fud

East Village vs Richmond/Robson by Denman. Fight! Momofuku still has my favorite beer which, by the way, you simply cannot get in BC Hitachino Nest, where's the love?

I just realized that point nondual1. Chinese new year coincides with valentines this year so it does happen to fall into the Olympic period. I actually find biting into the soft "bottom" of the bun an easy way to get the juice out. They are, indeed, quite like gyoza in that sense but the thicker fluffy dough really makes them their own thing. I know at Sha-Lin and at Peaceful both on Broadway, they are fried top and bottom (unless I'm confusing these buns for different ones)

I just had lunch today at Chen's and I will say that it is quite good and a tad cheaper than Shanghai Wonderful. The XLBs are a totally different flavour and texture to Shanghai Wonderful so I'm going to treat the two restaurant's XLBs are separate products. The actual fried buns at Chen's were, however, phenomenal. Really really juicy inside and packed with porky goodness. I will make the note that the sign on their door was rather surprising: Closed Feb 11th to March 1st. Looks like the family has decided to take an Olympic Break despite the favourable writeup by Sam Sifton. So if you are planning on going during the Olympic period, sorry, they are closed!

I wish I had a better camera but I guess the point got across. You should talk to the owner, he's quite a character and he has funny stories on how the city still can't figure out what he's trying to do. They kept telling him to pour concrete foundations. He had this look on this face like "huh? how would I leave then?"

I just returned from Yatai heaven and it was good fun. Even with some rain there were a decent number of people enjoying hot ramen noodles, hand rolls and giant takoyaki's. The owner is a dynamic and funny fellow who pretty much designed and built all three stalls starting with Tenku. He's managed to hire some help to man the other stalls as he runs back and forth ensuring quality control. I believe his grand plan is to clone himself three ways or more in order to maintain a level of continuity. There is also a permanent shack with tables for people to stand over and enjoy their recent purchases. This was most useful in the rainy weather. As I mentioned there is indeed a giant container-Inukshuk which is rather odd looking but hey it certainly draws attention to the place. The doorway to Ramen Miso Ramen with egg, fresh veggies, garlic chips and pork (oh the pork was nice and fatty....oh lordy) Hand roll with nori, salmon rice, tuna sashimi, tobiko, avocado and some chili mayo I'd say this was a worthwhile visit and I am looking forward to trying the Ton Ramen when he gets stocked up again. G-Men still gets the prize for ramen noodle quality but for a trailer in the middle of a parking lot, I'm highly impressed with the noodles. I also love the "bring your own bowl" policy which helps with reducing waste and you get a "little extra" when you bring your own bigger bowl.

Remember Tenku? That crazy trailer in the middle of a parking lot off elmbridge (by the Rona)? The owner served up giant takoyaki-style balls called Bakudanyaki (otherwise known as "bomb"-yaki). Well he's made some friends! Now there's a Ramen shop and a hand rolled cone shop to complete the set of 3 trailers. On top of this they appear to have budded up to a Richmond-City built inukshuk made of containers. Japanese "street" food finally, truly, invades the lower mainland. I'm going to be paying them a little visit today to see if the food lives up to the concept. I can say right now I'm already excited. Here's a great little blog writeup I found on the place(s) Yumorama Review

Pourhouse might be getting some big tourist attention from Sam Sifton's great review

Nice to see a little spotlight on Vancouver food on the cover of the new york times. If Meals Won Medals Yay food!

^ Oh yes my bad, I never made the reservation - my wife did - so to me it was one of those "show up and enjoy it" evenings. After talking to some friends, the reservation "line" doesn't alarm me but probably makes it a non sleeper...more like a summer blockbuster that didn't disappoint!

I had a wonderful meal at Les Faux Bourgeois on Tuesday. It has to be the sleeper hit of the summer for us. We started with a glass of Kettle Valley White and tucked into a French Onion soup done the way I love - smoked bacon, creamy stock and oh-so-sweet onions. The dish was topped with a Guyere that had a smokey aftertaste. I had the Moulles Frites and my SO had a seared salmon. The mussles were served in the traditional white wine affair but it was absolutely delicious. I could not stop dipping the fresh bread and filling my belly with the rich salty goodness. The fries were crispy and well seasoned - they came with a fresh, home-made, mayo. The Salmon was crispy at the skin and well done throughout. Flakey and delicate. We were very pleasantly surprised at the bill at the end. This is very good food at bargain prices. We will be back hopefully sooner rather than later.

Out friends from Gyoza King on Robson opened up a Ramen shop in Richmond called G-Men. It's in the continental plaza on Cambie and Hazelbridge (I think). The broth is quite good (although I still prefer Kintaro) but the pork is much softer than Kintaro's which I find to be tougher and dry. All in all Kintaro has the soup and the "fixins" but G-Men has a mean pork and the wood ear mushrooms are a very nice compliment. I was there last week and they offered a "dry" ramen noodle which was awesome. Of course at dinner time they also offer Gyoza!

Nice to hear Chef Jeff has found a home at Diva! "The talented and perseverant Chef Jeff Van Geest is running the show at Diva at the Met, bringing with him, the calm and cool, David Edigar." And from the same email they confirm the Parkside transformation with the added bonus of Aurora's sous chef coming on board "Sous Chef, Sam Hartles has been showing off his knife skills at Parkside Restaurant, soon to be LaBuca2."

I'm a fan of Shanghai Wonderful. The soup dumplings (Xiao long bao) are highly soupy and packed with flavour. They also do one of the better hot and sour soups out there (with actual chunks of seafood). Try it there and redefine what hot and sour soup is supposed to be like Cunucklehead is right about Jade, it's a bit of an unsung hero in most cases. When you go there for Dim Sum, it's woefully underpacked compared to many other joints in the area and I find the price premium is well worth the jump in food quality (plus easy/free parking).

We just got back from Market tonight. We were seated in the Cafe (on Valentine's eve it was referred to as the 'dining room overflow'). We took a look around the restaurant before ordering. The Raw Bar is gorgeous albiet a little tight to walk through. The fact that you need to walk through here to get to the dining room is both a blessing and a curse. It's important to see the bar, but it's extremely congested on busy nights. Service was fast and a little skiddish at times but generally good. I was happy to see some great BC ciders on the menu. Butternut Squash Soup - Black trumpet mushrooms and Chives Served tableside with the trumpet mushrooms, chives and julienne potatoes arranged nicely in a bowl and then the soup poured at the last minute. The soup reminded me of the chapter in Thomas Keller's book on proper filtering of sauces. The soup's texture was very smooth and silky. The mushrooms were a little dry at the start but as they began eating up the moisture from the soup they took on a very strong complimentary flavour. Loved it to bits. I was soaking the stuff up with the bread I had on hand. Dungeness Crab Dumplings - Meyer Lemon and Celeriac Tea The lemon/tea sauce was tangy and spicy. I really like the use of spice here it was a welcome surprise. The dumplings were good but I'm a dumpling snob so I'll leave it at that. The sauce here was also served a la minute. Sablefish - Nut and Seed Crust, Sweet and Sour Broth The waiter gave my wife a spoon when this dish was served and our eyes both said the same thing: what's this for? Scoop up the sweet and sour broth and the spoon's existence was clear. Baby veggies still crisp in a lovely broth which again used spices which were strong and very unexpected. The fish was soft and fatty with a wonderful crunch from the crust. If they can make sablefish consistently like this I can do the world a favour and stop eating Sea Bass. Grilled Rack of Lamb - Smoked Chili Glaze, King oyster mushrooms, Brocollini There's something with this place that really jives with me. The portions are generous, the prices are absolutely reasonable and the food execution is top tier. The lamb was marvelous. The chili glaze was spicy (actually truly spicy) and when mixed with the oyster mushroom compote makes for a mean accompaniment to the lamb only to be topped off by a mint reduction and served with caramelized onions and the mutant broccoli-meets-gai-lan. The lamb had perfectly even pinkness throughout the rack - these guys love their lamb as much as I do. Carmelized Banana Cake - Crunchy Praline, Carmel Ice Cream Beautiful composition, we really liked the torched sugar/banana topping on the cake. This is no banana bread (although it is). Local Artisanal Cheeses All from the island and featuring Salt Spring Island brie and goat cheese as well as a chunk of mild blue, Montagne, and one more I have already forgotten the name of. This was a generous dish served with toasted raisin breads and crisp apple. Apple and Brie make the world a better place. There was so much cheese leftover at the end I had to insist on packing it home for further enjoyment tomorrow. And they will be enjoyed for sure. Market certainly did not skimp on the Brie. All of this in today's showcase can be had if the price is right...say about $120. What a great evening.

Made reso's for Friday (before V-day). Interesting that they didn't ask me where I wanted to sit! P.S. Andrew's link is dead but HERE is the correct one. Can't wait. The scout pictures look marvelous.

My Wife and I are going to be in Santiago for 3 days this January. Any suggestions? I've only read a little about: Astrid y Gaston Puerto Fuy and the just mentioned Fabula Cheers

Oh for joy for joy! This thread is wonderful as my wife and I will be in B.A. for a week to sample the steaks and soak up the culture. I've made a list based on the posts in this thread and hope to snap some pictures and post a mini review when we get back. Please keep the suggestions coming!

Fuel reminds me very much of Degustation It's been on my list for so long. These pictures really make me want to go now! Great writeup!

Slight change in the pricing might reduce the numbers of lemon sippers. But hey it's only $3.

Campagnolo looks really interesting! I'm excited to try it out! Now I have two reasons to head in that direction (the other being Pnom Pehn)

Truly sad. My best wishes to Chef Jeff in his future endeavours

I second this one. They must put crack on those wings.

That is truly sad. Jacksons is an institution and one of the best butchers I've used. I'm surprised they didn't have staying power. I'll drown my sorrows over their departure with a large steak tonight.

I'd almost call that a list of Restaurants popular with tech savvy people. Chambar being so popular with the Yaletown crowd, it makes sense as I bet half of these people can make a reso via web browser over cell phone rather than calling them directly

^ I just read an article on our weather (hot, then cold, then drenching rain) and how it's done quite a number on our berries in BC. They hold out little hope of over 40% yield on this years Strawberries The article is stating farmers are highly worried about the blueberries too. Cranberries were most likely to do just fine this year. I hope we see some strawberries next week!