LordBalthazar
-
Posts
180 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by LordBalthazar
-
-
What a fantastic experience! Thank you for sharing.
What did you guys think of Valrhona's Porcelana? I am totally blown away by Amedei's, but I'm afraid to shell out the cash for the flower. Is it worth it?
No one dared touch the flower so I made it a point to take one of the petals to get the ball rolling. It was excellent but I personally prefer the Amedei Porcelana - but enjoy the Valrhona Chuao just as much as its Amedei counterpart.
-
just one more reason why I wish I lived in Vancouver!
I was supprised to read a good review of the green & blacks chocolate Ling. I never really noticed their existence until a couple months ago. So when I saw some at the store I had to try it. I really, really don't like what I bought (it was a milk choc bar) it's rotting in my cabinet now. It's horrid.........definately leaves a musty taste in your mouth, like I've eaten mushroom chocolate. My hubby even disliked it.
I'm not a big fan of the organic chocolate I've tried (Green & Blacks or Dagoba) but included them for varieties sake.
Can anyone recommend an organic chocolate they enjoyed?
-
Umm. I don't have any words. That looked like a night to remember and one that no one should have ever turned down an invite to... 
What an amazing night. Although I don't possess the hollow leg that Ling does so perhaps I would have gone home that night in an ambulance.
LB looks like you throw good parties!
I'm hoping to host another one in 4-6 months.
Re: the ambulance. A friend informed me about a pop singer who apparently hires an ambulance to park in front of his place whenever he hosts a bash - just in case. Now THAT is a serious party.
-
Great pics. I wish I had been there.
Lorna, I have to ask: What did you have for a snack/meal after feasting on chocolate for 4 hours straight? I'm assuming you also had a full meal before the soiree?
I was hoping no one would ask, but I had fried rice, and then a Yogurt Coffee Crisp (new flavour? It sounded interesting) before the Chocolate Soiree. (It was strange...I don't usually like tanginess with my chocolate.)
When I got home, my mom was making jiao zi (dumplings) from scratch! So how could I not have a bowl (OK fine, I had two.)
You tasted everything at the party and then you went home and had TWO bowls of dumplings?
-
LordBalthazar, how did you manage to organize such an incredible event? And may I ask how many guests were in attendance?
I have always been a fan of sweets but it wasn't until I read Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloe Doutre-Roussel (several months ago) that I decided to get serious and being educating myself on the fine art of chocolate. I started by ordering several varieties of world-class chocolates from Chocosphere in Portland, taste-testing them, bringin them into the office and having my co-workers taste test and weigh in with their opinions. It was fun to compare and contrast and, most important of all, share the common experience with fellow chocoholics. Which eventually led to the idea for the party.
As my friends will tell you, when I plan I like to "go big or go home". To that end, I put in an order with Chocosphere, cleaning them out of their entire stock of Amedei Chuao (my personal fave), and planning some individual chocolate tastings (ie. darks and some milks from various top companies). I then did some online research and came up with a list of 10 top chocolatiers in North America. Many did not ship to Canada but some did (Pierre Marcolini, Vosges, Christopher Norman) and I arranged for their chocolates to be shipped the week of the party (filled, truffles, and bars). I made arrangements with Peter Fong of Ganache Patisserie to make petit fours and truffles for the party, then picked up pastries from a few other places (Ie. Petite France, Senses). Also made a point of picking up some local chocolates (Callebaut, Haas, and Wild Sweets - Dominique and Cindy were incredibly sweet and very informative, I ended up speaking to them for half and hour and even extended an invitation to the party but, alas, they had company coming in for the weekend).
Being a big fan of Chocoatl, I asked Themis the owner for a couple of chocolate fountains for the event. Well, that started him thinking and, when all was said and done, he, Brandon, and Dhelia their event-organizer planned a terrific evening of chocolate fountains, chocolates, pastries, hot chocolate, and informative chat.
Finally, re: the invitations. I tried to limit the guest list to 30 (this being my first chocolate soiree) although, in hindsight, I could have invited 50 and they still wouldn't have made it through half the offerings. Banking on some no-shows, I invited 15 people from work, 15 friends, and 12 egulleters (choosing the egulleters pretty much at random based on who I'd conversed with, had shown an interest in chocolates and deserts, etc.). In the end, due to prior commitments, only one egulleter was able to make it - and, fortunately, it was the extremely prolific Ling. Well, actually, there were two more egulleters to make it but, as it turned out, they were actually some old friends (ah, the magic of internet anonymity).
-
It was definitely chocolate overload. Fortunately, I'd been sampling chocolates prior to the party and, thanks to the leftovers, will be sampling them for some time to come.
Plain Chocloates: I agree with you on Amedei. I really like the Porcleana. But my favorite is still their Chuao (nice, subtle burnt-caramel-like finish). By the way, the Valrhona flower was Porcelana as well. Of the Guido Gobbino discs pictured below them, I really enjoyed the Ghana. Also, agree with you on the Michel Cluizel milk. Wow. I'm not usually a milk fan but, after trying it for the first time, I went back to Meinhardt's and bought another five bars. Didn't get to try the Christopher Norman or Vosges bars, but will be rectifying that this week.
Filled Chocolates/Truffles: Agree with you on the Marcolini. The truffles were also excellent - as were the Vosges I sampled. The Genvieve Grandbois assortment also engendered a lot of discussion - some very unique, very accomplished tastes. And of the local offerings, Wild Sweets was the talk of the evening - everything from their beautiful presentation to their complex flavors.
Pastries: Sadly, I did not sample any of the pastries as I was too busy working the room for most of the evening. But everyone seemed to enjoy.
Chocoatl offerings: Dark chocolate fountain over milk chocolate fountain. Loved the little cocoa butter balls used for dipping. The Cabarnet Sauvignon hot chocolate (I don't remember what kind of chocolate used) was stand-out.
I offered a fairly wide variety of drinks for the various pairings but, personally, stuck to an excellent Spanish Pedro Domecq "Very Rare Palo Cortado" Sherry, Sibarita.
-
Crazy as it sounds, whenever I go to Tokyo and have a hankering for artisan chocolates and top-quality desserts, I visit the basement level of the Ginza Mitsukoshi. I have never seen so many incredible sweets, chocolates, and pastries in one enormous area, everything from delicate French macarons to hardcrafted artisan chocolates.
Check it out.
-
When my wife and I visited Tokyo last year, we ate at a restaurant called Gompachi (twice, actually - once in Ginza, another time in Odaiba) and had a terrific spinach salad made with what looked like miniature translucent baby eels. Anybody have any idea what we ate? It was delicious.
-
Sad to hear the Umami we knew is no more. I remember Hiro from his days at En on Granville, his passion for wine and foie gras, and the development of Umami (foremost in my memory is his excitement for the name, Umami, a meaty/savory taste sensation). The restaurant was a favorite of my wife's in particular but, given it's location and our subsequent move out of the Yaletown neighborhood, it was somewhere we hadn't visited in quite some time.
I too would love to know what Hiro is up to.
-
I once bought an Amedei Chuao bar in Toronto on impulse. I didn't realize until I got home that it was about $13. I had a good laugh...but I enjoyed the bar.
Can you purchase Amedei in Vancouver?
Unfortunately, no. I ordered mine from Chocosphere in Portland along with some Amedei Porcelana, and various Domori, Guido Gobino, and Parlus chocolates. As I said, after trying the Amedei's, I phoned in another order for the rest of their stock - and included some El Ray and Chocovic for good measure.
So, any other terrific chocolate you might recommend?
-
^#2 in Gourmet's taste test! I'm surprised that Michel Cluizel came dead last. I think their chocolate is excellent, though I haven't baked with it.
The Gourmet taste test is what piqued my interest. I normally use Callebaut for baking (due to price point) but the Santander chocolate was rated above Callebaut and less expensivve.
I would still prefer to buy ingredients from a local store as I am not comfortable with purchases by mail. Has anyone seen these in the Lower Mainland?
I highly recommend Chocosphere. I placed a huge order from the other week and just received my chocolate haul the other day. I was so blown away by the Amedei Chuao bar that I immediately got back on the phone and cleaned them out of the 20 or so bars they had in stock.
-
It’s always a bad sign when a restaurant’s wait staff is better-looking than the food they serve. So it is with a number of this city’s “in” eateries, where image is everything and menu takes a backseat to atmosphere. Walking into Century for the first time, I couldn’t help but wonder: Would dinner prove as pleasing as the girl who took our coats? Or our waitress? Or that chic foursome occupying the neighboring table? I sincerely doubted it. Still, I held out hope for a place that offered the likes of “pork bellies with plantain fritters” and “beef cheek adobe”.
We were seated. While my fellow diners perused their menu’s, I checked out the décor, having already decided on my meal two weeks earlier when Century’s appetizer and entrée list first appeared on the egullet forum. For a former turn-of-the-century bank, the place has an undeniable warmth and charm. As everyone mulled over their choices, we were served some terrific grilled flatbread accompanied by two kinds of olives, olive oil, and a wonderful roasted red pepper dip.
Appetizers. I, of course, started with the plantain fritters and cinnamon maple braised pork bellies with herb salad. My wife went with the Caesar salad. One of my friends had the Dungeness crab burritos. I also ordered the “chips ’n dip” for the table, a soft-shell taco trio comprised of oxtail, rabbit, and braised short rib, each served with caramelized onions. My pork bellies were a hit and I, quite frankly, expected no less. The plantain fritters, unfortunately, lacked any discernible plantain flavor and could well have been cauliflower fritters for all I knew. Still, dipped in the accompanying cinnamon maple accompaniment, they could have been Spackle fritters and I would have enjoyed them nevertheless. My friend found his crab burritos unremarkable. My wife was equally unimpressed with her Caesar salad. The soft shell tacos were good, although the oxtail version came out heads above the others.
After a lengthy wait, our entrees arrived. I had the braised short ribs and beef cheek Adobo on the yucca root puree. Loved the beef cheeks. Nicely seasoned, perfectly cooked. The short ribs unfortunately paled in comparison. Not particularly tender, they were nonetheless helped by the surprisingly good yucca root puree that possessed an almost blue cheese undercurrent. My wife went with the Latin cassoulet (rabbit, Karabuto bacon, salchichon, and oxtail). The little rabbit loins served with the dish were so amusingly tiny that if someone had told me they were gerbil loins, I’d have believed them. She wasn’t won over. My friends had the roasted black cod with the caramelized squash (the squash was a winner, the cod not so much), and the roasted loin of venison (which was, everyone agreed, the best entrée of the evening although my friend questioned whether they had erroneously served him the appetizer half-portion).
All in all, a good meal, although there were no real stand-out signature items that won me over. I would probably go back, eventually, but I’d need a date since my wife won’t be returning for a second visit. Pork bellies, anyone?
-
This was enough to convince me. I've made a reservation for tomorrow night. Will let you all know how it goes.
-
I thought it was a very classy move on the part of the restaurant - until I received our bill and noticed we’d been charged for three sabayons.
Oh my god. I am embarrassed as I had seperated those items so that I could promo them but obviously forgot to do it. I completely dropped the ball. Please PM me and I will arrange to have you in with your wife and friends again as our guests for the evening.
No harm done. Please don't misunderstand. We had a wonderful time. There were some hits, some misses, but as you all fine tune in the weeks ahead, I'm certain Rare will become a stand-out culinary destination. Dishes like the mushroom hedgehog ravioli and the stuffed quail rival the likes of West's potato and leek ravioli with black winter truffle and beurre blanc and Lumiere's seared squab.
And speaking of stand-out menu items, I forgot to mention the Guinness ice cream. Being a huge fan of homemade ice cream (I have my eye on a Gelato 3000), I couldn't pass up on such an interesting offering. It was terrific.
-
When visiting a new restaurant, particularly a restaurant in only its first week of business, one must go in fully expecting the odd misstep as, after months of hard work and preparation, the staff finally faces the realities of “showtime”. Mistakes will be made, inexperience noted, as the establishment learns what works and what, unfortunately, does not. So it was on Saturday night when my wife and I, accompanied by another couple, visited Rare for the first time.
Our reservations were at 6:30 p.m. We were seated, settled in, chatted and waited for our menus. Patiently at first, then a little impatiently as the clock ticked toward 6:45. Our waiter, a very pleasant and professional fellow named Drew, informed us that he would be serving some amuse bouches after which we would be presented with the menus. A few minutes later, the amuse bouches arrived - oysters on the half shell (I believe they were Malpeques) and the rabbit liver pate. I thought the oysters were an odd choice for an amuse bouche given that it isn’t a menu item with close to universal appeal and not exactly a palate cleanser. Although, I suppose, the same could be said for rabbit liver. As it turned out, two of my fellow diners were not willing to brave the oysters, so I dove in, slurped one down, and spent the next five minutes indelicately picking shell remnants out of my mouth - the sight of which was enough to cause my wife to detour past the oysters and go for the pate. The rest of the oysters went uneaten. Our friends loved the pate. My wife and I found it just a tad too strong, possessed of a subtle, lingering bitterness reminiscent of blue cheese.
Our menus finally arrived. The selections were divided into three sections (the table d’hote, seasonal menu and the tasting menu), then divided (albeit not that clearly) into sub-sections (amuse bouches, tasters, and entrees). We each ordered an amuse bouche, a taster, and an entrée.
It was a little past 7:30 when the amuse bouches arrived. One of our friends had the cauliflower soup with the lobster salad, smoked steelhead trout, and white truffle infusion. She was pleasantly surprised by the generous portion and adored every bit of it. Her husband went with the yellow fin tuna served with Israeli couscous and avocado mousse and was mightily impressed - his favorite dish of the night. My wife and I had the garlic sauteed frog legs, deboned and delicious, served on a thyme beignet in a sorrel puree that we both found a little overwhelming.
It was a good wait for our tasters (again, keeping in mind that the kitchen is still in the process of establishing a rhythm), but when they finally arrived, we were in for a real treat. My friend thoroughly enjoyed his scampi served with a pineapple carpaccio (although he did find it surprisingly pricey for a starter). My wife had the quail - deboned, stuffed, and, well, to be perfectly honest, I was so fixated on my taster that I hardly took note of hers and, by the time I glanced up, she had already finished. Suffice it to say, she loved it. And speaking of loving - I had the hegehog mushroom ravioli with white truffle foam. It was the best dish I’ve had since discovering Don Francesco’s squash-stuffed ravioli with black truffle butter. Great. Better than great. Sublime. I told Drew that, on our next visit, I would simply cut to the chase and have a triple order. The tasters were served with the chef’s home made bread and anchovy butter. Wow! As someone already said, the sweetness of the bread married perfectly with the saltiness of the butter. Next time: three orders of the ravioli and a double order of the bread.
Following another long wait, our entrees arrived. Unfortunately, they did not fare as well as the previous courses (but, in all fairness, after the ravioli and the bread, it was a tough act to follow). My friends had the milk-poached smoked sablefish (which she thought was excellent) and the suckling pig (which he deemed “okay”). My wife and I were greatly looking forward to our entrees, the marrow-studded beef cheek served with a lentil puree (alas, not the trotters from its original inception), but were ultimately disappointed. The cheek on this occasion was overcooked, surprisingly lean and stringy.
Another lengthy wait and we were served our desserts (the coffee and tea arriving long after we were done). I had Ling’s Valhrona chocolate tart with caramel pecan and cardomom cream. It was wonderful, one of those deliciously rich desserts you good naturedly offer your co-diners a bite of, all the while secretly wishing they’d back off and that’s what you get for ordering the pear sabayon instead. A big thumbs up from everyone at the table. Unfortunately, the dark chocolate terrine didn’t fare as well in comparison, its subtle flavors eclipsed by comparison to the tart. As for the pear sabayon…well, my wife and my friend complained about the saltiness, claiming they could barely taste the pear. I couldn’t understand what it was they were referring to, so I tried a spoonful of the sabayon (whipped egg yolk and sugar) and was immediately transported back to my youth, a long-ago visit to Italy when I waded into the ocean on a hot summer’s day - was blindsided by a wave, and involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of brackish sea water. I’m no Jamie Maw, but I know enough about desserts to realize when something has gone horribly wrong. I asked a passing server about the ingredients and she listed them for me. “But what accounts for the saltiness?”I asked. She informed me that a little fleur de sel was added to counterbalance the sweetness. I let her know that it was decidedly more than a counter-balance. “I’ll let the kitchen know,”she replied with the detached stone-faced brusqueness of a W Hotel employee. A few minutes later, we were approached by a gentleman (who I now recognize as TimK) who profusely apologized. It turned out that, in preparing the sabayon, someone in the kitchen had misread a label and finished the dessert with salt rather than sugar. We laughed it off but he insisted on serving us a proper pear sabayon. We hesitated. It was getting late. But, ultimately, we acquiesced and were served two proper pear sabayons. They were very good but, unfortunately, we only managed a couple of bites. I thought it was a very classy move on the part of the restaurant - until I received our bill and noticed we’d been charged for three sabayons.
So, all in all, some stand-out items (the hedgehog mushroom ravioli being the chiefest among them) but a few snags as well, not the least of which being the incredibly long wait between courses. We were seated at 6:30 and weren’t out the door until well after 10:00.
-
I was not happy with my dessert tonight. I give it a 4 out of 10.
It is SO much easier doing pastries at home! You may have given it a 4 out of 10, but everyone at our table gave it top marks as the best dessert we ordered (the chocolate terrine, pear sabayon, and guinness ice cream being the others).
-
OK the chef approved my dessert choice--tonight's special will be Valrhona tart with caramel pecans, served with a cardamom cream.
Bless your heart.
-
• Starting Tuesday ~ lemon torte (because Marc Theut says; ‘you can tell a great restaurant by its lemon torte’).
Dropped by Rare tonight and Chef Fowke is letting me come up with a dessert for Saturday. (I am so excited; I don't know how I'll be able to sleep tonight!!!
) So for anyone who's coming in on Saturday, you MUST order dessert, even if it kills you or if you have to share it--or else suffer my wrath!
ETA: I should re-phrase what I posted earlier--I'll do whatever the Chef would like to see on the menu. But I'll forward your suggestions to him.
Done and done. I've made my reservations for Saturday night and will be checking out Rare for the first time with my wife and friends. I'll be the guy ordering the "heaviest desert on the menu" without the raspberry coulis.
-
Went by today and had a cup of my fave Spicy Chocolate. I tried a new addition to the hot chocolate menu: the "Denso", an incredibly thick and rich creation that, as of an hour ago, is my new fave.
According to Themis, he and his business partner are touched and amazed by the support they have received with some customers coming in from Surrey just to try their hot chocolates.
He also assured me that they'll have pastries on the menu by next week.
-
Usually, I like to wait a week between restaurant visits, but a co-worker had a hankering for fine Italian cuisine so we decided to pay Medici's a return visit. Started off with the white bean cappucino, followed that with the wild-mushroom and ricotta-stuffed ravioli (it and Don Francesco's squash ravioli with black truffle butter are my favorite pasta dishes in town), and had the maple butternut squash roasted squab risotto with double-smoked bacon, chestnuts and pecorino cheese. However, this time, I finished with the phenomenal date pudding (sticky toffee pudding) and vanilla ice cream.
A wonderful meal from start to finish.
-
"Lord B., I believe our paths did cross, and I may have even brushed past the chef Ling spoke of-, then I rounded the corner and ran into Neil--why do I feel I'm in Tales of the City?"
Yes, I was there when the chef from Sakana swung by to pick up his hot chocolates. Were you with a friend? Were you the friend with the food critic? My wife and I had the table at the back. I was the one finishing her chocolates.
-
Acting on a tip from Ling in the Openings and Closings thread on this board, I decided to take a little detour from our Saturday shopping to check out Chocoatl in Yaletown. I was going to post in the aforementioned thread but, after my visit, I thought that this fledgling little labor of love deserved its own thread.
Don't mean to be a cow, but I believe I was the one who posted the correct name and address of Chocoatl, House of Chocolate.
Sorry, Shelora. My bad. I should have double-checked. Given the fact that I've started thinking of Ling as the Dessert Diva, I automatically attributed the initial post to her.
-
Acting on a tip from Ling in the Openings and Closings thread on this board, I decided to take a little detour from our Saturday shopping to check out Chocoatl in Yaletown. I was going to post in the aforementioned thread but, after my visit, I thought that this fledgling little labor of love deserved its own thread.
The two owners, Dubrulle Culinary Arts school graduates Themis Vegis and Brandon Tam are clearly passionate about chocolate. My wife and I walked in the door and we were received like old friends who had dropped by for a surprise visit. The place just opened and the guys are still in the process of putting it all together. In the coming days, they'll have their drink menu up, pastries, and a wider range of their handmade chocolates. Themis also promised chocolate-making workshops once they were finally settled in (perhaps as early as March).
We had a choice of six specialty hot chocolates. My wife tried and fell in love with the Montezuma, a smooth hot white chocolate drink. I went with a delicious spicy hot chocolate made with five different types of peppers. I don't recall the other choices, but I seem to remember Lavender Chocolate being on the list. We accompanied our hot chocolates with a wonderful assortment of their chocolates - handmade with all-natural ingredients using a variety of high-end chocolate. We tried the white matcha, black matcha, moka cup, and kahlua truffle - all wonderfully complex creations.
The owners love nothing more than to talk about its history and share some of their chocolate-making techniques with their customers. They're just starting out and hoping that word of mouth will bring people in to check them out, so I'm doing my part by mentioning them here. I look forward to swinging by in a week or so once the pastries make an appearance.
-
LordBalthazar your taste in Japanese restaurant is tops! But most importantly your choice of dog breed is even better!!!!
I like the service at Yuji as well. The gentleman server there (I always forget to ask his name) is super attentive and friendly. He use to work at Wabi Sabi. I agree with Ling, more than half of my orders are from the daily specials.
He is great (and shame on me for forgetting his name). We used to frequent Wabi Sabi regularly. I loved the green tea creme brulee that would be hidden away in the lid of the serving bowl so that when you lifted it, you'd initially assumed they'd mixed up your order.
Your dog is cutie. My three: Jelly as Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie, Maximus is the cowboy, and Bubba is the wizard. No other breed displays such a passion for food - so me and my pugs have a lot in common.
The most spectacular "Chocolate Soiree" ever!
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Haven't tried it. They sell it at Meinhardt's, I believe. Will check it out next time I make a Michel Cluizel.