PearL
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Posts posted by PearL
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Looking for ideas!
I love going into the Chinatown T&T supermarket to look at all the unfamiliar (to me) foods on display, but I never quite know what to buy.
So, please educate me, lest I leave the place with a basket full of instant ramen noodles
What do you usually get there? Any favourites I should not miss?
My knowledge of Chinese cooking techniques is rather limited, so I should probably stick to fairly basic things for now. It does not have to be ready-to-eat, though, as I have a decent quality wok and a bamboo steamer.
I usually prefer savoury foods, but some of the baked goods look tempting, so if you think there are some good pastries (preferably not overly sweet) that I should try, please let me know!
I do like organ meats; like many French people, I grew up eating liver, kidneys, brain, tongue and sweetbreads (hey! Why is everyone turning green!?!
)The only thing that I can be a little picky about is texture: I am not a big fan of overly chewy or gelatinous foods. No chicken feet pour moi, I guess...
For chilly winter nights, Chinese hotpot is great! T&T does "hotpot" platters that have ready-sliced seafood, meats, etc. Pick up a package or jar of hotpot soup base and you're ready to go.
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Last supper a few nights ago was a jaw-dropping, gut-expanding, add any other noun-gerund superlative you like, too-freaking-good-for-DOV night at Parkside. We had many of the same items you did, Fud
I'm wondering about a couple things here Deb ...
1) Was this an "early" DOV menu (i.e. did Parkside start their DOV menu early)?
2) Your love of Parkside is well known. Why would you visit during the circus that is DOV?
The second question can apply to anyone. Do you visit places you already frequent during DOV, or do you branch out and try something new?
A.
1) Yes, they started early.
2) I was encouraged by ownership to visit during DOV when I was there just before Christmas. They know I'm not rich enough to eat there as often as I'd like to
Since Parkside started the menu earlier than many DOV participants, it was not a madhouse at all. Of course a Wednesday is not a Saturday in any case. I seldom dine out on weekend nights at any time of year as I usually prefer a quieter/less-crowded atmosphere. The only circus-like aspect the night I was there was the ratio of diners who were evidently more interested in their mobile phones/cameras than their companions or food.I am only going to two DOV dinners this year: one well-loved, and one hitherto untried but well-reviewed, Gastropod.
I mimic *Deborah*'s answers to both questions, and shared an identical experience. I too went on one of the first evenings of their "DOV" menu on Monday, and was pleased to find the same calm, intimate room and service. The food of course was at its consistent finest, but imo the pricepoint of DOV (versus the regular menu pricing) for them is neither an incentive nor a deterrent in the frequency of my patronage.
On another note, I have been booked by my friends, who are eager DOV diners, for Rare, Bistro Pastis, and Nu.
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no luck at costco downtown...
the only truffles at Patisserie Bordeaux were the ones that they make in-house. the last time i had visited must have been 10+ years ago and i forgot how wonderful it is there. the chausson and the pear frangipane didn't get a chance make it home for a picture op.
These are indeed a Costco item; I saw them a few weeks back at the downtown location for sure because I had a box in my hand then my willpower kicked in and I put it back.
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Going into the Hooters space on Robson will be a Japanese restaurant called "Ebisu".
Ebisu (from the Kamei Royale group) officially opens Wednesday December 20th.
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My friends and I were having a night out at Balthazar one weekend last month so a gf and I decided to do dinner on Davie and only park the car once. I picked 1215 as we're both regulars at japanese/izakaya joints, and although I hadn't heard too much about it since spring, on passing by, the room generally looks at least half-full; so off we went...
...and came out with the conclusion that neither of us would return. Service was slow and hard to find when needed. I'm still not fully accustomed to having to pay for tea at asian places, and less enjoyable was drinking it out of thimble-sized cups. The menu was not all that inspired, and it took us some time to actually find four dishes that sounded interesting enough to try. We then learned that they were 'sold out' of two. So we ended up with three: 1) Dungeness crab croquette. Not to our liking at all. There seemed to be no crab in the very large croquettes, which seemed to be filled with a mushy nondescript creaminess that we concluded resembled condensed cream of mushroom soup. There was, however, a tiny pile of crabmeat at the side of the plate; I suppose that's where the crab part of the dish came into play. 2) Tuna tartare. Not dressed, coarsely chopped avocado and tuna with square nori sheets. Clean tasting, yes, but very forgettable. 3) Cold tofu, avocado, crab. This sounded like it had some potential, but it was very similar to the tuna tartare in preparation. As in, barely dressed and with minimum prep. The square of tofu was plunked onto the plate straight out of its plastic container and not cleaned up for presentation (the grooves from the container running down the sides), a quarter of avocado thickly sliced onto that, topped with a bit of crabmeat. Served with the same square nori sheets, which we found impossible to incorporate, so ended up just picking at the block of tofu with our chopsticks and leaving the nori untouched. Including tip, for 2, our meal was $45. Not a huge sum, as we're used to dining out. But for what we were served, we felt ever so unsatisfied. As mentioned in previous posts, the room does look put together on a shoestring budget, but I think this budget also is reflected in the food...
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Went back for the deer again. Love, love, love.
It's so tender! The grilled quail is tasty, too. Held back from the usual ordering too many dishes so I could indulge in dessert for once. Chocolate tart + strawberry icecream is oh so nice... -
I've already begun my live uni feasting at the following: 1) Octopus Garden 2) some restaurant on Park in Richmond, I forgot the name of the place. Around the time live uni became sparse mid-spring, Sada-san at Octopus Garden advised us the next season would begin around October...
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Another izakaya joint looks ready to open (bottles of soya sauce filled and set on tables, yet signs posted on window indicate both foh&boh positions have not been filled) next to La Bretagne Crêperie on Jervis off Robson.
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^ I just had dinner at Diva and the foie starter was served with a generous basket of brioche - is this provided by Haas, do you think?
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do you like tofu? how about soft tofu, cooked ma po tofu -style sauce, maybe minus the meat. or some pan-fried egg-tofu
my mom used to make her own baby food for my younger sisters that i would steal cuz it was so tasty. make some very soft rice/dry congee with beef/meat of choice+some dark greens, put the lot through the blender, add some maggi sauce (or soy, i always used maggi)
have a cheese fondue night! with very soft soft bread and just let it melt in your mouth...
japanese oden-style stews or hot pot where you boil the sh*t out of daikon, taro root, potato.
those are pretty soft but still tasty...good luck!
(as for my own wisdom teeth experience - also 4 at once, all i could dream about during the recovery period was big burgers and steaks, something i could really rip into! i feel for ya)
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Many people like Longs - but I am not a huge fan. But I only went once for lunch - but I did not like the XLB. But there are many who would disagree with me - and it may be worth a second shot.
Ended up going to Long's last night for dinner. Service was friendly and attentive, and the place filled up quickly and there were a couple parties waiting by the time we left. I found the xlb soupy enough but rather bland; same went for the gyoza-style dumplings. I ordered a noodle with smoked fish, which turned out completely different from what I was expecting (perhaps I was thinking of an entirely different dish, but I was thinking of the milky-fish broth soup, which I was certain was called the same thing in other restaurants. What came out was noodles in clear broth, with a side plate of smoked fish pieces served very bony, and very cold)
Not sure I would go to Long's again...
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Triggiano's at Davie&Homer? (also "good but inconsistent" experiences there for me). I too avoid Starbucks whenever other options are possible; amongst many reasons, I dislike the bordering-lukewarm temp (seems to me, anyway) their lattes are served.
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I think it's NingDu, from previous posts -- I am completely unfamiliar with this place but will look into it.If Richmond is out of the question - there is a place on Kingway right by Victoria that is pretty good (Ningbo?). Pao Pao has a better grasp on the name.
Yes! Why is that? Is it that much more difficult than all the other dumplings they offer for dimsum? I thought perhaps Shanghai Bistro would pull off a decent XLB, but, nope, not at all. :shock:Thanks for your thoughts.Stay away from dim sum places like Kirin and Sun Sui Wah. Though the dim sum may be fine - the XLB at these place are notoriously disappointing. -
So, need some input, please? Is there any consensus on a good XLB spot in Vancouver? Meeting up with a gf for dinner, and as she is 6 months preggers, she gets to to call the shots, which includes not driving all the way to Richmond. Anyone been to Green Village (Broadway&Nanaimo) lately? She's thinking of some place in the area of Main & 32nd, but I suspect this is Long's which doesn't seem to be favoured on this board...
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I'm looking forward to dinner this weekend --- the return of mushroom risotto! (can't even wait for their wild mushroom festival menu, Oct 12-31, I'll just go again then)
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Bumbershoot weekend in Seattle: Le Pichet - My friend had the oeufs plats, jambon et fromage {two eggs broiled with ham and gruyere}, I had the poêlon périgourdin {farm egg broiled in a skillet with seared foie gras, served with brown bread and grape preserves}. Foie first thing in my tummy made for a good start to the day...walked around Pike Place and picked up some perfectly ripened donut peaches...
...only to be followed by a truckload of icky fair food - strawberry lemonades, that infamous "shortcake" monstrosity, 99 cent crispy chicken burgers at Wendy's drive-through.
Came back into town and closed off the last weekend of summer at Parkside with a round of martinis. I tried the bellini, and while it was intriguing with the roasted apricot sorbet, for me it'll always still be the lemon drop.
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I'm going tomorrow, and on our to-eat list are the mini donuts, dole whip (i don't even remember what this tastes like, but am making a return out of sheer nostalgia),...and a gf of mine has been hearing a lot about some fried onions?
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D
on't know where to post this. Just had sushi at Red Tuna in Marpole. The tuna was frozen solid. Apparently they ran out of the fresh/unfrozen stuff. How about telling me that when I order the sashimi. They took 30% off the bill. Did not make me very happy.That happened to me a couple years back, at a lunchtime place downtown (Bentall). Frozen solid sashimi --- I get shivers just thinking about it. I brought it back and asked if I could exchange it for something else, and they insisted that it was "supposed to be like that" and turned me away with my frozen fish and no money back. That was one of my worst experiences that I definitely cannot forget.
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In today's Georgia Strait they blew the lid off our local secret: VIP's Kitchen, on Marine drive near 17th in my 'hood of West Vancouver. Super cheap, and if you avoid the dishes that are on the menu for the blue-rinse set (most of whom go to the terrible Ambleside Chinese on Belleville) you can get really off-beat and great stuff. Can attest to the egg and oyster pancake and the duck.
If only it were licensed...
My father is Chiu-Chow and as a kid I hated all the CC-style dishes forced on me (who wants to eat scrawny marinated duck wings dipped in vinegar when your friends are having big buckets of KFC with gravy?). But of course, now I constantly crave those very same dishes.
Last year, I tried VIP's for the first time and loved the duck, loved the veggies, and persuaded the chef to make some taro "mud" for me. Yu-m. The fix lasted all year and I made a return last week, only to leave very disappointed. Our quarter duck was dry, lean, and not very flavourful. Bitter melon soup tasted like generic msg-broth that sometimes comes when ordering family 4 or 6 course sets, a big letdown at $9.95 a bowl. Also, this part isn't a surprise, but the meal was further made "off" by the fact that we were served in this order: duck...long wait...oyster omelette...another long wait...pan-fried noodles with satay beef...yes, wait some more...then soup.
That said, I'll still go back, since it's cheaper than flying to Hong Kong for Grandma's cooking!
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There used to be a jerky place in Parker Place food court, is that one still around? I too am puzzled by the appeal of the "shoe leather" jerky. My vote is also for the sticky/moist (usually pork more than beef) kind. I'm curious though, what makes Jimmy's better than the other T&T stocked brands, ie. Soo's (is that what it's called?)
Jimmy's is just familar to me. I'm not aware of Soo's ... it could certainly be better than Jimmy's.
Soo's is a brand that also makes Pork Fluff, I believe. Their jerky may be shelved apart from where you'd look for Jimmy's, as it comes not boxed but in vacuum-sealed packages. Just a heads up if you want to keep an eye out to check it out sometime.
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I don't have these often but find them very enjoyable every time I do:
The savoury waffles at Octopus' Garden they sometimes bring out while we're waiting between dishes.
Japa-dogs on Burrard.
Crab and spinach salad appetizer at Isami.
I'm throwing in a drink into the mix here (as I've been having quite a few of these lately!) My absolute favourite lemon drop martini in the city is at Parkside.
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There used to be a jerky place in Parker Place food court, is that one still around? I too am puzzled by the appeal of the "shoe leather" jerky. My vote is also for the sticky/moist (usually pork more than beef) kind. I'm curious though, what makes Jimmy's better than the other T&T stocked brands, ie. Soo's (is that what it's called?)
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Oops, yep, Vancouver...and also while in the neighborhood...the place next door (infinitydining) looks like it still needs quite a bit of work, yet website still says opening April 2006...?
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Walked by Tony Roma's today --- sign on door reads "closed indefinitely". What gives??
Mardi Gras Canadian Style
in Western Canada: Cooking & Baking
Posted
http://www.dadeo.ca/index.html
Never been personally...but they have andouille sausage on their menu.