canucklehead
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Posts posted by canucklehead
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I had to edit my posting - nwyles beat me to it on Brown's.
Gerald - you are the man! I am vacillating between jealousy and murderous envy.
To make myself feel better - I've been compiling my own under the radar list and so far - I am batting 100%
. Like Sushicat - it is mostly Asian though - so the Vanmag list gives more to aim at. -
It's four for me - ugh. How sad. How can this be - it seems like I am eating out all the time.
And I am stretching the truth with one of them as I have not been back to Cafe De Paris since Scott started there.
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VanMag this month has a great rundown of 25 restaurants flying under the radar in the city. In alphabetical order they are:
Aurora Bistro
Brown's
Burgoo
Cafe De Paris
Casa Verde
Dundarave Fish Mkt
Hamilton Street Grill
The Ivy
Japone
Lucy Mae Brown
The Mouse and Bean
Octopus's Garden
Ordinary Cafe
Pearl on the Rock
Random
Relish
Sage Bistro
Saveur
Simply Thai
Smoking Dog
Tacos Mexicos Rico
Tapastree
The Templeton
Trafalgars
Vintropolis
Obviously agree with HSG - but now the hanger steak and HSG GBP will be even harder to come by. Tacos Rico is great and glad to see that Cafe de Paris is back on track - may have to check it out. Also - great to see LMB and Aurora on the list. Okay - some of these places I have not heard of - so they were truly under the radar for me and I will add them to my list of places to check out.
A great sidebar to article also mentioned restaurants will one great dish. I full agree with Mui Garden's Curry Brisket as their great dish. The list also includes egullet favorites such as Au Petite, Kolachy, Kedah and many others. One problem though - it lists Shanghai Ya Yun - which sadly no longer exists and it looks like the chef has decamped to Shaghai Wind in Richmond (the mention of which is like pouring salt into an old wound - very sad that they moved).
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There was an Kolachy place featured on Food TV last night (Top 5 - God help my social life so I don't have to watch that crap anymore) and they featured a 'Kolachee" drive through. I think they were in the Mid-West US though.
Our local purveyor had more interesting fillings but they had sweet versions of the buns.
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Bird's Nest!? Taste Good!? Dude you ARE Chinese.
I can't seem to find anyone who will deliver Pho. We are all very sad for you. But I am sure someone is working on the Great Leap Forward in pho delivery.
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Who delivers booze Keith?
Cheers!
Uh... Stong's does!
On the Pho delivery issue - you could not have the noodles sitting in soup too long because it would soak up all the soup and you would end up with a bowl of wet wool. Some things are not meant to be delivered. As an honorary Chinese person - you should know this. Don't make me revoke your privilages.
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Any reviews on Mr. Pickwick's? I walked by its Denman Street location the other day and wondered if it was any good.
I've been to the Mr Pickwicks in W Van - and it was surprisingly good and good value. They have daily specials and a fairly substantial dinner for two was way below the $20 mark.
The fish was nicely done - not too greasy, and the fries were crisp. For what it is - it is a pretty good option when the F&C fancy strikes one suddenly.
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Went down to Seattle for a weekend that kind of turned into a personal gavage and with my liver transformed into human foie gras. I have posted most of the details in the Seattle thread but I wanted to share(okay - gloat) a couple of things with the Vancouver forum.
First off Salumi - fantastic! All I can say is I went and you did'nt. HA! HA!
Porchetta Sandwhich and Salumi Salami Sandwich
Also got to try a SUPER fresh mozzarella - Buttara at Zoe's. OMG. It was so f-king fantastic, I would have hit Daddy-A over the head for another piece of it (okay - that's not a high threshold). No really - it was making me weep. Why can't this be made in BC? We got cows! We got cheesemakers! I want the BC Dairy Board to give us some answers now.
I noticed that hanger steak was on EVERY single menu on Seattle. No kidding - just look up the online menu of Brasa, Zoe, Le Pichet... it was everywhere! I think that HSG needs to consider a frontal assault of some sort. I was going to yell at the chefs - " What is this!? You think this is hanger steak? I know hanger steak. Hanger steak is a friend of mine... this sir, is no hanger steak."
I will be lying down for the next two days - concentrating on digesting my food.
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Another canuck came a'vistin this weekend. It was my first time in Seattle where kids were not the major focus or impediment in trying out some new place to eat.
First stop Salumi
Porchetta Sandwhich
Salumi Salami Sandwhich
The place certainly lives up to the hype. The Senior Batali was so incredibly friendly and gave out samples left and right. The porchetta sandwhich was a massive undertaking - and delicous. Pork shoulder cooked to a delicous soft falling apart pile scented with onions and fennel - excellent. The highlight was the salami sandwhich w/ fresh mozz - fantastic salami - sweet and porky and pearled with fat - fantastic. Excellent start to the weekend.
Dinner at Zoe's - definitely a place that though busy - does not have the buzz of Brasa, Crow, et al. And it is better for it - had some of the best low key italian food since Delfina in SF.
Started with a burrata salad
One of the best things I have eaten in a very long time. Incredibly fresh mozz - tasting of fresh sweet dairy. Dressed with salt and fruity olive oil, served over tender arugala and a heirloom tomato bruchetta. Not overly dressed up - the Chef really taking full confidence in the ingredients. Absolutely fantastic.
Hanger Steak - what's up with Hanger steak in Seattle, it was on every menu that I looked at. Crazy. This was served with roasted veggies and glazed with a sweet brown sauce. The meat itself was likely smoked and suprisingly tender - I am used to a bigger chew from a hanger steak.
Side dishes - Sauteed Porcini, Tagliatelle w/ Butter and Parm
If I could order two (or three) orders of the pasta and two (or three) orders of the mushrooms and created my own piggy main course - I would have. Easily some of the best pasta I have had in a restaurant. Fresh, lively and bouyant in the mouth - not weighted down by cream or anything else too heavy - I could have eaten this pasta all f'king night. Great stuff.
Dessert was a Roasted Strawberry Crisp
Intense strawberry fruit - without the cloying jamminess that can happen with cooked strawberries. Washington strawberries seemed to have gotten less rain the BC crop. The roasted fruit was excellent - cooked strawberries are something that I tend avoid - but was very pleasantly surprised here.
Great dinner - one of the nicest I have had in while. You get the sense that the Chef is cooking within himself - not pulling any extraneous tricks or trying to play to the latest fad. Really superb. Not sure why Zoe is not discussed more on this thread.
Dinner Day Two
Went to another place seems to be flying a little below the radar (though it was also busy) - and was again rewarded with a solid meal and got to see real Seattlites dining at Le Pichet.
Started with a beautiful chacuterie platter. Particular stand outs were the velvety chicken liver pate and the beef tongue. Sooo good.
Shared the Roast Chicken for two - served wth fava beans and a chevre polenta
Delicous crispy skin - perfectly tender and juicy chicken.
Other party had the Roasted Pork Loin - served over macaroni.
I was uncertain about the macaroni - but it worked. The brined loin was perfectly tender and seasoned. Good solid simple food done extremely well.
Best dessert was Frozen Lemon Mousse with Blueberries
Wonderfully tart and the only seemingly sane way to end a very rich meal. In fact - the portion sizes were the only off putting thing. The roast chicken could have fed four. Not sure what restaurant ettiquite would be - but the next time I go - I will have the chacuterie platter, followed by a salad, then maybe a dessert.
But again - excellent simple fare that is deceptively hard to execute.
So - it was a great weekend. The food was spectacular and it was good to find things in Seattle that are not so available yet in Vancouver.
Yum Dude!
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The restaurants in the basement of that block are fantastic. I used to get take-out from Aki and I also tried another one of the Japanese restaurants down there. I think there were 3 in the basement area.
Aki's has been around for eons - one of the first Japanese restaurants in Vancouver and was located on Powell. An ex-Aunt (though she was only a few years older) and her family owned Aki's no.2 on East Hastings for years. Yoshi got his start in the Aki kitchen. They used to actually provide JAL with their inflight food years and years ago.
Sakae is also down there - famous for it's horse sashimi. Sakae's previous owner and chef now runs my favorite sushi joint - Okada. So - not quite as touristy at first glance - but the basement set up for some reason is very common. I think that I know the block that KT speaks of in HK - it is in the TST side of Hong Kong - and they have a Brazillian beef place also. In fact - if you took a picture of the HK site - you would swear it was Thurlow.
An example parallel evolution in real estate espensive cities?
Okay - back on topic before Daddy-A strikes us all down - I am curious about the Brazillian place - so please share your experiences also. Lots and Lots of MEEEAAAT. Its a good thing.
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Went and checked Double Double Congee house on Kingway and Victoria. Always good to have an alternative to Congee House on Main and Broadway.
For those of you expecting some sort of Tim Horton Congee experience - you will be disappointed. It is a solid congee house and serves good basic chinese food with rapid fire HK wit and speed. The proprieteress - and these places seemed to be always run by the same women - kinda bossy in that auntie kind of way - and a little on the masculine side.
Sliced Fish Congee w/ Watercress
Minced Beef Congee
Now I am not usually a big fan of congee as I find the texture varies between watery and gummy - but these were excellent. They were almost creamy. The ingredients are cooked in the congee base and come to the table bubbling hot (as opposed to being precooked and then getting dumped into the congee for heating through). The watercress is an excellent addtion - adding a fresh green element to what can be a heavy porridge. I am actually baffled by how creamy the congee is - and I suspect some sort of cooking trickery. Still - it was very good.
Had the prerequisite deep fried bread with the congee. These were fresh, well risen and not greasy at all. The round bread is a sweet version of the bread and usually I loathe it - but this one was only lightly sweet and was actually the fluffier of the two. They look vaguely naughty no?
We were told that these were the best daikon cakes in the city. They were very homestyle - soft and creamy - not too much binder. Really quite good.
Also had a soya sauced chow mein that had lots of bean sprouts and is standard accompniment with congee. All that for $20 tax and tip included.
I think this place also specialises in the rice noodles discussed up thread (or cheung fun) and are made fresh on the spot. These are all breakfast items in HK - so it is kind of like an diner that you can get breakfast any time. They try to push some dinner items - but I am not sure how good those are.
They also have a ginger custard that is very light (chong ngai or 'bumped' milk) - I think that there is no yolk in the custard so it is very light and refreshing. Did not sample it though. Will be back again.
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Well, Whole Foods in Park Royal claimed that they dry-aged a portion of their product for 30 days when they first opened. They had large slabs o' beef hanging on display behind the counter so I believed it. But I'm not sure they have kept that up. I don't notice the signs in the counter that this row of steaks is from aged product and this one is not. Nor do I notice a colour difference anymore, so I'm just not sure. You could phone. Regardless, it's a pretty good butcher. I've been very happy using them as my source of short ribs. Well, butchered, perfectly sized portions.
I think that if you ask them - they will age it for you. They will age a steak but will not age a roast (this was the case a few months ago). I have seen aged meat on sale once in a while. My favorite butcher there is AWOL - a big lug named appropriately Angus!. He was good at recommending good cuts and good values. However - the meat is generally well butchered all around.
I've noticed that they are selling Blue Goose. I know that BG has an outlet in NV but I always thought they were only open once a week.
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After the marathon eating on Saturday - I was still obligated to have Dim Sum with older relatives and the ungodly hour of 10:30 am in Richmond. Which meant I had to drive across three bridges to fulfill the duties of a good Chinese nephew. Don't ever ditch your older Chinese relatives - the payback is brutal. My mother still refers to one of my cousins - who happens to be an attractive female - as a "bad bad girl" - which is code for 'slut'. All because she is not dutiful enough for my mother's liking.
We met at Yu Restaurant on Alexandra Road. It's an ala carte joint - so no carts to point at and then pointing at your mouths to indicate something you want to eat. They have english menus with some pictures - but the english is brutal. It makes those old Godzilla movie subtitles read like Shakespeare (which I can't understand either). Oh thee well.
Sticky rice - which was thankfully not underglass as usual. It was very nice - sticky in that sushi rice kind of way - but not too rich. Flecked with chinese sausage that was almost like bacon. This was my favorite dish because I don't have this very often and it was very well done (also it seemed to soak up some of the toxins from overeating the day before).
Rice noodles with Shrimp and BBQ Pork. You could have two kinds of dim sum on one plate - what a concept! It's radical thinking like this that got the Chinese explorers to America hundereds of years before Columbus.
Again two kinds of things on one plate - this place is crazy. Forget the Fa Long Gong - the PRC Secret Police are going to shut this place down. Eating here makes you a counter-revolutionary. The usual shrimp dumplings - two with a slice of scallop and tobiko. Well steamed - nice skin and fresh tasting shrimp.
This is always called "fried donut in rice noodle" - its a terrible name. Really - it is deep fried bread wrapped in a rice noodle. It was very good and fresh - the fried bread stick was crispy and yeasty and the rice noodle thin and delicate. You got to dip it in a sauce of hoisin and light peanut butter. Second favorite.
Baked BBQ Pork Buns - there were four but my uncle ate one before I could take a picture. Again fresh and yeasty (kind of like many members of egullet) - very good - but there was a really sweet glaze on the bread. Okay though.
Dessert no. 1 - Steamed Sponge Cake. Never a big fan of this - like sweet insulation. However - the restaurant gave us the corner piece - the worst piece in a batch. A BIG sign of disrepect to our table. Uncle is unhappy. I am thankful for the smaller portion.
Dessert no. 2. Called "thousand layer cake" - it is a steamed conconction of sweet white cake layered with a kind of custard. The custard is spiked with mashed salted egg yolks. Sounds yummy eh? It IS good - the salted egg yolks give the custard a nice sandy texture and cuts the sweetness. This is a very good example of this type of dessert and they are generous with the salted egg yolks. There is also what looks like shreds of pig fat - but I am told it is winter melon added to mimic pig fat and keeps the cake lighter. I am again thankful.
Now - all this food comes to the grand total of $25! If you get there and order before 11am - you get 20% off your bill. Now I understand the ungodly hour. I can't really say if this was a great dim sum joint because I could not sample more food - but it strikes me as the kind of place that good middle class HK families frequent. The room is very comfortable - nice high ceilings and hyper efficient staff. Definitely a place to check out if you are in the neighbourhood.
My relatives are curious about why I am taking pictures - and I explain egullet and the fantastic C Lunch I went to. I show them pictures from C - and I am told that I am eating too richly and need a cleanse. My aunt will brew me a tea that will really 'clean me out'. In fact - the brew is sooo powerful that she cannot leave the house for two days when she has it because she is not certain when it will kick in. And when it kicks in - it is brutally effective. I sit - nodding and thanking her in advance for the tea. Clearly - the tea won't be cleaning anything except the insides of my kitchen drain.
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For some reason - I really don't know the etymology - in Chinese, a guy who takes advantage of women is said to like "to eat alot of tofu".
Maybe someone will have some insight.
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Local blueberries aren't ready yet. They must be southern imports.
That's what I thought - but these were labelled as "Abbotsford" blueberries - that's why I was confused. The only explanation I could think of was hothouses - but I am not sure. It made me suspicous.
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So when Daddy-A asks to smoke your hog - let him.
I would ask that this phrase be stricken from this thread. This is a picture that would disturb even the freakist of you out there !!!!
Lee....................... you are one sick dude.
Also, it was beef, not pork, you sick puppy !!!!!
Hmm - I did not realize that I had stumbled upon some sort of kitchen based profanity. I was talking about food sir, and I realize the brisket is beef. So perhaps I should have said, let Daddy-A 'broil your beef'. Or is that another dirty phrase? I now understand what Anthony Bourdain was talking about when he described people who worked in kitchens. What dirty minds. What depravity.
All kidding aside - the brisket was very very succulent and would have been perfect in a sandwich.
Poor Arne - this object of so much abuse. Dude - we only do because.... you make so easy to do so.
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I want to put a word in on the West Van market and things were much much improved. There were local berries on sale (are blueberries in season yet? - I always think of them as a late summer kind of thing), mushrooms, and cherries.
Another fruit vendor was setting up as I was leaving and there was a decent crowd. So things are much improved - not worth a trip from the other side of town - but good for the locals. As a market should be.
However, no pottery or soap this week. Where did you go?
But also not rats, public defacation, or fake pradas. So WV Council should be not too unhappy. They did have an officer keeping an eye on things - too much smiling got you a stern warning and if you giggled, it was the public stockade for you.
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Here is the picture of the brisket....
Awww - isn't it beautiful? This sucker was perfectly - and I mean perfectly smoked. So when Daddy-A asks to smoke your hog - let him.
Umm.. I don't have pictures of the hanger steak cause I ate them all. For all of my protestations of being too full after the C Lunch, I managed to polish off 2 (or 3) of the tasting portions.
Once again - Neil and his team were able to keep a bunch of lunatics happy. I think that it is out of pity that we are tolerated.
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I'll add my voice to the chorus of thanks for the C Lunch. The panel presented some very interesting discussions regarding the long term future of our oceans and fisheries. Clear rationale discussion ruled the day and the panel laid out a frame work that gave equal weighting to the enviromental and economic health of our province. Very interesting!
Many thanks for Jamie Maw for putting together such a tremendous event. Deepest gratitude to the entire C team whose generosity was so endless. I mean the food was incredible and the FOH was superb. It is amazing to see 'C' really lead the way in demonstrating sustainable practices and fantastic food are not mutually exclusive.
Here are some photos:
Tuna Starter
Fresh Pea Soup w/ Spotted Prawns
Slow Roasted Salmon
Sablefish Collar
Keegan Bay Scallops, Slow Roasted Pork, Morels
Formage Frais Cheescake
So clearly doing good for the environment is good for the tummy also. Aren't win win situations good?
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I've used the steeping in cream method as described in the Balatzar cook book and I really like the results. Basically bring milk or cream to a slow simmer and add some garlic cloves to steep in the milk and soften (a sprig of thyme is good - or a little dried thyme). Mash the garlic with the potatoes (I run everything through the ricer). It means that she does not have to turn on the oven - keeps everything on the stove top. I would say 4 or 5 cloves would be good for garlic beginners.
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Ohhh, yummy stuff here! My favorite gilding is to make a big thick hamburger with chuck, fried in butter to the "black and blue" stage and eat it on well-buttered white toast. Iced coffee with cream, not milk. Heavy cream over peach cobbler (peach ANYTHING, for that matter)
Butter and brown sugar on oatmeal. Cheddar cheese goldfish crackers dunked in blue cheese dressing. (Dammit, I've made my self hungry!) 
Wow - that reads like a last meal request. All you are missing is some homemade fried chicken and biscuits. Actually - clear some space for me. And save me a rootbeer float.
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Wanted to share a great lunch option downtown.
Chiyoda - which is on the second floor of the building right accross the street from Kaplans on Alberni.
Just had the grilled fish lunch for about $9 before tax and tip and it was simply fantastic.
Lunch consisted of grilled fillet of makerel with the skin on, rice, miso soup, small pork and veggie stew, pickles and tea. The makeral was the best I've had - rich, succulent flesh with excellent charred crispy skin. It is usually a fish I avoid because it can be so fishy - but this did not have a trace of fishiness. It was almost tuna like - the flavors were so clean. It was pretty well boneless and I wolfed it down with omega 3 fish oil running down my chin. Really - I am not being mindlessly enthusiastic here. Definitely my new lunch haunt.
You can switch out the fish - your choices being salmon, halibut and others. Looked like someone was having grilled cuttlefish. When I asked the waitress what they were grilling - I thought she said Mako - so I was expecting a piece of shark - luckily it was not.
The room is very nice- clean and modern in a vaguely 80's japanese kind of way. Reminded me of japanese restaurants that they have in the office buildings in HK and Japan. They need to crank up the air conditioning though...
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I think that there are many ingredients that are 'discovered' and then overused to the point that you never want to see them again. Or worse - become so tied to a time period - that they fall out of fashion and are shunned - which denies even the proper use of the ingredient in the first place.
For me - that ingredient right now is white truffle oil which seems to find it's place into EVERYTHING. Foie Gras runs a close second. What makes the overuse of these material particularly egregious is that they are wonderful if used sparingly - but now they have become cheapened and cliched.
Pesto, Sun Dried Tomatoes (OMG - I can't remember how to pluralize tomato), Balsamic Vinegar... the list goes on and on.
As for tired restaurant dishes - molten chocolate cake and 'fill in the blanks' eggrolls. Enough already!
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When I walked by VIP - it looked like such a mish mash of stuff - well - this means I need to try it out. Good Chinese - in West Van? Maybe the world is coming to end..
Vancouvers best looking restaurant
in Western Canada: Dining
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The Buddha statue thing would never fly in Vancouver because frankly it is a little offensive to most buddists and asians. To serve meat in what should be a sacred space is a little like having a big star of david sitting over a baby back ribs joint. I noticed this trend with the big Buddha I guess starting out with the Buddha bar in Paris (I think) I hope that the trend dies down. It reminds me of the time that I saw a designer stick little pieces of paper with gold leaf squares onto a room divider that she found in chinatown on one of those home improvement shows on TV. Those little pieces of paper are offerings that you burn at funerals for your ancestors - so using them as decoration is more then a little culturally illiterate.
That being said - I do wish that there were more 'grown up' places in Vancouver. I think the lack of well decorated places is a result of alot of people being immediately suspicious / intimidated by a dramatic space. For example - on the retail side I know alot of people who are afraid of going into Richard Kidd on Water St - a big soaring glass enclosed space which would be perfect for a restaurant. Why - for goodness sakes - its just a store.
For me Chambar and Lift do a good job. Though for some reason - Lift's upstairs area is so poorly lit - it is almost pitch black at night and seems to rely soley on tea candles for lighting. The Feenie's bar area with it's cocoon-like walls always feels more oppressive to me rather than cozy.
The CFD places seem to do a good (if generic) job of things too. The Earl's on Robson has a circle of booths surrounding the central bar area - for some reason the booths are almost always occupied by guys (insert your Earl's HR practices joke here).