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Wickininnish for lunch The view is unbelievable. The food is good value for lunch. The dinner is a multi-course extraveganza but be ready to put out $100/pp without wine.

Sandy and I went last night and met Leonard (nice to put a face to the name now!) We took pictures but havn't uploaded them yet so here's the review and I'll tack on pictures later! Decor ------- The restaurant was gorgeous, I liked the green motif which is a welcome change from the standard blue I keep seeing in trendy restaurants nowdays. The neon chandelier was awesome. They also have this funky wine rack thing. I can only describe it as a caged lazy susan where the wine resides inside and can be rotated around like a carousel. Pretty neat and I assume the wine turnover is high so there's no need to have them stored horizonally. Quick note on bathrooms since I actually do put weight on bathrooms in restaurants. Clean and they have hand lotion! Some might think "who cares", well for those who have dry skin it's really nice! Patio ------ Wow. Awesome not only because of the view but also the design! They have these monster glass windows that serve as the patio permiter as well as a wind shield. It wasn't exactly a warm evening last night but the wind shield windows and the well placed heatlamp made for a great evening on the deck. I can see myself on the patio in the middle of a sunny February eating mmmm... Appy's -------- We sat down, ordered a Gwertz from Joie and the chicken wings stuffed with goat cheese. My god. They drum the chicken wings and then stuff cheese into them. The finished product looks like a glazed popsicle. These were wonderful. I could have ordered 2 more plates probably. But alas I needed to try other things. I'm a little bummed I forgot to try the oyster/beer thingie that I've been reading about. There really were simply too many appy's I wanted to try. I think I'm going back to try them all and skip the main course After the wings, we shared the Guyere Onion Soup. Think French Onion but make it sweeter and richer and in all respects BETTER. Oh man. I was ready for another bowl after this. If Sandy wasn't my fiancee I would have wrestled her for the last drops in the bowl. Amazing stuff, the onions were so sweet and carmelized, the cheese was simply superb (even had a small chunk of cheese at the bottom of the bowl which was still crunchy mmm). The bread bits in the soup were very well done. You see, normally bread goes all soggy in a soup like this and ends up blending into the general texture of the soup. But these bread bits were of a heartier nature allowing the diner to enjoy the texture of the bread while it was soaking in the soup. A perfect textural experience. Thumbs way up. Mains ------ I ordered the Braised Pork Belly and Sandy ordered the Grilled Halibut. The braised pork belly was very tender and tasty. Simple. Good. As intended by the theme of this restaurant (good food put simply). The pork belly was finished on top of some pears and walnuts (carmelized). I liked this dish, it was solid and the skin was very crispy whilst the meat underneath was juicy and soft. You could really taste the pork flavour - they didn't overdo it with gravy or sauces. Sandy's halibut on the other hand I found to be a little bland. It was dished on top of Chard which I think is some kind of strong Bok choy type veggie with stems that look like Rhubarb. What I found was that the Chard has a pretty strong flavour, perhaps too strong for the subtle flavour of the Halibut therefore taking away from the Halibut flavour. Sandy believes perhaps the fish was overdone and thus lost some of it's inherent flavour. Dessert --------- Sandy had the Creme Brulee. It was really really good. The flavour was so spot on and the carmelization was just perfect on top. The desserts here are wonderful because they are small enough for you to enjoy after a good dinner and they are a great value (<$4!!). I really liked the creme brulee. Alex mentioned he had the Lemon tart last time he was there and it was phenominal. Now I need to go back for it. I had the crepes - very solid! The orange sauce was really tastey! I loved how I wasn't so full I was about to burst after it either Service --------- First rate. Waiter was top notch and Leonard even came in to check on us a couple times which was a wonderful touch. We DID tell the waiter about the halibut and he was really good about it, he told us that the restaurant is very interested in feedback. Leanord, it was super nice of you to throw in some desserts!! Sandy was kind of shocked since it wasn't like she didn't like the fish, just that it was a bit more bland than she liked. Very nice surprise indeed. Total Package --------------- - Awesome view, the whole place is on stilts on the water, you can't get much better - Patio to die for (well designed so you don't freeze on colder days) - Appy's are simply amazing - Price point is well inline with what you get - Service is top notch Will we go back? Damn right we will, I need to go back for more soup, wings and maybe try the Guyere sandwich they have! So much food...so little stomach....Kudos to the Nu team! Wes

I had NO idea someone was takin pictures! I'll try to remember to bring mine next time Get the action shots of us not know what we're doing hee hee. Nice job! Brings back memories of the celery I cut!

Excellent I will do! T minus 40 minutes

Hey Leonard, So what's the scoop on the best dishes at Nu? I'm coming tonight with my fiancee for dinner. I also assume interac is still down so I'll bring the other plastic. Mmmmm looking forward to it. Wes

I'm surprised as to the selection at Capers, it's great! I had poplar grove tiger blue at the winery along with some crabapple wine from Elephant Island. O. My. God. SO GOOD! I personally do all my cheesey commestible shopping at "Les Amis Du Fromage" Good selection and it smells very cheesey in there...almost too cheesey!

I love animated instructors, they make the class go by so well! I recall our helper scoping out the different stations to see which people had the yummiest looking food. No doubt they are now well versed in finding the good eats Boy talk about deluxe. When Sandy's cousin took the full chef course at dubrelle they had to do all their own dishes and certainly there wasn't any wine with dinner! We're spoiled! Even Dan said that he was surprised what we "got cellery" to work on for our knife skills. Dan: "Wow! You get cellery already!!??" Dan: "You know...we got flour for the first two days!" I feel so privilidged now. P.S. Welcome aboard Alex! (who sits one cubical over from me ;p) P.P.S. Yes I'm working and I'll have that TPS report ready for you soon.

DOH! Okay, now everyone knows who's going to FAIL this course. A. ← As if!! ← But seriously....I didn't braise either

Wow Memphis made the list? I will admit that the shredded pork has got to be my favorite dish there. And they give you a fair portion of veggies on the platter (like chicken). I'm a little split on Gothams and Morton's too. I really really liked the Filet Mignon at Gothams. It was my first "put the meat in your mouth and it melts on your tongue" experience. Mortons I liked for the flavour. I havn't tried the hanger steak but apparently if I don't I'm going to be shunned on this forum. I HAVE had the gingerbread dessert and it was pretty good (but I wouldn't say it blew me away). It DID get rave reviews from my friends tho who were more than happy to take it away from me Wes

I really like Chef Tony, he's so animated and fun. I'm looking forward to next class. I think the first thing that came to mind when the class was rolling was: 'I have no idea what I'm doing' That pretty much stayed true till we made the salmon and then I was able to add some jazz to the fish. Regardless the knife skills and simply how to cut veggies was really useful and I'm shocked that I'd been doing it 'all wrong' before. And I honestly had no idea you don't add garlic to the pan first. I always do that because it smells so good Daddy-A, we used all our celery No Mire Poixe for the next class hee hee. (actually it really was too much celery, and im not a huge fan of celery

Don't tempt me, i may do it in class on monday. Wes

They have really good chinese donut wrapped in rice flour (Ja Leung) AND they are really good value, but I wouldn't say they have the best dim sum (price no object). I really like Kirin for high quality dim sum tho. You pay more but you get really good food. For total budget madness, Luk Fuk in richmond off Leslie (#3 rd and Leslie) is ridiculously cheap and their Egg tarts (Dan tat) are freshly made when you order (takes 15 minutes or something but they com HOT and mouth watering good). I think last time I went with Sandy and 2 other friends our bill came to $17 (for four people!!)

Of course! Actually has anyone tried making this at home? Mine was pretty much a complete failure. I think the sauce is important but the tempura breading is also key. Not sure what they are doing right (or I'm doing wrong). Must...make....ebi....mayo....must...eat....

It's settled. I'm going there after I go to Nu tomorrow.

I worked at Benny's Broadway location back then - and I think that the cheesecakes were made on site. The owner was an uber-jerk and I quit after about 2 weeks. ← Sigh. Good cheesecake/bastard owner? Such a sad state of affairs...

I'm taking that class with another friend too. I think I can guess who Daddy_A is ;p No dessert That's what my fiancee said too! ("what? no dessert? - what a jip!") But I'm sure next week we might get into some of that. Personally I can keep myself amused just re-learning how to cut cellery ;p Wes

Thanks! And I'll keep this in mind. The only problem is that the 'space' for SSW is awesome compared to Kirin but the food to me is important. If I'm going to be paying for a fancy banquet I refuse to accept substandard food. We actually havn't decided if we are going 100% chinese banquet yet. We might actually go western if the Chinese options don't meet our likings. You are not the first person to tell me the SSW food was a let-down. This just bolsters the fact that they seem to be fairly inconsistent Wes

I hear the duck is divine and probably one of the best places for duck (prepared in this fashion) in th province. Mmmm I need to visit victoria shortly! I wonder if they do weddings heheh Wes

Thanks for the feedback both of you! I think I will have to try it out myself then since there are mixed reviews It's so close to my place so I can get takeout and have it home before it gets cold (assuming i dont get just sushi) Wes

Anyone tried this place out yet? I think it's pretty new http://www.winkcafe.com/ Vegetarian and probably very reasonably priced! It's right by Foundation I believe.

I tried the gingerbread dessert at HSG and it was pretty good but.... 1. The Godiva chocolate cake at Mortons - Molten chocolate in a beautiful not-too-sweet cake. Man alive - I dont usually like chocolate too much but damn... 2. I had this wonderful dessert involving a pear stuffed with blue cheese and then baked in phyllo pastry and drizzled with honey at La Gavroche. Manny, you're the man! Good stuff! How do you know I love cheese? (I actually rather the cheese/grape platters for dessert usually The crepe suzette was divine too mmm Anyone remember Benny's bagels from like say 15 years ago? I swore they had the BEST cheesecake but since then I havn't been able to find it

Yeah we should form a roaming posse off Ebi Mayo eaters. Go from place to place just destroying restaurant supplies of ebi mayo! mmmm Actually I will say that ebi mayo at Shiro can be better than Gyoza King but i find Gyoza so far is more consistently good/better....oh man i need some now.

Hmm I havn't eaten out much this week... 1. Hachi Bei (sp?) - 16th between oak and cambie. Surprisingly Good! 2. Lombardo's on commercial - mmmm nice pizza with thin crust and great pizza bread 3. Tony's Kitchen (NCAV - Northwest Culinary Acedemy)

Hey Ling, How was the food at Sun Sui Wah on Main? My fiancee and I are looking at them for our wedding banquet! Wes

Ok I drove by yesterday having just moved to this neighbourhood (around south-main). I noticed a ridiculous line outside this little Japanese Restaurant called "Toshi's" (i think). Anyone eaten here and any comments - is it worth the wait? And what's so good about it? Phenominal salmon/tuna? I can't figure out how this one place can be SO packed when there are simply so many other Japanese restaurants around. I think I read somewhere about a squid dish...