D90

Anyone recommend any local knives shops (vancouver/richmond)? I currently have one global knife for slicing and a bunch of random knives my mom uses, I was planning to picking up a couple Japanese knives, but I rather buy them locally then online.

The internet is your friend =). You can also order them from Seattle, and alot cheaper then neman marcus. http://www.lescadeauxgourmets.com/shop/pro...&products_id=48 I have never tried these but I am going to take your advice and having asked a friend bring some back when he comes back from japan . Thanks

I ordered the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course book today, cant wait to start reading it. I have been contemplating taking a course ever since returning from Kelowna this past summer, before then I would rarely ever drink a glass. I have the 2006 edition of the book but I noticed there were a lot of earlier editions as well, is there much difference between them? Ling did you sign up for the course? And please let us know how it was. I wanted to sign up but because of some person reasons I am worried I may be able to attend all the classes. PS. I have met you a few times, but you probably don’t remember.

Metrotown. We've taken the knife back and we didn't bother to point out to them why. It was obvious that the knife had been very poorly sharpened. But the other problem with it that the hilt was unevenly machined is really strange. I own two other Wusthofs and they're perfect. It's quite strange. I truly believe that HOK must be buying factory rejects and selling them at reg prices. Anyways, I think we're going to get a damascus shun, they're so sexy. ← I was looking at the damascus shun set at House of Knives during boxing week, reg price 699 and they were on sale for 399.99.

Quick question this may sound stupid but is it to late to add a restaurant to DOV? If it isnt could someone please pm me a contact or info on how to do so, asap. Thanks

Too bad they are booked for the Opera Buffet , I tried this morning with no success =(

Dear Leonard Thank you for your reply and concern. Yes there was a few concerns I had about the night, but please don’t let it over shadow the fact that my guests did have a great evening and that is what was most important to me, so you guys did succeed. No matter what not every evening is going to prefect even though we all stride for perfection. Food arriving slowly and drink menu, happens sometimes, we all forget and not everything can be rushed. For the most part the food was a treat, a must try; and that is what I will continue to tell my peers that ask for advice on new places to try. Please let the waiter know I said thank you. His enthusiasm towards the restaurant and food was good to see; you want to have people serving you that enjoy their job. For me what he did was a little over the top but it may not of been for some others everyone is different. I for sure will be returning to Nu in the future and I hope it’s found a permanent home hanging over false creek as both it and C improves the area. Thanks Donald

I just was reading over my post and I have to apologize for the number of grammatical and spelling mistakes. I have edited the pictures making them easier to see and added a few more comments. Big Daddy, thanks for the advice I will keep this in mind for next time. You are right and I personally think it might be fine once you have a “good” rapport with the customer but this isn’t achieved from the first or second visit and it also depends on the person you are serving. Actually this may sound dumb but I used to always go to Safeway for a quick lunch and have them make me a sandwich; it came to the point where they would see me walking up and already start preparing a sandwich for me without even asking what I felt like they would just surprise me, but mind you I have now ordered over a 100 Safeway sandwiches and I have my card to prove it. It’s a soft plastic syringe filled with Grandville Island Honey Lager.

lol bigdaddy I am pretty sure you were the group I heard use the word "Orgasmic", and seemed to be having a great time it was entertaining. You were the second last table to leave I believe after us, we were two white guys and two asian girls by the window near the kitchen. I didn’t want to make a big deal in front of my guest but it did bother me, how would you have dealt with it? As for the bill I didn’t want to draw any attention to it in case my friend had any ideas of picking up the check. I just glanced at it and paid it quickly, I didn’t find out that I was charged for the item until the next day when I requested a copy of my bill, I also was charged for an extra coke that we never received. You have to scroll right because my pictures are a little to big even after I resized them sorry.

After a couple cancelled reservations I finally made it out to Nu on Monday for dinner. I decided on taking out my friend from LA, his gf (1 day early bday present) and a friend (9days late bday present) for nice dinner. After working all day rushing home to get ready, driving around and then sitting down to a 3hr dinner. The restaurant was a little difficult to find even though I had been to the building once a month for a couple of years when I was younger for brunch at Anderson’s, which in now occupied by Stone Grill. On a side note I truly miss the brunch buffet at Andersons before they change ownership, then closed down. I have yet to find breakfast brunch that compares in quality and selection from their fresh towers of seafood, egg station and fresh squeezed fruit juices they even had a harp player. Anyone remember this place or know of somewhere similar? Now my first impression of Nu was modern but cosy the only thing we all mentioned as it got Increasingly distracting over the evening was the bright green neon sculpture hanging from the ceiling. The chairs that most people have commented on were not as annoying as I expected, unless you plan on lounging all the way back, they reminded us of an egg carton. The two live flower arrangements on both sides of the bar, were beautiful. The service was friendly, BUT there were a few things that bothered me and one continues to do so. -First we were not given the drink menu, our waiter proceeded to ask if we would like some distilled or sparkling water, he then brought us two bottles of VOSS Sparkling water (I guess this is the only kind of sparkling water they offer, since he didn’t give us a choice) and he said he would be right back with the drink menu. He brought back the drink menu 5min before our entrees came and didn’t even apologizes. We decided to pass on the drinks, even though I was originally was looking forward to trying some of their concoctions. -The food was extremely good but was horribly slow to arrive especially for a Monday night and they didn’t seem slammed. He did apologies and made sure to bring out our last 3 of 5 appetizers at the same time. -And last but not least was when ordering our entrées and side dishes, he recommend the onion tart as well. I thanked him for his suggestion but said I would pass. We had ordered a fair bit of food and I felt like we would try it next time, he persistently recommend it 3 more times until I told him abruptly no thank you I rather not!! Now guess what shows up with our entrée’s?!?!?! The onion tart, he said he took it upon him-self to order it for me and walked away. My guest already were a bit shocked at my abrupt “No Thank You“ the 3rd time after politely declining the dish so I decided not to make a big deal of it. And to top it off he charged us for it!!! Mind you it was only $4, which is nothing considering we had just spent $20 on water, but its still the principle and we didn’t even finish it. How would you have dealt with such a situation? Its still bothers me a little, I asked a family member who works In the industry he said he would of called over the manager and sent it back, but that’s him. Even though I have to compliment the waiter for being positive/enthusiastic about all the dishes we order and that he recommended. The food was the star of the evening even more then the view of the cities glimmering lights reflecting off false creek. The deserts at 3.90 each were small but good for a few bites, a nice finish to a wonderful good meal. The price's were fair, justifiable, and comparable to other similar restaurant in Vancouver. I definitely recommend the food at Nu, and I will be back. -Crispy Fired Oyster with Granville Island Lager (x4): This item has three-dimensions; the nice clean crispy layer when you first bite down immediately followed by the warm soft oyster mixed with the bitterness of the beer. A nice bite before digging into some real food and a must try at least once. -Fried Olives, Chilli Mint, Orange Zest: Our waiter suggested it would be another good lead into our appetizers and he was right everyone enjoyed it. The orange zest is very subtle but still present, but I do wish they had more then one fried hot pepper in the dish which I ended splitting with Jane. -Liquid Cheddar Filled Crackers, Crispy Bacon: Sadly the one dish I would not order again. The cheddar was extremely weak, it may worked better with a stronger cheese. -Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Wings, espelette chilli gastrique: My favourite appetizer, I believe the term which I heard numerous times from another table that would best describe this dish was “Orgasmic”. The crisp chicken the soft goats cheese and sauce (if anyone knows what’s in that sauce please let me know). The only thing I would ask for is five more wings per dish. -C’s Signature Salmon Candy. Black Sesame: Very similar to the “Indian Candy” you can buy from a place on Robson near the old ice cream shop that had the cow out in front; I cant remember it off the top of my head right now. A nice snack. -Caramelized Garlic; Fresh Ricotta Ravioli, Fennel, Peas: It was nice seeing more the three piece of ravioli on a main dish, perfectly cooked. The fennel and garlic complement the Ravioli. -Flat Iron Steak, Watercress, Tomatoes, Béarnaise: Exactly what I would of expected from a flat iron steak cooked as requested smothered in just the right amount of rich béarnaise sauce, but sadly it was over shadowed by the fact that it was barley warm. Jon said he would defiantly order it again as long as it wasn’t cold. -Seared Mosaic of Wild Salmon, Asparagus, Shallot Butter: The only dish I didn’t try since I was already getting full. -Chicken Ballottine, Potato Puree, Sage: This was my entrée, and the largest portion of the 4 we had. Leaving the skin on was a nice touch, and the chicken was moist throughout. Another dish I would defiantly re-order, but I would ask if they could accommodate adding garlic to the potato pure. -Dungeness Crab Gratin: Another dish that came to the table barley warm. I Imagined what it may have tasted hot, and because of that I will order it again. -Onion Tart: Great little side dish flaky with a nice deep flavour, but I didn’t order it. (see above). -Chocolate Tart -Crème Brule -Lemon Tart -Crêpes with Orange Chiboust -Distracting Green Neon Sculpture.

I was sad to see FooFaa close. When they originally opened up, I loved the hotpot idea. When I got back from my out-of-country requirement last year, it had changed to a Thai restaurant. The staff was really nice, they gave those in my party hand-made pouches which were like those wallets you hang from your neck. Very touching. I've seen Chungdam come up in the same as of late and have been snapping pics from the inside and out. Ate there for the first time last Friday. The food is good, large servings. It's a Japanese restaurant owned by Koreans. The owner's son, Michael, tells me that they also own the Korean restaurant on Robson 'cross from Capers. Here's some pics: Flickr. The place has been packed eveytime I've been there so far. Looks like they have a good following and will do well. Keywords: Chungdam, Vancouver, Robson, Cardero, West End ← I can’t wait to try this place after seeing your pictures thanks =), but first I have to hit up Nu this Monday and then Chungdam looks like a must. Your pictures remind me a little of Chopstick Cafe before their quality, and size of portions diminished.

There are many restaurants that give off a nice chill vibe but one that I really enjoy and no one has mentioned yet is Joey Tomatoes, too bad they are only in Coq.

I posted some pictures and review of Yoshi's in a previous post I believe; I wil ltry to find it. But Yoshi's is great, pricey but fresh and not just because I call the manager Uncle Philip. (He isnt really my uncle, Iam white)

Here is a little review from my dinner their back in April. Saturday night I ate way to much at Black Tuna on Deman and Davis. This place had a good review in the province and mentioned in a couple other articles so it was worth a try, my conclusion is it’s a decent restaurant, with a lot of competition featuring the same style menus. They started us off with a small complimentary piece of fish then we ordered. First dish was the Scallop Gyoza’s: I believe it had Chinese parsley inside but we couldn’t really taste it or the scallops. Pretty bland dish I would not order it again. Next was The Black Tuna Prawn Tempura with Spicy Sauce: The batter was very clean and crisp as if the oil was changed after every batch and the dish was not drenched in sauce allowing you actually taste the prawns. This was followed by The Black Tuna Special Yakisoba: A large portion of sizzling Yakisoba noodles mixed with vegetables, shrimp, scallops, salmon, squid, toped with chicken breast all with a simple sauce. I would imagine that everything mixed in one dish wouldn’t work but the mix of flavours and textures was actually very nice, my fav dish of the evening and filling. The last plate to come out was the three rolls we ordered 1. The Hot Spicy Night roll (left) 2. Dragon Roll (Middle) 3. Philly Roll (Right): They were all good with nice presentation but tasted very similar to a California roll with a little something extra, what did stand out was the heat of the spicy night roll and the cream cheese in the Philly roll which I did enjoy after I figured out not to dip it in soya sauce. Over all I would give this place a 3.75 out of 5. Service was quick and polite, the restaurant was small but nice and quite, I was expecting a view, which there wasn’t any even though we were seating right next to the window. Pricewise wasnt bad, expect to pay between 50 -100 for two ppl.

Junior how long ago did you work at the moustache café and was it the old or new one? My cousin did his apprenticeship there, then moved onto 900West and is now working at Exilir. His name starts with an O.

*Deborah* Thank you very much =( another place to add to my list and my tummy. I kind of curious about their Matcha-Exotique, as a lighter option.

Its not yet open and from the looks of it it might be late Dec.

Here is my little review from a couple month back. Sorry about the picture quality but I forgot the battery for my digi cam d'oh and was stuck using my Telus V710 = Crap most of the time. Review: Dinner at Il Giardino. Link: http://www.emenus.ca/ilgiardino C and I visited Il Giardino on Saturday night for Dinner, luckily since it was difficult getting “last min” (2 days in advance) dinner reservations but they were able to fit us in at 9:30. We arrived at the historic yellow house on the corner or Hornby and Pacific at 9:15; my mouth dropped in aww at the glimmering beauties outside. Hugging the sidewalk a 911 turbo, the sexy headlight of a F430, a Bentley Azure and the gorgeous ass of a wide body 996 turbo. C didn’t seem as impressed and just continued into the restaurant where her dimple dipped deep into her cheek as she grinned in aww at headlines on the hostess cool =) lol. We were seated within 2 min giving me just enough time to take a peak around the restaurant which was divided into a private room, bar lounge/dinner area, a second dinning area and two garden patios, all packed with patrons and a little louder then I had envisioned. There was a party going on in the private room, I tried to sneak a peak and got caught by the guy throwing the party and was invited in to check out the room and was even offered wine. Large loud older Saprano looking Italian guys are cool in my book. Our waitress Cinsey was knowledgeable, pleasant and helpful. Now to the important part Dinner: We began our meal with two different glasses of red wines one Australian and the other a merlot from Mission Hill. The first dish was a traditional Antipasto.. If I remember correctly included thinly sliced ham, Portobello mushrooms, olives, fresh home made mozzarella, a light bean salad, an eggplant, zucchini and sun dried tomato stack and a ouzo coleslaw salad. It seemed that no salt was added to this dish, which is a nice touch allowing you to add as much as you like; very simple nice starter. We also had Prawns wrapped in Crisp Potatoes.. Succulent prawns wrapped in thinly shredded potatoes flashed fried and then covered with a salad of organic greens. I enjoyed this dish but felt that the potatoes could have been a little less fried, their appearance seemed more burnt then golden brown. My main course was the Rack of Lamb with Herb Crust cooked just a little passed medium leaving a pink tint as I requested prefect!!!!! Vegetables and mashed potatoes accompanied it. This dish was almost prefect, the lamb and jus with fried onions had me tempted to chew away at the bones lol j/k (inside joke) only thing I would change was the mashed potatoes where a little bland and could of used some salt or even better some garlic. C had the daily pasta special, a long flat pasta mixed in a tomato and fennel sauce and toped with lobster. I only had a couple bites since I was too busy enjoying the lamb but it seemed good and once again lacking salt. Even though we were full we couldn’t leave without desert. I ordered the Crème Brule; at first I was distracted by the citrus zest but found it to be a prefect addition. I let every spoon full rest on my tongue savouring it as it melted away. C ordered the Tiramisu (Marsala soaked ladyfingers, layered mascarpone mousse). I still think mine was the better of the two deserts she disagrees but I do admit that it was one of the better tiramisu’s I have tried. After sitting there for just over 2 hours combined with great food, friendly service, eye candy, and a full tummy I didn’t want to leave; I wish I could of just rolled up on a couch and fallen asleep while hoping for lamb and cream Brule dreams. As for price it was a pricier meals but worth the quality and environment. Would I go back? Defiantly, but since I am not a baller probably only for special occasions. I believe the lack of salt was done on purpose allowing the customer more control over the food with this said I would give Il Giardino an B+/A.

Thank you, that picture turned out extremely well considering I almost forgot to take it I just wanted to dig in, hence the bite mark. We also picked up a couple dipped and filled waffles a couple days late for my friend’s plan ride home. Here is another picture from that morning, remember this is after a very long evening out and very little sleep, and waking up just to have breakfast, I hope she doesn’t mind lol. Well I have searched my hard drive and it looks like all my La Terezza dinner and desert pictures are gone, except one that I found on my the picture didn’t turn out that well. I am sorry. But I recommend if you ever have the chance just drop by for desert and order the white chocolate cheese cake (pict above) and the lava cake along with a couple martini’s (lychee is always good) and just relax in their lounge area. Iam disapointed to hear about Patisserie LeBeau anyone have any information on their new locations and if really have switched to a whole sale business only? Thanks

I just was reading the last couple of pages and saw mention of Patisserie LeBeau. Is that place still open last few times I drove by they were closed, have they moved form West 2nd and if so where too? I would go there on Sunday mornings for a strawberry Belgian waffles. They told me it was the only day they served them, is that still the case? La Terrazza’s lava cake was mentioned, and I would have to agree it is great but honestly too small of a portion for me. I also enjoy their White Chocolate Cheesecake wrapped in filo pastry. Very light and once you cut into the desert you treated with warm cheese cake that just melts in your mouth, defiantly worth trying. (I will try to find a picture to post, Iam sure its on my computer somewhere)

I just started to see if any of my friends would be interested in going up to the winder ice wine festival. Has anyone ever been and any recommendations for me if I do decide to head up. I was never interested in wine till this past summer when I was at a dragon boat festival and found myself at 5 different wineries doing tasting ands purchasing bottles. My favourite purchase was two bottles of 03 Tapestry from Little Straw Vineyards. I also just picked up a nice and unique bottle of late harvest from Blossom Winery since the holidays is coming up fast. http://www.blossomwinery.com/english/wines/stackable.html

Since I am a Richmond boy I used to also go there from time to time especially after a good night at the casino, or for birthdays. The food was okay no real complaints, the 40oz rib platter always did the job when I was in the mood for rims. I sometimes would have to send back my steak to get it just right but it isnt a big deal. As for service it was hit or miss all depends who was serving you. But I do agree the place does need an updated look or to clean it up and give it a nice western feel, since it mainly caters to families. Personally, I would rather go to the Keg downtown, not the keg ceaser if I wanted a steak & and of course garlic mashed potatoes.

I have had the pleasure of dinning a few times in the room at La Terrazza, mentioned above. I would highly recommend it. Great service and the owners are extremely friendly, and one of the three always around. The room at Il Giardino is also wonderful. It does have a wine cellar feel simillar to that at La Terrazza. I know that Il Giardino could also block off their two patio areas for private parties as well. I would also recommend another one of the club room mentioned above at Gothams. I went there for Dinner with my work last year and wow the service was spectacular. It was a Saturday night and they seemed fully booked but we still felt like we had more servers then guest dedicated just to us, it was just the illusion but, everyone had a great time (except for the one co worker we got drunk on scotch and spent most the evening in the washroom )

There was a small place in Steveston last summer that offered only deep fried goodies. But they would also be topped with ice cream and your choice of fudge, strawberry or caramel sauce; talk about a heart attack. I had a friend that went there a few times and would chat with the owner who told him, they would batter and deep fry anything he would like. Unfortunately this place didn’t last long, enough for me to visit, but I did hear it was pretty good.

Argh I still haven’t been able to visit Nu and now Nu is old. I made plans for this Saturday again, but when I call them for reservations I found out they have been bought out for private party that night =(, but I did reservations for the 12th =p. I hope its worth it.