jlo mein

I assume it is the same recipe, as they are both Newtown bakeries. The boxes they give you goods in have the addresses of all three Newtown locations. I really don't like going there though since the Surrey Central area is such a rundown site and there are so many crimes. Hopefully having SFU Surrey there will clean up the area in a few years. Are you talking about Mahek on Scott Road? I go there sometimes. They have decent food for an excellent price. One of the best Indian places I have found in Surrey. If you are looking for Japanese food in Surrey, I have found the best to be Akasaka on 101st Ave (south of Guildford Mall/Empire Theatres). Run by Koreans, clean, lots of tatami rooms, and filling food. They have several $15-20 boxes that are filling and come with a good variety. Don't expect anything special, but for Surrey, I think it's one of the best for Japanese.

Thanks for bringing up this thread. Family were able to bring a bottle of Maraska Maraschino back from Seattle for me a couple days ago, as there is no Maraschino available in Vancouver at all. Hopefully there are some awesome recipes in this thead once I read through it.

Does Ouzo generally substitute well for Pastis?

I heard a couple weeks ago that on Wikipedia the page for the celebrity Sinbad said he died, and the media was scrambling to get coverage on his death. It's sad how: 1) a few people can ruin Wikipedia for everyone 2) How reliant the general public has become on Wikipedia

Flatscreens at EVERY booth??? I may have to check this place out on Sunday when the Canucks are on pay per view.

Are you getting treated at Surrey Memorial? Surrey is a pretty big place, I don't know how far you would be willing to drive around. If you go to the area behind the Safeway at Surrey Central Station, there is a Newtown Bakery. They have great apple tarts, just like the old Hong Kong Cafe recipe. It's like a puff pastry, apple filling, with a sugary coating on top. They are closed on Wednesdays, and the apple tarts do frequently sell out.

I have never had a problem until last night. I usually can order a cocktail like a Manhattan or Daquiri straight up, and the bartender will stir/shake it with ice and then strain it into a cocktail glass. Yesterday I went to the Granville Room in Vancouver, where they have a very nice drink menu with some real cocktails ($9 a pop too I might add). I was thinking of a daquiri, so I asked for one straight up, and the waitress said "ok...we normally serve them on the rocks, would you like that?". I replied "I would like it straight up in a martini glass please". She came back with a chilled/shaken daquiri in a cocktail glass, with a tumbler on the side filled with ice. She said "I'm not sure exactly if you wanted to add ice yourself". Am I not using "straight up" properly? Am I supposed to specify "shaken/stirred" first? When I order a cocktail I usually only specify the drink, liquor used, straight up/on the rocks, and any garnish used. I'd feel rather picky if I specified the ratio.

Checking out their website here, it seems like they also have 2 for 1 tapas on Tuesdays. Wouldn't be too bad to try out for DOV or a Tuesday night.

Made reservations for C Restaurant and Nu on the same night...hopefully I'll decide soon which to go to. Tried to get in on HSG, but Opentable says they are "temporarily offline".

Quattro's dine out menu looks almost exactly the same as the menu they used for the S. Pallegrino event a few months ago.

According to the Ministry of Rum database, Zacapa and Zaya are also made with sugar cane syrup.

In regards to the Publican article, I would like to see more variety in white rum (at least locally). When I go to the liquor store, the selection is predominitely gold and dark rums. My only choices for white are Bacardi, Captain Morgans, and Havana Club (large size). Nice to know that they anticipate the trend moving towards gold spirits though.

Hmmm...thanks for the posts. I think I might try taking a knife to it and removing it. Must be annoying to bars, as it prevents speed pours from being put in.

The other day I picked up a bottle of Havana Club Anejo Reserva from the local liquor store. When I opened it, I found that it has an odd plastic device wedged into the neck of the bottle. From what I am able to tell, it prevents liquid from coming out when trying to pour in a normal fashion (tilting the bottle sideways). The only way liquid will come out is if the bottle is turned completely upside down, and then it comes out much too quickly. Has anyone seen this before? Is there some sort of trick to operating it? I have included pictures with and without flash.

LOL...shameless plug I'm sure. In all honesty I am interested in trying out the HSG, just depends if the Dine Out menu has this fabled Hanger Steak and Gingerbread Pudding. If not perhaps I will visit sooner...

Just curious about last year's Dine Out...which restaurants were booked up first? It would help give a better idea of what to anticipate.

Is it recommended that customers make phone reservations or online reservations? Want to try many more this year, Hamilton Street Grill included (or perhaps just any old time with the regular menu).

Used my Angostura bitters in a cocktail today for the first time. I made a rum manhattan with Havana Club Reserva, Martini and Rossi Rosso, and the bitters. It tatsted rather funny (unlike how I've had it previously in restaurants/bars). The vermouth was too prominent (rum to vermouth ratio of 1.5oz to 0.5oz), and I could not taste the rum. I'll try a standard 5:1 ratio next time. The bitters were also missing from the taste and aroma (used 3 dashes), but lingers on my tongue several moments after the swallow. My other Angostura experimenting has found that it goes well with a glass of water or vanilla ice cream.

I picked up my first bottle of Havana Club Reserva the other day. It is the first time that I have seen an odd plastic device lodged into the neck of the bottle. It prevents liquid from coming out unless the bottle is turned completely upside down, which makes for a pour that is much too fast and hard to measure. I find it quite annoying and wish I could take it out...

PM sent TimK, thanks! I tried smelling and tasting the Angostura bitters and am very surprised. It is a lot more comforting and tasty than I thought it would be. The aroma reminds me of egg nog. I have this urge to use it with all different sorts of foods rather than cocktails. Vanilla ice cream sounds like it would work well with it. I have to again repeat that I am very new to cocktail mixing/drinking, and have very little knowledge of spirits besides rum. I had a dry gin martini the other day for the first time (Bombay Sapphire with Martini and Rosso) and found it rather odd and displeasurable. I think it's gin that I'm not fond of, as the taste of the vermouth on its own was ok. Gin tastes like pine needles to me.

Interesting what forum searching brings up. I wonder if anyone has comments on what has happened (and hasn't) this past year. Perhaps a new thread should be started as well with predictions for 2007.

Thanks for the information. I just went to Safeway and found Angustura Bitters. Also hoping to find some sort of orange bitters, I'll try some other supermarkets as well.

I'm rather new to cocktail mixing. I have been trying to find some Angustura bitters and orange bitters, but BC Liquor Stores have nothing. Does anyone know where to get these bitters?

I've never heard of WaazuBee Cafe before. Judging from what I read about it on dinehere.ca , it sounds like the food and ambience has been on the decline for the past few years, but if it does have a 10+ list of rums, I'm there!

Wow that's good news to hear, something to look forward to in the distant future. I wonder how it would do here, since I'm not too familiar with the popularity of different liquor products in Canada.