grayelf
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Posts posted by grayelf
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Went to Peaceful on Friday night based on reccos from here and elsewhere and forewarned by flowbee not to order the potstickers. The Peaceful beef roll was as good or better than promised, and we also really enjoyed the not quite XLB steamed/pan fried offerings. We went for the cat's ear noodles stir fry which now oddly are scored and look more like squid (we were warned of this). They were nicely cooked but the veggies esp carrot and snow peas were underrepresented and overdone. The flavour was subtle. The other item we ordered was the chili wontons, which we half loved (wontons themselves were delightful) and half not loved (the sauce was basically chili flakes in oil). If this report sounds wishy washy, it isn't. We thought the place was great, the service was excellent (really helpful and attentive servers), very clean, speedy (we were in and out in 45 minutes) and we are definitely planning to go back. Next time, we'll get a party of four at least so we can try more of the dishes.
I've been back a few times since as well. I have to say my favourite dishes there are now the sesame flatbread with cumin beef (served as a deliciously spicy and crunchy sandwich), the lamb dumplings, and the shan-xi noodle soup (one of the chefs makes it with a nice spice kick).
Vancouver, that cumin beef dish is so tempting but every time we've been back it's with new people. I just have to get the Peaceful roll so they can try it and I've resisted getting the cumin beef on the grounds that it may be too similar. Can you comment? Also thanks for the tip on the shan-xi noodle soup. We tend to focus on the snacky things they do so well and have been missing out on the noodle soups.
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My friends and I were curious about this place when we walked by on Monday. We actually went to the ramen place just past Kintaro on Denman (same side of the street, past the alley, closer to... Georgia). The name of which escapes me, but its the second time we've been there and I prefer it to Kintaro. Their charcoal-miso ramen is very good. Its full of flavor but (I think) avoids the heavy richness of Kintaro broth (even their light broth) which I think is both Kintaro's strength and weakness. They may even have the same owners as Kintaro... This place may have been talked about somewhere on here already, but I'd recommend it be added to everyone's ramen radar if it isn't already (sorry, I don't have photos). I look forward to trying Benkei for the full comparison, thanks for the pics and comments.
Do you mean MOTOMACHI SHOKUDO? It is owned by the Kintaro chef and offers a "healthier" alternative with only chicken-based broths, which might explain your reaction. I haven't been yet but have read several good reviews which commented not only on the quality of the soup and noodles but also on the attractive decor.
Two things:
At Kintaro you must ask what is the best today, never chose for yourself.
On Saturday Kitaro does a special ramen (I think it is chicken based)....worth the hour wait in the winter rain with a hang-over.
On your first point, that's good tip that I for some reason never thought of applying at a ramen place (have certainly done it many times in other Japanese restos).
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NOOOOOOOOOOooo!! I loved their Transylvanian Wooden Platter with spaetzel
The Alpen Club on Victoria Drive is sadly just so-so, and the Old Bavaria Haus in New West is good, but Budapest Cafe's schnitzel was GREAT... they will be missed...
Has anyone tried Jagerhof Schnitzel House on Lonsdale?
I just did a quick Google and can't find any other references except DineHere which says it is closed. No more langos and goulash on cold days -- sniff.
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I'd like to nominate another show tic for the drinking game: whenever the cheftestants are describing their dishes, almost everyone prefaces their ingredient run-downs with "a little" this, and "a little" that. Watch it back - it's ridiculous.
"Yes Chef. Well, we've got a little sundried maple serrano ham, mixed up with a little yogurt whisky reduction, and garnished with a little poppy pollen." Egads. Have they listened to themselves? What's wrong with some?
Or how about no qualifier at all: "We have a sundried maple serrano ham with a yogurt whisky reduction and a poppy pollen garnish."
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I've got a wicked sore throat, so I'm watching season two again. I still think Sam should have won. I love it when he says, "Tom does not like skin on peppers, so get rid of those," so something similar. It's a throw-away comment, but he's really thinking. I am waiting for this season to catch me like that season did. I know it will. Those are some talented people.
Sam, mmm [said in Homer-Simpson-talking-about-donuts voice]. So shoulda won.
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Joking aside, I've never witnessed the kind of Ramsey-esque profanity that you are describing in any restaurant I've eaten in, either here in Vancouver or elsewhere. It hardly seems the sort of behaviour that would promote a world-class dining experience, especially in a smaller venue where it would be hard to hide it from the patrons.
PS We don't get Top Chef till later on Food Network so I suppose I am risking spoilers by following this thread, but I'm still looking forward to watching it.
PPS We are indeed blessed with many and varied good restos here, but what I am coming to realize is that the secret ingredient is value: our prices are still so low compared to other cities such as San Francisco.
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I agree with your points and I am certainly not naive in not realizing that there is a fair amount of swearing thrown around some restaurant kitchens. Yes, chefs work in an incredibly stressful environment each night and so it's no surprise that a "sh**" may come out now and then. But I would hope that profanity is not accepted as normal kitchen speak.
Call me old-fashioned, but I know a number of chefs who don't feel that accepting the "F" word as a part of the normal kitchen language is appropriate--whether the kitchen is open or at the back of the house out of earshot of the customers.
Yes, no doubt that the foul language, whether intentional on the part of the Top Chef contestant or not, certainly plays into the drama of the show. The art of building drama on a reality show is the hammer in the producer's toolkit. Whether it's the bleeping of a profane word, a show of anger between contestants, or a 2-second edit showing a gaze of disbelief on the face of a judge on Top Chef, it adds to the sense of anticipation for what is coming that is one of the key factors in building viewership week to week.
Do I buy into that? Sure. Is it why I watch Top Chef? Not really. I'm trying to be true to myself and focus on the things that I want to see in a Top Chef-the food and cooking each week and my standards of what a "Top Chef" should be-without all the swearing.
One of my favorite food "reality" shows is "The Heat" with Chef Mark McEwan from Toronto. I believe the show was originally run on Food Network Canada. I've been watching it recently on Fine Living Network.
The show follows a day in the life of Chef Mark McEwan and his staff members at his Bymark and North 44 restaurants in Toronto. I've seen about 8 shows and I've never once heard a profane word bleeped out or seen any rage displayed by the chefs. Does the show accurately depict the stress of a professional kitchen? Yes, and they do it without the profanity and added-effects I find aggravating on Top Chef. Now maybe Chef McEwan and the producer's sent down a directive to the staff to not swear while they were on-camera but I doubt it. What I have been seeing is what I think is an accurate portrayal of Chef McEwan's kitchen and I admire him and his staff for that.
I wonder if Le Cirque endorsed Andrew's swearing in their kitchen before he auditioned for Top Chef? Maybe so and maybe I'm in the minority here, but I can't imagine a top restaurant standing for that.
Maybe Canadian chefs are less prone to swearing than American ones
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My friends and I were curious about this place when we walked by on Monday. We actually went to the ramen place just past Kintaro on Denman (same side of the street, past the alley, closer to... Georgia). The name of which escapes me, but its the second time we've been there and I prefer it to Kintaro. Their charcoal-miso ramen is very good. Its full of flavor but (I think) avoids the heavy richness of Kintaro broth (even their light broth) which I think is both Kintaro's strength and weakness. They may even have the same owners as Kintaro... This place may have been talked about somewhere on here already, but I'd recommend it be added to everyone's ramen radar if it isn't already (sorry, I don't have photos). I look forward to trying Benkei for the full comparison, thanks for the pics and comments.
Do you mean MOTOMACHI SHOKUDO? It is owned by the Kintaro chef and offers a "healthier" alternative with only chicken-based broths, which might explain your reaction. I haven't been yet but have read several good reviews which commented not only on the quality of the soup and noodles but also on the attractive decor.
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What about water? Would it be bad to bring your own water? Or a beverage the restaurant doesn't carry?
My favourite burger place is a teeny tiny little shack that only has four beverages on the menu--coke (in a bottle), mineral water, ramune, and cold oolong tea. The mineral water is Y150/bottle, but I always have a refillable water bottle with me (I usually go to the burger place from the gym), so I usually just drink what's in my bottle.
Is that rude, too? I'm guessing yes, but I just can't bring myself to spend Y150 on bottled water, not to mention the guilt over wasting a plastic bottle...
And since they only have four beverages, none of which is root beer, could I bring my own root beer?
I've been thinking of asking if I could do that. I really like root beer, and there's no way a restaurant in Japan (other than the Hard Rock Cafe) is going to carry root beer.
Prasantrin, you and Lonefoodie bring up an interesting point. What is considered acceptable in North America may not be (and vice versa) in other parts of the world.
edited to correct typo
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Thanks for the clarification on your thoughts. I get what you were trying to say. The food is really basically just modern Mexican cuisine - similar to what you would get in some modern restaurants in Mexico. The same way we have modern Canadian cuisine, or California cuisine, etc.
Perfect, I'm in the picture now, and onto the list goes Tequila Kitchen... such a long list...
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I haven't been to Cobre to offer comparisons. I should clarify though, I don't find Tequila Kitchen to be fusion really. It really draws quite heavily on interior mexican cuisine. From looking over Cobre's menu, they seem to be Pan-Latin a bit more.
Thanks for the clarification. Cobre is definitely pan-Latin, and I'm probably mis-using the term fusion but I would say it does not hew too closely to "traditional" foods of any of the countries rep'd. Which is not to say it isn't great food with recognizable nods to many Latin American cuisines I have sampled in situ. I like their interpretations very much, and it sounds as though the same could be true of Tequila Kitchen albeit more focused on one area of Mexico. I'm always nervous about using quotation marks to describe food but that's a whole 'nuther discussion along the lines of the "authentic" argument (and here come the quotation marks again
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Fun topic, that actually addresses two issues that are pet peeves o' mine: 1) is the resto serving the tea "properly" -- pouring boiling water over the teabag in a receptacle devoted to tea making (not a coffee carafe or <shudder> a cup) and 2) do they offer a variety of teas including but not limited to "real" black tea? Things here in Vancouver are pretty good re variety but I still often run into the "here's your hottish water and separate tea bag" scenario. Perhaps they are worried about overstewing the tea? I generally find if I remember to ask ahead they will add the tea bag first. Being picky about both tea and coffee (often left sitting too long which is sad given all the coffee preservation options available these days) leads me to not order them as I prefer to end my meal on a high note. I don't know if I could bring myself to bring tea bags to a dinner out though.
The one exception to the bring your own tea bag scenario for me: I used to go to a resto that had a breakfast special that included a bottomless pot of tea or coffee. I would often spend a couple of hours there solving the world's problems with my brother, and would drink way too much caffeine (no decaf available, it was a greasy spoon after all). So I hit upon the idea of bringing my own decaf tea bags. Worked a treat, and the owners didn't seem to mind as it was the same amount of work and actually saved their teabags. I sure miss the Nemoto...
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I second the thanks for the great report, Vancouver. I keep hoping that our Mexican offerings will expand to include more than "restaurant" Mexican and I see positive signs in the success of the redoubtable Dona Cata and the more fusiony if I may use that word offerings of Cobre and now TK. Speaking of Cobre, if you have been there, can you offer any comparisons?
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I was curious about the Marmite pizza. I feel very strongly that Marmite is somethign you have to grow up eating to enjoy. I Marmite, Butter, and cheddar sandwich on wheat almost every day in grade school, and ate Marmite on crackers as a toddler.
I like to think I'd love it just as much if I'd discovered it in my teens, though.
Not to go too far OT but I believe that you have to be born to Marmite to love it. I am surrounded by English rellies who adore it but have yet to meet anyone who has acquired a taste for it past childhood
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I've heard good things, and they're just across the street from work, and it looks like they plan to be open late enough for post-shift drinkies...
I tried to go last Monday, but it turns out they close Mondays. I'll give them another shot later this week.
From City Food today:
Tequila Kitchen will open for lunch this Wednesday (March 19th) with a “Soft Opening” limited a la carte menu. Soft opening remains until March 31st with a limited a la carte menu at lunch and dinner as well as an evening tasting (or sampling) menu at $25 per person. Lunch 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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I'm looking for tomatoes sold in jars instead of cans. I don't know if there is such a thing but I'm trying to stay away from canned tomatoes with the exception of Eden's products.
I prefer to buy whole organic tomatoes. I like to make my soups with this and if I have to, I will compromise with organic diced tomatoes.
Thanks.
Would frozen tomatoes do? One of the vendors (Klippers, I think) at the Winter Market had frozen tomatoes on offer. They were whole, in their skins and would be suitable for cooked dishes.
While you're at the Winter Market, pop across to Bosa's. I know they have jarred tomato paste, maybe whole tomatoes too? Worth a look...
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Thanks all!
I'm still working a lot but I really got burnt out on doing so many markets. I now mostly work just 5 days a week. It's such an odd concept. But I do go in about once a month.
Unfortunately mid April I'm doing that IACP conference in New Orleans so I think that won't be in the city on April 19th. But Joan, Sarah or Dan will take very good care of you! Remind right before you come so we can make a fuss.
You know, several years ago when I was still new and fresh and not so grey haired, we had a huge bay area eGullet get together at Carolyn Tillie's house in Napa. I'm in touch with most everybody still! I couldn't get into the SF market then and was doing lots of smaller markets. And how many dozens of eGulleters I've met now thanks to the markets. I get a little sentimental thinking about it! But no so much that I'll give up sleeping in on Saturdays!
I've never met another person who posts on or reads eGullet -- I guess I'll have to settle for the virtual Rancho Gordo but since I just discovered you have a great blog that should be enough
Will definitely look up the RG staffers in April though. Enjoy your Saturday sleep ins! -
The Tuesday market is much smaller so you really need to visit on Saturday to get the full effect. If you're cooking here, my favorites are greens at Star Route are famous, potatoes from David Little, bread from Della Fattoria, apples from Stan deVoto, rice from Massa, assorted vegetables from Catalan Farms, and of course I hear the beans from Rancho Gordo are worth the lines!
The Doc is being very kind. Unfortunately, I've "retired" from the market as I've actually grown too big for my britches (literally and figuratively) so I only make special guest appearances now. Joan and Sarah are much nicer (and prettier) and they will serve you well.
Did I read that right? No more Rancho Gordo at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market? Not even on Saturdays? I can't tell you how many directives I have received to visit your booth, and now that I am coming to SF in mid-April, I hear this? May have to rethink the entire visit... Seriously, though, might one of your special appearances happen to be on April 19?
edited to fix typo in date of visit
The booth and the product are still there -- more than aptly manned by his trusty side-kick, Joan. But the Man Himself, Steve Sando, I believe is now taking weekends off after working 7-days a week for the past five or six years...
Many thanks for the clarification. While it would have been great to meet Mr Bean (sorry, couldn't resist) himself, I'm sure Joan can help us out.
Wow, I guess it was my lucky day back in September when I met Steve on a Saturday.
I don't know when Sr Steve stopped working weekends (sounds like it was well deserved though) but I must say I was looking forward to meeting him after hearing so many good things about him and reading his great posts. Guess I'll have to head to Napa again one of these days...
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The Tuesday market is much smaller so you really need to visit on Saturday to get the full effect. If you're cooking here, my favorites are greens at Star Route are famous, potatoes from David Little, bread from Della Fattoria, apples from Stan deVoto, rice from Massa, assorted vegetables from Catalan Farms, and of course I hear the beans from Rancho Gordo are worth the lines!
The Doc is being very kind. Unfortunately, I've "retired" from the market as I've actually grown too big for my britches (literally and figuratively) so I only make special guest appearances now. Joan and Sarah are much nicer (and prettier) and they will serve you well.
Did I read that right? No more Rancho Gordo at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market? Not even on Saturdays? I can't tell you how many directives I have received to visit your booth, and now that I am coming to SF in mid-April, I hear this? May have to rethink the entire visit... Seriously, though, might one of your special appearances happen to be on April 19?
edited to fix typo in date of visit
The booth and the product are still there -- more than aptly manned by his trusty side-kick, Joan. But the Man Himself, Steve Sando, I believe is now taking weekends off after working 7-days a week for the past five or six years...
Many thanks for the clarification. While it would have been great to meet Mr Bean (sorry, couldn't resist) himself, I'm sure Joan can help us out.
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The Tuesday market is much smaller so you really need to visit on Saturday to get the full effect. If you're cooking here, my favorites are greens at Star Route are famous, potatoes from David Little, bread from Della Fattoria, apples from Stan deVoto, rice from Massa, assorted vegetables from Catalan Farms, and of course I hear the beans from Rancho Gordo are worth the lines!
The Doc is being very kind. Unfortunately, I've "retired" from the market as I've actually grown too big for my britches (literally and figuratively) so I only make special guest appearances now. Joan and Sarah are much nicer (and prettier) and they will serve you well.
Did I read that right? No more Rancho Gordo at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market? Not even on Saturdays? I can't tell you how many directives I have received to visit your booth, and now that I am coming to SF in mid-April, I hear this? May have to rethink the entire visit... Seriously, though, might one of your special appearances happen to be on April 19?
edited to fix typo in date of visit
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It would appear we Canucks will have to wait to meet Spike and the gang. No sign of the new season on the local provider here in Vancouver, anyway. Anybody out there know when the show will be aired in Canada?
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It has not aired yet. Tony mentioned all the upcoming shows in his blog on TC. That is where the list comes from.
ahhh. OK. I guess I got confused somehow. I thought grayfel was listing odd episodes that he would be seeing in Vnacouver in the near future. Thanks for clearing it up. I look forward to seeing Tony spending more time in San Francisco. We only got a small taste in Cooks Tour since most of it revolved around TFL (not that there is anything wrong with that!!)
My bad if my post was confusing -- I only wish that we were getting new eps (this season or next!) in Vancouver.
There was some info about the new (4th) season on the Travel Channel blog which was indeed what I was referring to. And FYI (although you'd have no way of knowing it) grayelf is a female elf
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When does the new season start?
Got my eye on the San Fran and Spain shows. And as usual, I'd expect the Asian countries to be top notch.
Not sure but apparently they've already taped four and will start taping more in the summer...
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Since we are still not getting new eps here in Vancouver (they are now repeating the Malaysia ep), I thought I'd check and see what was in store next season:
Laos
Tokyo-Kyoto
Uruguay
Colombia
"an haute-heavy" Spain show
Egypt
San Francisco
Azores/New England, Portugese nexus
Papua New Guinea
I am particularly keen to see the Colombia and San Francisco shows, as it adds a certain frisson to see what he does in places I've been/really like. I'll have to DVR the Uruguay one for my brother who lived there for a while. Looks like a good lineup...
Chinese in Vancouver 2007 -
in Western Canada: Dining
Posted
A report from my first visit with somewhat Chow-ish work colleagues at the end of March:
So five of us hit Lin's for lunch today, eschewing the 6.99 lunch specials as we had a big enough group to try out the a la carte options. We ordered the XLB (6 for 4.99, number 6 on the menu "Shanghai style juicy dumplings", handmade in front of us 'cause we had the back table near the kitchen), tan tan noodles 5.99, number 36), lemon chicken (10.99), fried green beans Szechwan style (9.99), braised beef noodle soup (6.29, numbeer 44), pan fried dumplings (6 for 4.99, number 7) and sizzling house special fried noodles (9.99, number 96). The last two items were add ons when we decided we hadn't ordered enough food.
General comments: The room is pleasant and a bit cosier than many Chinese restos IMHO. The service started out well but fell apart a bit in the latter stages, as it appears all servers serve all tables (potential for chaos and wasted steps very high with no overall plan). Oh and we had to ask for tea which was a bit strange. Communication was a bit of an issue as one of the servers only spoke Mandarin, as we discovered when one of my Cantonese-speaking fellow diners attempted to request something. In their defense, they were pretty slammed by 12:20 and stayed busy for the full hour and a bit we were there.
On to the food: the XLB were X-L-ent (sorry, couldn't resist). I'm no expert but yum. I forgot to warn one XLB newbie about the squirtiness but hey we've all been there, right? We would have had another order but by the time we asked for it they had run out (downside of making them by hand I guess).
Tan tan noodles: very different than any I've had before, crushed peanuts on top only, broth very dark (almost black) and super garlicky with almost none of the sweetness that often characterizes this dish. The noodles themselves were delightful, soft but firm, I suggest housemade or at least super fresh. I really liked this version of a favourite dish.
Lemon chicken: I have a soft spot for this dish when done well (thin coating, yellow not nuclear pink/orange sauce, tender chicken) and we all gave high marks to Lin's version.
Green beans: really well executed, done to the perfect tender crisp, dried garlic topping not too gnarly but flavourful, perhaps slightly less spicy than the other local contender at Szechuan Chonqing, which I think these beat. Another winner for all.
Braised beef noodle soup: same noodles as tan tan and just as good, beef was tender and not gristly (except for one small piece), group was split on the broth, which a couple found an odd colour and oddly spiced but others liked. All but one felt it might have benefited from the addition of spinach or sprouts.
Pan fried dumplings: very tasty, thin but not too thin wrappers, nicely fried, not too greasy
House noodles: probably my least favourite as it was basically a version of chow mein which I'm not a huge fan of. The veggies, chicken and shrimp were all nice but likely would not order it again because I think there are other more unusual dishes to try.
Summing up: no failures, some really great dishes and some good dishes. We paid $14 each including tax and tip. Will definitely be back to try more of the dumpling options. Great to have this option so close to both work and home.
*Note: I have seen the service issues mentioned in postings on other boards so I think this may be a bit of an on-going issue.