Ling

I better not find any hair in my gingerbread pudding.

^That's funny, I never seem to get "sugar crashes" or feel hyper after eating a lot of sugar. I think I've built up immunity over the years. I think next up is Trafalger's, and I want to try Neil's buttertart too.

^To be honest, the visual aspect of a dessert is just an added bonus for me. When you have something that tastes as good as the gingerbread pudding, I could care less about the way it looks.

^(Look in Vancouver's "Sweets in the City" thread http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=63157 for more drool-inducing pictures.... )

This thing of beauty: http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11102684...20_923_9663.jpg Caramel-Chocolat Milk chocolate caramel mousse with hazelnut croquant, raspberry gelée, 75% Tanzanie dark chocolate mousse, praline crunch and chocolate biscuit.

Beautiful pictures, Moosh. You should take all the pictures from now on...mine looks so crappy in comparison! I just wanted to note that Angela ranked the Chocolat-Banane as 2nd best, ahead of the Concorde Framboise. I thought the Caramel-Chocolat was absolutely divine, and personally, much better than the Concorde-Framboise (though this was great also.) I would give both the Caramel-Chocolat and the Chocolate Ganache cake at Pane from Heaven a 9/10, and maybe the Concorde-Framboise a 7.5/10. Though the raspberry/balsamic flavour was definitely interesting, I usually prefer my chocolate straight up, without the addition of fruits or berries...this is a personal bias. The luscious creaminess of the chocolate mousse in the Caramel-Chocolat absolutely amazing with the praline crunch! (Though if it were up to me, I would take out the raspberry. ) Here's my current Top 3: 1. (tie) Chocolate Ganache (Pane from Heaven) and Caramel-Chocolat (Ganache Patisserie) 2. Moelleux Chocolat au Rhum at La Petite France 3. Gingerbread pudding at the Hamilton Street Grill (sorry we don't have a picture of this...maybe Neil could provide one?)

^I've always wondered how Hon's garnered a top spot in the Asian category for so many years, but I think Neil's theory (visability and accessibility) makes sense.

I haven't seen this show advertised, but I was going to post about this today because I saw the ads in a bathroom stall last night. Sounds interesting! I'll give it a chance and watch the first episode.

bittersweet chocolate (Callebaut)

The Chocolate Tasting platter I had at West was amazing. I believe my favourite was the milk chocolate mousse (or was it bittersweet?) with sour cherry sauce sauce. I believe we have Trafalger's lined up too--we meant to go last week, but were sidetracked by some of Moosh's incredible oatmeal cranberry cookies.

Sorry these took so long... (Hope I'm doing this correctly) As Mooshmouse said, the best we've found so far is the Chocolate Ganache cake from Pane from Heaven. It's thick, rich, bittersweet goodness--the ganache is thick and almost indistinguishable from the cake on the bottom...that's how perfectly the two meld together. If I had to pick out something negative about the cake, it would be that there appears to be a very slick apricot (I'm assuming) glaze on top, and the strawberry isn't set very well (often falling off the cake on the way home). http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11101397...3_910_60119.jpg If I had to choose a second favourite, it would be the Moëlleux Chocolat au Rhum at La Petite France. (Sorry I don't have a picture.) The cake is very visually appealing; it's sort of encased in a chocolate ruffle. The cake and filling is less dense than the Chocolate Ganache, and more expensive, at $6. I think this would be my pick to bring to a dinner party. Tied for second place, I would choose this delicious cake from Japan (by LeTao, a famous chocolatier) that a friend so kindly gave me. It's almost as thick and rich as the Chocolate Ganache cake (why am I comparing everything to this cake?!! ) but with a hidden surprise--lots and lots of rum-soaked raisins in the center! Unfortunately, I don't think you can get this cake in Vancouver, but I decided to post a picture of it since the packaging was so beautiful. http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11101397..._910_120875.jpg I also had two good cakes from St. Moritz Bakery and Mix the Bakery. These were bought and eaten the same day, since the two bakeries are only steps from one another (on W. 10th). I preferred the Chocolate Truffle cake from St. Moritz bakery over the Chocolate Oblivion from Mix. The Chocolate Truffle cake is made from Cacao Berry (milk chocolate from Switzerland, I believe) and is quite a little work of art, as you can see from the picture. On the inside is a thick layer of milk chocolate mousse, followed by a thin layer of chocolate genoise (or sponge cake?), a thin spread of raspberry sauce, and then a thin layer of vanilla genoise. Chocolate Truffle cake: http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11101397..._910_179475.jpg Chocolate Oblivion cake: http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11101397..._910_366178.jpg The Chocolate Oblivion cake also seems to be made of milk chocolate almond mousse, with pieces of toffee mixed throughout. It's covered in bittersweet chocolate ganache, and more pieces of toffee. The mousse sits on a vanilla sponge layer, if I remember correctly. This was probably my least favourite of the cakes, as the almond extract is quite strong. I thought the almond and the toffee didn't go very well together, but my bf quite enjoyed this cake. Side by side comparison (the St. Moritz cake is quite a bit bigger, and it's also the more expensive of the two at $6). http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11101397..._910_287733.jpg Sorry about the picture quality! I also really enjoyed Deborah's Chocolate Oblivion cake (a cake that certainly lives up to its name!) and lemoncurd's Chocolate pave (from Pierre Herme's book). Wish I could buy slices of these cakes whenever I wanted! And for those of you who are interested, I ate about 13 slices of chocolate cake in less than 2 weeks!

Yesterday: soft-scrambled eggs with cream cheese Today: a few slices of the coffee almond chiffon cake that I baked yesterday

^That's the only way to at Dulce de Leche. By the pint.

Oh wow, thanks for the love! I'm doing pecan pies at the end of the month...so far I have 4 very different recipes lined up. I'll be relying on some of you to taste test them.

I've taken pictures of several desserts (ok...chocolate cakes) that I've consumed recently--but I'm missing the chocolate cakes we ate at La Petite France. Should I post pictures and reviews here, or start a new chocolate cake thread? My favourite is the chocolate ganache cake at Pane from Heaven.

I prefer to eat my sashimi according to the amount of fattiness in the fish (o-toro last) but since my favourites tend to be the richer fishes, I guess I do same the most delicious bites for last. I always eat the things that tend to decline in deliciousness the longer they sit on my plate first (e.g. pie crust because it gets cold, or fried items that can get soggy). And I'm a first-born, but my parents usually made sure that there was always enough of the tastiest items on the table.

Coop has mentioned that you can get black truffles (fresh) at Urban Fare. And they have the locked cabinet of various truffle stuff too (oils, jarred, etc.) You might find Normandy butter there too....I think I may have seen it before, but I'm not 100% sure. Sorry!

I've been to that one before too. I think it was called Wasabi when I was in high school, and then they changed the name. Is it still there? Their fish was quite fresh. I went to Tsukiji on a Tuesday night, and we got the waitress to bring whatever was flown in that day.

oops, Garden City and Alderbridge...(Tsukiji is facing Garden City) it's underneath Oriental Delight, I believe.

today: too many to choose from...but I think i will have to go with the flounder fin, and the fresh uni sandwiched bewtween scallop sashimi, topped with caviar OMIGOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tsujiki (sp)? on Alderridge, by the car wash.

takeout sushi at Samurai Resturant: I had the hafla orfer of hamachi and the tuna, but unfortunately the tuna wasn't as fresh as usual. Fortunately, I have a nice bf who kindly offered up his house roll and rainbow roll. The Cactus club in North Van to see what all the hype was about. Cool bathrooms. My smokey chicken quesadilla was stuffed and non-greasy, until the ones I've eaten at the Richmond location. The pecan pie with mocha brandy wgippsed cream was actually a pecan tart--not too bad, but I've had better. Yuji's: a night of Spam and weenies. No, jjust kidding. I'll let someone with a better memory post about what we ate. Let me just say it was f*cking fantastic and I'm going back next week! I love Yuji.

hoisin sauce oyster sauce soy sauce (preferably japanese)

steak (or should I call it beef carpaccio? ) and eggs

^I was wondering when you put lemon meringue pie on the menu.