Vancouver

Some more popped to mind shortly after my last post: South Ocean Seafood in Richmond for dim sum; Long's Noodle House on Main for Shanghai cuisine; BeGaNe in Burnaby for 11 course pre-fixe Korean (they have 3 menu levels to choose from); the foodcourts at Yaohan centre and Aberdeen centre are worth browsing around as well to see if anything floats your boat. Cheers!

Thanks for those links, Neil. So what would it take for us to get this system started in Vancouver?!?!?! Cheers!

They actually did pretty well on their last one, according to the health board website: "In Compliance - Food Food handling practices appear to be satisfactory. Refrigeration temperatures are satisfactory (< 4 degrees C / 40 degrees F). Freezer temperatures are satisfactory (< -18 degrees C / 0 degrees F). Mechanical dishwashing procedure is satisfactory (final rinse water temperature is > 77 degrees C / 170 degrees F for 10 seconds, measured at the dish; or >82 degrees C/179 degrees F, measured at the manifold). Handwashing facilities are satisfactory. Food storage practices appear to be satisfactory. Sanitation of premises is satisfactory. Inadequate Hot Holding of Potentially Hazardous Food(s) The hot holding case for bbq chicken measured a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. Informed supervisor to remove all bbq chicken and store in the oven in the kitchen until a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius is maintained. The hot holding case temperature must be maintained at 60 degrees Celsius." That hot holding case does seem to be a perpetual issue for them though - cited in the last 3 reports (2/2/2004, 10/7/2004, and 2/17/2004). So would that be a B? Cheers!

Dinner at Parkside. I agree with what has been posted previously. Yummy! Started off with the "Barely cooked local tuna, Japanese mushrooms and vegetables, citrus soy dressing" which closely resembled tuna tataki, with a pacific northwest presentation. Followed with a double veal chop which was plated on top of a truffled mash served with veal jus. It was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was worth finishing to the last drop. Dessert was a "Granny Smith apple tarte fine, caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream" which was light and flaky and a perfect end to the meal. Overall a wonderful dinner. I will certainly return. Lunch at Legendary Noodle. My first time here. The lamb with flat noodle soup had a very rich tasty broth (is this actually a lamb broth? Or did it just take on the lamb flavour from the meat?), juicy pork dumplings (good, but not the best I've had in the Vancouver area), beef pastry (the beef pastry at Long's noodle house up the street far surpassed this one as they add in pickled veggies instead of just beef). Overall I would return for the noodle soups, and try some other dishes on the menu, but will lean away from the non-noodle dishes. That broth was tasty though! Dessert at Cin Cin. Had the "Chocolate Flavours: Valrhona chocolate tarte, chocolate ice cream, warm crepe with carmelized fruits and chocolate sauce" at the bar. Really pleasant to stop in just for dessert downtown. The chocolate tarte is really the highlight of this dish. It is creamy smooth, but still with a good dark chocolate flavour. The crust is light and flaky. Really delicious. Cheers!

This sounds like a great idea. I know I have seen it in a few cities around the world (but can't remember which ones off the top of my head - Singapore pops to mind as a strong possibility though). Restaurants post their newspaper reviews, why not the result of their health inspections? Cheers!

For very casual Malaysian food I'd strongly recommend Kedah House. Located at 5750 Fraser Street 604-325-9771. Many of egulleter's favorites can also be found in this thread: Best Dining Values in Western Canada. Have fun!

An interesting strategy when trying to find a place to eat (or NOT). The most recent data is the most relevant, eh? Cheers!

You are right. It seems many of the truly bad offenders are not on the list anymore. They have another list at: Food establishment closures which is also on their website. Perhaps once a food establishment has that many violations they get shifted over to that list? Many of the serious ones on there can't even be found in the database any more. Hm.....

How strange. The few restaurants I've seen with lots of issues seemed to have repeat visits a few days later with notes about what was corrected, and what wasn't. I guess it is political like everything else in the world, eh? Cheers!

I do like the modern club okonomiyaki as well. It is not easy to find Kansai style okonomiyaki in Vancouver - and theirs is pretty good. It isn't Osaka, and they don't have the griddle tables for you to sit at. But it is tasty. Cheers!

Ok, so I had no idea that the food inspections reports for all restaurants in the city were available easily and quickly online. They make for an interesting read: Vancouver/Richmond health safety reports Certainly interesting to read up on how the restaurants we frequent do on the inspection process. Cheers! P.S. Also a great resource just to find addresses, phone numbers, etc. of every restaurant in town! Edited to add P.S.

Excellent! Any insight on the menu? Cheers!

Leonard - When is Nu slated to open? Cheers!

Sounds like a story worth waking for her to wake up for! Cheers!

This just got me thinking about food delivery options in Vancouver. I've started a separate thread at: Food delivery thread Cheers!

In the thread about delivery pizza in downtown, sbonner said which got me thinking that I probably am not familiar with a lot of the delivery services out there. So what are your favourites? What are the worst? What types of experiences have you had with food delivery in Vancouver? Cheers!

I looked into it a bit more and also found out that they are offering a Best of the Bench case of wine to purchase. Here is their blurb on it: "To experience these superb wines at home and create your own perfect culinary pairings, take home a "Best of the Bench" Case for sale at the event. Do not miss this opportunity as several of these wines are produced in small quantity, with limited availability. Additional sales will be available after April 19th at Marquis Wine Cellars & Kitsilano Wine Cellar (Vancouver), Spinnakers Spirit Merchants (Victoria) and Bubblees (Penticton). This year's format includes 14 wines in a funky bench box design." Sounds like an interesting case to purchase and get introduced to some of those new wines! Cheers!

By the way - I was reminded by reading over this thread of my worst airline food experience as well. It was an Aeroflot red-eye flight from Moscow, Russia to Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The plane had a broken galley, so they improvised and took roasted chickens and ripped them apart and placed chunks into a plastic bag with a hunk of bread. The flight attendant walked down the aisle carrying about 10 bags in each hand and just dropped one on each person's lap. Luck of the draw I actually got a chicken thigh. The person sitting next to me got the neck with almost no meat. The 2nd time they came around with the non-disposable water glasses I realized that they probably hadn't been washed. Joy joy joy! Cheers!

I've had decent sushi on JAL when departing from Tokyo to Vancouver in business class. JAL to Tokyo generally doesn't offer it at all. Had very good sushi Kansai style pressed sushi on Cathay pacific from of all places Seoul to Taipei in first class. That was a surprise - particularly for such a short flight. Apparently the plane started off in Osaka, flew to Taipei, then flew to Seoul, and then was returning. Cathay also has had good sushi (for an airline) on the Hong Kong to London and Hong Kong to Vancouver routes in first class. They frequently have complementary sashimi and sushi in the Wing Lounge in Hong Kong as well. But I tend towards their noodle soups there, which are a bit better. Have fun!

Oops. Sorry to leave that part out - $75. Tickets will be available via ticketmaster apparently. Cheers!

I just heard about this and figured some might be interested: The Naramata Bench Winery Association is holding its second annual "Best of the Bench" Spring Release on Tuesday April 19th, 2005, from 6-9pm at Villa Amato, 88 E 1st Ave. in Vancouver. Each of 14 wineries will be selecting their singular best wine to pair with the inspired food creation of the best of Vancouver and Naramata restaurants. Here are the pairings: Elephant Island Orchard Wines & Les Amis du Fromage Hillside Estate Winery & the Barrel Room Bistro Joie & Memphis Blues Barbeque House Kettle Valley Winery & Lumiere La Frenz Winery & Raincity Grill Lake Breeze Vineyards & Mahdina's Lang Vineyards & the Naramata Heritage Inn Laughing Stock Vineyards & C Restaurant Mistral Estate Winery & Café de Paris Nichol Vineyard & Bis Moreno Poplar Grove Winery & Le Gavroche Red Rooster Winery & Villa del Lupo Spiller's Estate Winery & Hermitage Did anyone go last year? Is it worth the price? Cheers!

Entirely agree on this one - Patisserie LeBeau is tops in Vancouver.

Has anyone tried the West Early Prix Fixe menu they are now offering? Details here Sounds like quite the deal! Thoughts? Cheers!

I enjoyed the Chocolate Flavours at Cin Cin tonight. It is 3 desserts in 1. The highlight being the valrhona chocolate tart, with a flaky crust and deep rich creamy chocolate. Yum! Cheers!

Thanks! Missed that thread entirely for some reason! Cheers!