the owner is Japanese and is trying to stay away from serving Westernized "maki rolls" and preferring to focus on more authentic offerings. If it's anything like the Totoya in Roppongi, we'll have our own Izakaya in Kits.

As you come out of Kintaro, just look across Denman to your left, past the Dairy Queen and it's the first store there. They were featured in the Sun's Queue mag yesterday.

I travel extensively in the U.S. and Asia for the work I do and not too often to the same cities. The "local knowledge" of the food scene in various cities has saved me time and money as well as ensuring that I can locate an eating venue that has been approved (or disapproved) by fellow forum members. The "hit and miss" listings that I had to rely on in Where Magazine are now a thing of the past. Still a newbie but I hope to reciprocate the generosity of fellow eGulleters with hopefully useful comments.

Sorry Andrew but I've had Yakitori at street stalls near the Yurakucho train station and there is no way that Zakkushi or what they offer resembles the real thing in Japan. For one thing, I'm not used to waiting 30 minutes for a skewer of yakitori to arrive in front of me.

Perhaps we can hire a double-decker bus for this culinary Richmond tour and start at the bottom and work our way up or vice versa? i.e. start at the Steveston docks

A few names mentioned elsewhere in this thread are definitely worth a visit if not on your lists. Pear Tree, Villa del Lupo and Vij's. Had a late dinner at Vij's last night. Food, service and ambience...all AAA. Even without Vikram manning the ship. My list of "Must Go" places include: Chambar, Cru, L'Emotion and La Regalade.

Where would I be without that 8-way electric car seat indeed! Not saying that it's good or anything but check out Zakkushi which opended up a couple of months ago on Denman. It's a yakitori specialty house has hit the scene just across the lane from Dairy Queen. The place is chock full of young Japanese clientele being served by even younger Japanese servers. Although they seem to be using real charcoal in the cooking process, I still miss the almost-like-in-Japan experience that I had at Yakitori-ya in Santa Monica this past summer. If and when Chef Kobayashi does come back from his "vacation", give Yoshi a call and try out the mini-Kaiseki that they serve at lunchtime and then decide whether to try out the dinner time extravaganza. Another pint of sake please!

Still not sure as to which type of "Japanese" restaurant you prefer Sam. Would it be the ones run by native Japanese who may or may not have any background in the preparation of authentic cuisine or the new breed of non-Japanese establishments run by those who have a basic concept of what works for the masses here in Vancouver. The resourceful ones can emulate, up to a point, many of the key aspects required to dish out "real" Japanese cuisine and then there are others who are able to surpass the offerings put out by a vast majority of mediocre Japanese places. As mentioned earlier, a good point is to ask the chef as to the origin of his weapon and if you get a viable answer, then ask for the "Omakase" course and let your palate be pampered. Don't bother asking either question in a restaurant that has a poster in the window advertising 18 pieces of sushi and miso soup for $5.95.

Here's my two cents worth. The Oculus is very drinkable now with nice fruit but as magnolia menitons, the Larose needs a few years to develop it's true potential. I've had a few bottles of the Larose and it is a very consistent and well made product. I recently tasted the La Frenz Reserve mentioned by bills, and this wine definitely needs to be laid down for awhile in order for the high alcohol content and intensity of the fruit to meld and mature properly. Nota Bene offers a very drinkable wine upon release and therefore leads to its popularity here in B.C. It's sometimes very diffcult to determine the aging potential of products from such young wineries. Natalie, if you need a guide for your trip to the Okanagan, just let us know and we'd be more than happy to accomodate.

I agree with Peppyre, at Toshi's you have to sit at the counter to enjoy their tiny place. The last time I was there, the 5 servers were bumping into each other as well as into the chairs of those seated. They must be making tons of money to absorb such labour costs. Also, I hear that rice balls and sushi a la 7-11 are being considered for the North American market as we speak.