Truth be told: Where've you eaten lately? (Part 2)

[ElizR]

Last 3 places:

CinCin for their early bird menu (I actually like eating early and take advantage of early bird offers fairly often). Excellent in all aspects, as one would expect from CinCin. Had the soup - sorry, can't quite recall what it was - spaghetti carbonara and tiramisu. I am a big fan of CinCin - their service is always top notch, their bread is some of the best I've had in Vancouver and the room is gorgeous. love it!

Tony's Fish and Oyster Cafe in Granville Island. Go Fish was closed but we had a hankering for fish and chips. We both had cod and chips, and it was ok but not even close to Go Fish, who are thankfully open again.

Cafe Pacifica for the Italian opera buffet. I managed to get a booking for the special $18 deal, and what a deal it was! I have had the opera buffet before and can say that the standard was maintained 100%, and even the featured singers were decent. I had as much as I could possibly eat in a couple of hours which was about 4 full plates of assorted Italian goodies - lots of antipasto, gnocchi, spaghetti, Italian sausages, and a piece of every dessert on offer. The wine was apparently at 1986 prices so we had a bottle of Quail's Gate Gewurztraminer which was acceptable - the wine list was short but there were some good deals. The whiskies and cocktails were also a deal at $5.50 or so each. Service was also good, but the room was not full - maybe there were a lot of no-shows which is a shame as they were apparently fully booked.

Then I remembered why I rarely eat at buffets: the obligation to stuff myself always overrides the absolute certainty of the extreme discomfort I will feel shortly afterwards. Somehow I never learn!

[Ling]

Thursday lunch

Josephine's

Met up with some Egulleters and Abra and her husband at Josephines. (This was my first foray into Filipino cuisine! YAY!) We had a huge variety of dishes..there were long beans, a noodle dish with lots of egg sauce and dried shrimp, a huge pork hock that was deep-fried, a few types of stews (my favourite was a pork stew rich with gelatinous skin and fat, slightly vinegary), a dried fish that was deep-fried, mung bean and lentils in a soup, fish with tamarind in a soup, and lumpia. For dessert, we had casava cake, black sticky rice with caramelized sugar, and a coconut milk based dessert with jackfruit, sweet potato, mochi balls. My favourite was the black sticky rice--it was so fragrant, and that burnt sugar gives it a new dimension. Washed everything down with a Calamansi soda, recommended by our doyenne.

Friday

A little pre-dinner excursion to Thomas Haas and Goldilocks (details here) whetted my appetite for Diva at the Met, which I've already posted about.

Monday

Sushikan

I met up with my friend, DaFonz--a new member, welcome!--at Sushikan, which opened recently at Aberdeen in Richmond. The restaurant's been on my radar since...well, before it opened, and this is DaFonz's favourite Japanese restaurnant. Here's what we ate:

Natto with quail egg

assorted nigiri, including hirame engawa, hamachi toro and a special type of prawn that I'm forgetting the name of...I think it started with an "M". There's also another piece of fish (the one with the silver skin) that reminded me of mackerel...I ordered it because I don't think I've had it before.

Special assorted sushi

sea bream with ponzu jelly, hotate with a lighter ponzu jelly, and amaebi with grapefruit jelly

Spider roll

uni

fried tuna (snacks with our sake)

live prawns being killed

..and finally, the roe and the baked prawn heads (so good!)

lobster motoyaki

horse sashimi with fried garlic, ginger, and green onion

I thought the meal was excellent. The chef's eyes lit up when I asked for the hirame engawa and told him that is my favourite--I can tell he really loves his sushi! I tasted some citrus on the hirame and asked him if it was yuzu (I love yuzu and sashimi), but it is actually a green fruit similar to the yuzu that I'd never heard of before. Two quibbles--the hamachi toro wasn't as fatty as some I've had, and the hotate was not as sweet and fresh as it is at some of the other higher-end Japanese places (though I know it's Monday, and I believe fish comes in from Tsujiki on Tuesday, so perhaps I'm expecting too much.) Everything else we ate tonight was top quality, especially the uni, the hirame, and the prawns (they were jumping wildly in the pan while awaiting the chef's knife!) The nigiri with the jelly was one of my favourites, although I do think the ponzu overwhelmed the red sea bream. However, this is DaFonz's favourite, so there you have differing opinions. (My favourite of the trio was the amaebi with the bright grapefruit jelly--the delicate shrimp just coats your mouth with luscious sweet creaminess.) DaFonz's favourite dish at Sushikan is the lobster motoyaki, and it is indeed very good, with the lobster conveniently cut up in chunks under the rich topping so it's easy to eat. The highlight of the meal for me was the baked prawn heads. I've only had fried prawn heads when I order the live prawns (bodies always eaten sashimi-style, of course) but they are even better when they are baked! The heat crisps the outside of the head, and the cool, custardy innards (head goo) bursts in your mouth when you bite. Supremely delicious!

The service was attentive, although I did feel "watched" a little too closely at times...I feel kind of uncomfortable when servers hover around you, watching you eat. The servers were all very enthusiastic and helpful though, even apologizing profusely when I asked about monkfish liver and they did not have any (not in season). I'm so glad I don't have to trek out to Vancouver for great sushi now, though my wallet's not going to thank me.

Edited January 24, 2006 by Ling (log)

[canucklehead]

I went a couple of months back for lunch (I posted about it... somewhere) and I thought Sushikan was the real deal. Probably the best the sushi place to open in Vancouver in a long while. They take their sushi and sashimi very seriously.

I've been meaning to go back to give their menu a serious workout - so I am glad that you and Dafonz had such a thorough meal there (great pics btw). What has kept me from going has been trying to find someone to go with who will like the food and be okay with the prices. They are steep. Lunch for me was grilled sable fish and assorted sushi (same as yours above) and it came to $50 or $60. I think a real tryout of the menu would get pricey fast.

The other thing that I had to reconcile was the fact that, as you noted, much of the fish is jetted in from Japan. Though trying some of the more exotic fishes is always fun - I found that the local fish (not sure if they are also jetted in) was sweeter and cleaner tasting. However, their handlling of ingredients and knife skills were incredible and could not be faulted.

A sushi restaurant of this calibre reminds you of why sushi is treated as a special meal in Japan.

[McTee]

Hmmm.... Last 3 meals.....

CinCin for dinner on the 19th,

Braised Fennel Salad to start, just awesome. Anything with goat cheese and pears in it is right up my alley.

Garganelli with Shiitake Mushrooms and Grana Padano - Excellent as well, the whole meal was definitely better than I had anticipated.

Wine - Qupe Marsanne and Benziger Cabernet Sauvignon - Very nice wines, both. I love good wine with my meals.

Savory Coast for lunch on Tuesday

Caesar Salad to start - I liked the presentation of whole romaine leaves, but otherwise, a caesar is a caesar.

Chicken Penne - with goat cheese, again, I love goat cheese. I thought the sauce was a bit thin, however, but the flavours were there.

Zin for a drink and a bit on Tuesday evening.

Their menu looks really, really good. I asked why they aren't busier, and the server's opinion was that most people walking down Robson aren't comfortable going into such a funky room without being a bit dressed up first. Makes sense.

I had the bison burger. Lots of flavour in the spicy tomato relish, but the burger was a bit overdone. I know the bylaws are the bylaws, but this was overdoing it.

The Sylvia Lounge on Wednesday evening

Another burger and a beer flight. I love the Sylvia, now that it's renovated and smoke free. Absolutely no better place in this city to relax and have a beer. I feel like I found myself again.

[Ling]

What has kept me from going has been trying to find someone to go with who will like the food and be okay with the prices.

←

*raises hand*

(I don't mind eating scrambled eggs and bread for a few days to save up enough to splurge on good sashimi.)

DaFonz has eaten there three times now, and each time he's spent well over $100 on himself for food (before drinks, tax, and tip.) I think that's what you're looking at for a good meal at Sushikan. It is pricey, but worth it.

The fish is jetted in to most of the high-end Japanese restaurants in Vancouver on Tuesday, which means the best days to go for sashimi are Wednesday and Thursday. I don't know how much fresher the local stuff is though...anyone know?

Also, I'm pretty sure the waitress told me the middle piece of jelly was a lighter ponzu, but it tasted nothing like ponzu. I wonder if I misheard...

Edited January 27, 2006 by Ling (log)

[rockdoggydog]

That sushi looked so beautiful Lorna! Trip to Vancouver is definitely in order.

Rocky

[makanmakan]

gorgeous looking meal, ling! adding sushikan to my ever growing list!

in addition to our dov meals, we went to banana leaf on broadway last weekend with my family to celebrate chinese new year. it's been a while since i'd been here and it was a pretty great meal. needless to say, we pigged out!

bak ku teh. a chinese/malay pork herbal soup. good, but not exactly the same as what i remembered from back in the homeland.

crab with kum heong sauce. this is my all time favourite crab dish (other than the crab at sun sui wah). savoury, spicy and simply delicous.

chicken satay. we also had the lamb satay. both very good. is it bad that i want to put that peanut sauce on everything i eat?!!

okra, eggplant and green bean in sambal sauce and in the background, mee goreng.

lamb curry and in the foil package, alaskan black cod grilled in banana leaf in a spicy dry shrimp sauce. both lip smackin' good.

we managed to save a tiny bit of room for some dessert. goreng pisang (deep fried bananas) and kueh dadar (the green things). kueh dadar is a crepe, flavoured with pandan (screwpine leaf), filled with a coconut and gulah melaka (palm sugar). this sadly, was not a good example of how good this dessert can be. the crepe was a bit dry and flavourless and the filing was not quite sweet enough. the deep fried bananas, though, how can you really go wrong?!! crunchy, hot and good. the only gripe was they need to change the oil. very soon.

[Daddy-A]

My last 3 places were all last night! J & I had a tough week, so we needed to unwind, and with the fiasco that is DOV out of the way, last night was the night ...

Nu - cocktails & appie hour (or Cinq á Sept as their website calls it) at the bar. Damn I like this bar! Perfect view as we watchd the winds pick up at the beginning of last night's storm. My usual Negroni & a couple Boddington's and J's various champagne cocktails and the week's worries were washed away. The appetizers were really tasty (smoked salmon quiche, and roast duck) but we only saw them twice. I feel ingrateful for nagging on something that's being offered gratis, but for whatever reason I felt ... neglected?? No worries ... the drinks, the view, the bar staff and the company were all excellent.

Shiro-Bay - My first visit (now dutifully crossed of my must-visit list) to this much touted izakaya joint. I think many people must not like the communal table because our host seemed quite suprised when we cheefully agreed to sit there. Hell, we had no reservations wo I wasn't about to be choosy. Had the obligatory Ebi-Mayo, along with the Kobe Carpaccio, Lamb Cheeks and something else ... ?? Washed that down with a bottle of sake (something organic ... I put my pen away last night so no notes). Verdict? Both J & I prefer Hapa, and I would even put Guu in front as well. Nothing wrong with Shiro Bay ... just not as tasty. The Ebi Mayo was good, but too much mayo for this palate. Service was good, especially for an izakaya joint, but our server wasn't as well versed on the sake's as I would have liked. If you're going to set yourself up with premium sakes, at least be able to explain why you're charging $30+ for a tiny little bottle.

HSG - Isn't it mandatory to visit now? Just popped in for a couple ports. Neil had left early (not feeling well I was told) but Jude brought us the "NEW" HSG menu to inspect. A 40 oz. Bone in Rib-Eye???!!! J's eyes lit up and said "I'll bring a girlfriend and we'll share!" A number of DOV items have made their way up to the big-leagues as well. Sipped some Fladgate and watched Carter & the Twins lite up the Flames.

Say goodnight Gracie

A.

[Leonard]

My last 3 places were all last night!  J & I had a tough week, so we needed to unwind, and with the fiasco that is DOV out of the way, last night was the night ...

Nu - cocktails & appie hour (or Cinq á Sept as their website calls it) at the bar.  Damn I like this bar!  Perfect view as we watchd the winds pick up at the beginning of last night's storm.  My usual Negroni & a couple Boddington's and J's various champagne cocktails and the week's worries were washed away.  The appetizers were really tasty (smoked salmon quiche, and roast duck) but we only saw them twice.  I feel ingrateful for nagging on something that's being offered gratis, but for whatever reason I felt ... neglected??  No worries ... the drinks, the view, the bar staff and the company were all excellent.

Shiro-Bay - My first visit (now dutifully crossed of my must-visit list) to this much touted izakaya joint.  I think many people must not like the communal table because our host seemed quite suprised when we cheefully agreed to sit there.  Hell, we had no reservations wo I wasn't about to be choosy.  Had the obligatory Ebi-Mayo, along with the Kobe Carpaccio, Lamb Cheeks and something else ... ??  Washed that down with a bottle of sake (something organic ... I put my pen away last night so no notes).  Verdict?  Both J & I prefer Hapa, and I would even put Guu in front as well.  Nothing wrong with Shiro Bay ... just not as tasty.  The Ebi Mayo was good, but too much mayo for this palate.  Service was good, especially for an izakaya joint, but our server wasn't as well versed on the sake's as I would have liked.  If you're going to set yourself up with premium sakes, at least be able to explain why you're charging $30+ for a tiny little bottle.

HSG - Isn't it mandatory to visit now?  Just popped in for a couple ports.  Neil had left early (not feeling well I was told) but Jude brought us the "NEW" HSG menu to inspect.  A 40 oz. Bone in Rib-Eye???!!!  J's eyes lit up and said "I'll bring a girlfriend and we'll share!"    A number of DOV items have made their way up to the big-leagues as well.  Sipped some Fladgate and watched Carter & the Twins lite up the Flames.

Say goodnight Gracie

A.

←

We dropped the ball.

Sorry Arne

Leonard

[Ling]

West DOV

last Friday

-I wrote about that here

My friend and I had the entire menu, except for the sablefish. We are piggies.

Bearfoot Bistro

Friday

pictures begin here, scroll down for more

-a selection of oysters

-Kobe beef tartare

-black cod and pickled cucumber salad

-Sumac Ridge Stellar Jay Brut

-martinis (Tuscan Sun and Cosmo)

-tuna sampler (tuna 3 ways)

-a Chocolate Tasting dessert (chocolate mousse, chocolate jelly, white chocolate terrine and blood orange compote and chip)

-peach cobbler served in a tiny cast-iron pan, with brittle and ginger

-a couple glasses of Frangelico for a total of 8 glasses of alcohol consumed by yours truly. I had THE WORST hangover this morning, but it was definitely well worth the fun I had yesterday. Thanks again to the staff at Bearfoot...that was a day to remember!

Elements

after the Bearfoot...(Friday)

-foie gras and apple, toast

-pork tenderloin

-the best fries I'd had in recent memory--potato and sweet potato, both thinly sliced and crispy, nicely salted. I've never had such incredible sweet potato fries before! Served with curry aioli.

-seared duck with some sort of fruit compote...(I drank way WAY too much yesterday...so I apologize for the lack of details)

Needless to say, I was stuffed yesterday. Whistler sure knows how to have a good time!

Parkside DOV

Just a quick write-up since Parkside's DOV menu has been covered so many times already. I took my parents here tonight. Service over the course of the evening was great (linen refolded, we were not charged for the second bottle of water as we left it largely untouched). My mom and I were waiting for my dad for over half an hour b/c he got lost trying to find parking, so we wondered if we should just go ahead and order. The server assured us that it would be OK, and we were not rushed in the least. Very nice. I had a glass of the Blue Mountain chardonnay and my mom had the blood orange/carrot/ginger juice while we waited. Neither of us cared for the juice very much--lots of carrot, and it lacked the tang I was hoping for in a blood orange drink.

Wild mushroom soup--my parents both enjoyed this immensely, and I agree that it was one of the best dishes of the night.

I had the chicken, rabbit, foie gras terrine with the winter fruit compote (contained cranberries), avocado puree, and celeriac remoulade. This terrine was not overly fatty and very nice on its own, but was elevated by the tart sweetness of the fruit and the crunch of the toasted bread and remoulade contrasted nicely with the smooth puree. Outstanding.

My dad had the short rib with savoy cabbage and mash. It was OK, but we both felt that the short rib (while very tender) lacked flavour. (My mom was too full from the duck to taste this dish.)

My mom and I had the duck confit with cassoleut beans, Toulouse sausage. The sausage has a nice chew to it, owing to its relative leanness. The confit was also quite nice, and not overly rich as some of the skin had been removed. There is an acidic element to the sauce that I found enjoyable, as it cut through the hearty richness of the plate. I drank the Blue Mountain pinot noir with this dish.

My dad and I both had the sticky toffee pudding with ginger rum ice-cream. I love this dessert--the cake itself is just a bit gooey and underdone, and the accompanying sauce and ice-cream were both delicious. I mentioned in a post somewhere that I had my first sticky toffee pudding at Parkside two years ago, and having it again tonight reminds me that I haven't made it in quite a few months now! Must bake sticky toffee pudding this week....

As someone else noted in their Parkside write-up, the little touches like the biscotti is still there with your coffee. (My mom recognized the biscotti too--"Look! The cookies you make at home!" She doesn't know the name of the cookie...but she is so cute. ) It is amazing how Parkside can offer this type of menu for $25. Seriously, such a great deal.

My mom had the dark chocolate pots de creme with brandied cherries. She remarked, without any prompting from me, that the chocolate used in this dessert is the same that I use at home. Yay mom!

I didn't really have room, but you know me--gotta get that extra dessert.

Raspberry, mango, and marscapone sorbet (all good, with the raspberry and mango being my favourites)

Edited February 5, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Dumpling Girl]

Just wanted to say that I loved those sushi pics, Ling!

Okay, briefly, here's my last three:

Senhor Rooster!

My first visit tonight, and it's not overhyped in the least. Had the Piri Piri Prawns to start. Loved trying all the sauces. There were 7 - the one not labelled was hotter than the rest. My friend had horse! And it was tasty, like beef with a slightly different flavour, and it was served with a tomato-based sauce with oregano. I splurged and had the rack of lamb (I can't believe it was an entire rack). It was wonderful - so tender, and with a beautiful rich sauce. For dessert, we had a really nice, creamy caramelized milk dessert, called Babas de Camelo, which had a lemony flavour. Also Daniel gave us a taste of a sour cherry liqueur that he made himself. Definitely worth the trip out to East Van.

Pho Number One

Quick special Vietnamese sub and coconut bubble tea. Very satisfying. It's the Pho place next to Cupcakes on Denman, near English Bay.

Lupo Cafe (Georgia at Burrard)

Was waiting in the area in the evening, so I stopped in for a glass of red wine, and a snack. I had the cheese platter (beautiful presentation), and the wild mushroom risotto croquettes with creme fraiche, which I liked a lot. It's an odd combination in there. The high styling presentation with the casual feel of the service and the room. I find it very comfortable though. Especially since I was alone and in the mood to do some writing in my notebook.

Nancy

Edited February 5, 2006 by Dumpling Girl (log)

[Daddy-A]

The appetizers were really tasty (smoked salmon quiche, and roast duck) but we only saw them twice.  I feel ingrateful for nagging on something that's being offered gratis, but for whatever reason I felt ... neglected??  No worries ... the drinks, the view, the bar staff and the company were all excellent.

We dropped the ball.

Sorry Arne

Leonard

Leonard ... no, not at all! I was honestly trying to make light of the fact that I was being a cheap bar-fly that night. In fact, I was planning on ordering a couple things from the menu, but your bar staff kept giving me new bowls of shoe string & gaufrette potato chips.

Speaking of those chips ... nice chipotle in the spice. Any chance I can work out a chipotle for dinner arrangement?

From the Daddy-A Backyard Smoker

A.

[makanmakan]

We spent the weekend in Kamloops to ski/board Sun Peaks this weekend. What a gorgeous weekend of sunny skies and powdery slopes. Who'd have thought that we'd also have great food there as well!

Saturday night, we went to Ric's Grill downtown Kamloops. We shared the french onion soup and spinach salad to start. Both were good. My main was a chilli espresso tenderloin with a mushroom and red wine reduction over it. His was pasta which was not bad. My god, that hunk of beef is probably the most tender I'd ever had! The rub was delicious on it and the steak pretty much melted in my mouth. If i remember correctly, it was Sterling Silver beef, from Alberta.

While on our way to Ric's Grill, we had walked by an interesting place called Paradiso and decided to try it on Sunday night. It's a tapas and fondue restaurant that is very warm and cozy inside. I can't wait to go back and try out more of their menu! All the tables have an induction stovetop in the middle of it and all the fondues are prepared at your table. We started with a classic swiss fondue. They brought out a bain marie, with some Mission Hill Chardonnay, lemon juice and some garlic in the pyrex bowl. As soon as that got hot, she brought out a huge bowl of shredded gruyere and emmenthal and added some into the hot bowl. After mixing up the concoction, she poured a little kirsch into it and then brought us a big plate of bread and green apples. Delicious!

For our main, we decided to do a broth fondue. We had the Pot Chaud, which was a spicy veg broth with soy, ginger and chili sauce. It was brought out cold to the table in a small Le Creuset pot and heated up at the table. The smell was incredible as it was slowly heating up. Then a plate of chicken breast pieces, prawns, and teriyaki sirloin was brought out along with a plate of veggies. We also ordered a lobster tail. Everything was so good and the broth was smelling better and better! So, we asked for spoons and feasted on the broth after all the goodies were gone.

Dessert....how could we resist the call of melted dark chocolate. Again, melted at the table with cream. A plate of rice krispy squares, brownies, grapes, bananas and fresh pineapple came with it.

This was one of our most fun dinners we've ever had. Too bad there's no fondue restaurants in town. Guess we'll have to do this at home!

Other meals up there were diner breakfasts, pizza by the slice on the mountain, and chilli at a day lodge on the mountain.

Oh, we also found a very cool little coffee shop called Zack's. Great tea selection, great chocolate cake, good coffee and an awesome little candy store next to it!

[fud]

(I don't mind eating scrambled eggs and bread for a few days to save up enough to splurge on good sashimi.)

←

Spoken like a true foodie.

If I'm ever in Chicago I'm eating rice and soy sauce till I can afford a spot at Alinea.

[Ling]

(I don't mind eating scrambled eggs and bread for a few days to save up enough to splurge on good sashimi.)

←

Spoken like a true foodie.

If I'm ever in Chicago I'm eating rice and soy sauce till I can afford a spot at Alinea.

←

Ahhh...I'd go as far as eating plain congee for Alain Ducasse.

Friday

Collingwood Neighbourhood House

My friend's brother asked me to help him teach a children's cooking class. We made potato, ham, cheese, and vegetable frittatas, and chocolate chip cookies with these mini rainbow candy-coated chips. The kids were all very well-behaved and took turns mixing up the cookie dough, and then they cleaned up the kitchen by themselves. Both the frittatas and the cookies turned out really well! There was a huge group of kids not enrolled in the cooking class begging for cookies outside our door.

Saturday

Taverna Gorgona (in Ladner)

My friend took me to this restaurant after hearing some great reviews from his co-workers. The atmosphere is actually pretty cute with the Christmas lights and they have a bellydancer around 8pm on Saturdays. We started with a trio of dips--a very garlicky humous, taramasalada, tzatziki, and the saganaki (also served with pita). The saganaki was my favourite of the items we ordered, but it's pretty difficult to mess up a simple dish of lightly breaded, warmed cheese. For our main course, we split the Gorgona platter--like a Greek version of the infamous Memphis platter, judging by its epic size. The platter comes with spanakopita, calamari, roast lamb, potatoes, rice, salad, salmon, and keftedes. I found the items, for the most part, pretty disappointing--everything was piled on top one another, so the spanakopita and the calamari were soggy by the time it hit our table. The keftedes looked and tasted like charcoal briquets. The lamb was tender, but wasn't flavourfully seasoned or anything. Salmon flaked really easily--really dry. We drank a bottle of Goats do Roam. Meal ended with a complimentary order of ekmek.

The best part of the dinner was the bellydancer. And the flourless chocolate cake and Yoku Moku cookies my friend bought for me to eat during the drive. (My favourite Yoku Moku cookie of the varieties I tried was the almond one, followed by the cigarette cookie.) Night ended with lots of drinking at 686.

Monday

Bistro Sakana and Honjin Sushi

I met up with my friend downtown to do some shopping, and then we walked past Bistro Sakana where another friend was eating lunch. I talked to the sushi chef while stealing food off my friend's plate. They have a scallop and prawn in shredded phyllo dish that is similar to the one offered at Nobu, so I had to try that. Then my friend wanted to go to Honjin Sushi on his cousin's recommendation, so we went there for lunch. (I had eaten at home already, so I got a few orders of chicken hearts and gizzards, and shared the spinach appetizer with the fish flakes and sesame with my friend. He had a lunch combo with beef teriyaki, vegetable tempura, california rolls, miso soup, and rice. The food was just OK. I took a quick glance at the sashimi that arrived at the table next to us, and it didn't look too appealing.

Edited February 14, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Pez]

Now that DOV is over, back to some of my usual favourite places, the past two weeks have seen me at:

Feenie's (for brunch, lunch and dinner) - eggs benedict on croissant...is there any other way to begin a sunday?

Ajisai Sushi

Josephine's (family dinner)

Sun Suh Wah (dim sum with friends)

Banana Leaf (take out sambal prawns, beef rendang and mee goreng)

Cactus Club (burger research)

Burgoo (rain = stew)

Abigail's Party (I think that's the name, to try out a new sunday brunch place)

Daily visits to Crystal Palace for work lunches.

It was a slow eat-out week since I was recovering from DOV.

Cheers,

T

[Pez]

Oops, forgot Mona's Lebanese Cusine. Fun, good food. Will try it on a weekend next time since I've been told that they have a dj and an amazing belly dancer.

Cheers,

T

[Pez]

Oops, also forgot Go Fish (okay, so maybe it wasn't that slow an eat-out week). Had been wanting to go down forever and finally made it down on a sunny, cold Saturday. Fresh, luscious halibut with a crispy coating, mmmm.....drooooling....

Cheers,

T

[Ling]

Tuesday night

CinCin

comments and pictures in this thread

Friday

lunch...takeout at No. 9

I just needed some 'tang jie jook'--the congee with all types of offal in it. Good stuff. I had a craving for cow stomach. (Is there a more appealing term I should be using instead of "cow stomach"?) Not the best place for congee, but I was in the area and this hit the spot. Also ate some of my mom's crispy noodles with onions and beef too. Very average and oily.

dinner #1...at Collingwood Neighbourhood House

Today my friend and I taught the kids how to make a bechamel sauce and how to do baked macaroni and cheese with a bread crumb topping. We used a Martha Stewart recipe that's really popular over in the Cooking forum now. I liked the recipe a lot.

I taught them how to make brownies today, and also how to make a proper caramel sauce on the stovetop. The kids loved the dessert! It was their first time doing this stuff from scratch. I have a special little helper who loves to cook and wants to be a chef when he grows up. I think he's the only one who remembered the techniques I was teaching them, like "tempering". And he stayed behind and helped us clean up, and drew me a picture of Garfield too!

dinner #2 ...at Guu in Gastown

I had so many dishes tonight, I couldn't list them all if I tried. Drank a lot of sake too, which may explain something...

Some of the dishes we had were "Salmon and the Seven Sons" (??)-- basically diced salmon sashimi with a bunch of diced garnishes and a raw egg), multiple orders of chicken karaage, scallop carpaccio, takoyaki, and oyster gratin, a few noodle dishes, negitoro and nori with ponzu, beef short ribs, miso black cod, bacon and scallops with enoki, bacon and scallops with shrimp (fried), fried spicy ika with a ketchup dip, and maguro tataki (with avocado and ponzu mayo sauces). The maguro and the ika were by far my favourites of the evening. Everything else was good. Food is really cheap (about $5-$7 per dish) and you get what you pay for.

Edited February 19, 2006 by Ling (log)

[fud]

Wednesday Lunch - Thai Garden

This is one of my favorite work-lunch spots since it has cheap lunch specials and their Tom Kah Gai is really second to none. I've only found one other place (in thailand no doubt!) that tastes the same. It's not exactly "authentic" to the purest sense but it is damn good with plenty of inedibles (galanaga, lemon grass, lime leaves)

I had a thick curry and the soup. I wanted the curry to be hotter (4 peppers please!)

Thursday Dinner - Congee Noodle House

I had a hankering for Yoo Peen Jook. Yummy fish slices! The congee this time was really good! My friend was really impressed and she insisted we go back sooner rather than later. We also ordered a noodle dish (satay flat noodles). Pretty good. But I'd rather have another congee and some weet donuts.

Friday Dinner - Work Cafeteria

Mmm cold sandwiches that were made 6 hours ago. I really need to pack an emergency meal pack for late nighters

[samasutra]

I am a new member so please be patient as this is my first post. I love this topic. I need assistance in picking a good restaurant in the east end near Slocan as I am taking someone to a meeting there tomorrow night and have been told I have my choice of restaurants in that area as payment! I am not familiar with restaurants in the east end except the Pink Pearl and do not wish to go there again.

My last three experiences.....Went to the Old Surrey Restaurant which is a French restaurant and always has excellent food and service. I did not show much imagination and had the Prawns Mistral pan seared with shallots and finished with garlic and wild mushrooms I could really taste the garlic which I adore. There was not enough of the prawns so I savored them and was reluctant to swallow them...grin as I wanted to keep the taste in my mouth. The next course was Cream of Asparagus Soup and accompanied with Cream Fraiche. It was excellent.

Filet Mignon with Broiled Lobster Tail which was good but I have had better beef there before. I love the sea asparagus they serve though and I have never had it served anywhere before. I do not know where they source it from. I have tried to buy it and looked at Urban Fare for it but they do not carry it. They had tiny little puff potatoes that were deep fried that were excellent.

I was quite full by then so had the Strawberries and Kiwi Romanoff splashed with Grand Marnier served with vanilla ice cream which is a very light dessert.

For the Dine Out in Vancouver we went to the Boathouse in White Rock. Not my choice but my friend wanted to go there so off we went. Usually the service is supposed to be poor but we had an excellent server so that was a pleasant surprise. I had the miso halibut in some kind of ginger reduction sauce. I forget the rest of my meal. The salad was good and came with candied pecans. The dessert was mediocre; some kind of chocolate mousse which I did not eat. My friend had the steak and she felt her meal was mediocre. She said she would not return. I love fish and was happy with my halibut.

The third place was I am embarrassed to admit a I-Hop for breakfast...I mean what else would you eat there. I had their whole wheat pancakes with nuts in them as they are quite edible with poached eggs. However, it came hot and the service was good and fast.

Like this thread. Hamilton Grill now on my list as is Chambers.

Samasutra

My friend had the cream brulee and I had a tiny bite of it and it was excellent.

[Daddy-A]

Samasutra,

Welcome to the madhouse!

I haven't been to the Old Surrey in ages. I had a gf who lived out that way and her mom & dad always used to take us there. Glad to hear it's still chugging along.

Looking forward to more from you.

Re: East End near Slocan ... Phnom Penh?

A.

[chocomoo]

Welcome, samasutra! Sorry, but I don't have any suggestions for you - I'm also not a fan of Pink Pearl.

Let's see, my 3 most recent...

Thursday lunch - Shanghai River

I browsed the menu while waiting for my family to arrive (I arrived early because of my workout plans), and noticed that the English translations really suck. They really should have had someone preview the menu before they printed it on nice paper and had it laminated! "Katshop shrimps" turned out to be prawns stir-fried in a ketchup sauce. I gave up trying to decipher the English after a while and relied on my Grade 2-level Chinese school knowledge instead.

Anyways, we got soup dumplings (pork), pan-seared potstickers, shredded daikon puff pastry, "eyebrow-shaped" puff pastry (that's really what they're called - in Chinese they're called "eyebrow hair puff pastry"... ), red-bean filled choux pastry balls, dan-dan noodles, and shredded chicken with something similar to glass noodles, except flat & chewy. My favourites were the "eyebrow-shaped" puff pastry and shredded chicken dish. The filling of the puff pastry contained custard mixed with salted duck egg yolk. The puff pastry is the same that's used for the daikon puff pastry (which I found to be not flavourful enough compared to others I've had at say, Jade Seafood). The shredded chicken dish was topped with a sesame sauce and julienned cucumbers. This all rested on the "fun pei" (some kind of rice flour "skin"??), which was slippery with a nice chew to it. The dan-dan noodles were a bit disappointing - even I wanted it to be spicier and I can't even take spicy Thai food! The choux pastry balls were also disappointing - I liked the pink sugar, but the ones I've had at the other Shanghai place (you know, on No. 3 Road, Shanghai _______ ) were much better, and bigger too, with more filling.

Saturday dinner - Ajisai (in Kerrisdale)

I expected there to be a lineup since it's such a tiny place, but we only waited about 8 minutes. We got the deluxe roll combo and an order of the salmon sashimi (we chose the wild King salmon). The maki sushi combo is a great deal (sorry, I forget how much it is though). The rolls were: chopped scallop, California, sukiyaki, BC, and house (which contained salmon and tuna sashimi, cooked prawn, fake crab meat, avocado, and finely julienned cucumber and daikon sprouts - all wrapped with a thin thin egg crepe). YUMMY!! My friends didn't seem to have much of an appetite, so I ended up finishing the rolls, which was fine by me! There was some interesting maki sushi that I might try next time - one was mackerel with shiso. I've never had shiso before - what does it taste like?

Sunday lunch - Silver Palace

Just our regular fare (we go almost every Sunday after church) - century egg & shredded pork congee, "dry" stir-fried soya sauce rice noodles with beef, "raw fried" sticky rice (with Chinese preserved pork, Chinese sausage, and Chinese shitake mushrooms), and stir-fried flat rice noodles with beef & bitter melon (I never eat it - "not bitter" my butt...). The owner (Gary, the guy with the glasses) is really nice, and the tea is high quality. The kind you'd normally be charged $2-$3 at dim sum places for. When we commented on the quality of the tea, the owner remarked "It's what I like to drink!". The place is really tiny, so there's only 1 other server (the owner also serves), who's also really nice. I've recommended this place numerous times before, because I just feel that you get quality food for really good prices (I think all that came out to around $40 including tax).

One last thing - my sister asked me to mention that she had her birthday dinner at Feenie's on Saturday night, and had pretty bad service. They waited 45 minutes for their table (after making a reservation - apparently the party before them paid and then sat around for 40 minutes) and 40 minutes for their bread. Apparently their server was really not "on the ball" - maybe their server was new?

Update: in general, he had bad attitude. He wasn't outright rude, but when he was cleaning up the appetizers, there was a piece of lettuce on the table. And what did he do? Not only did he not pick it up, he pushed it towards the middle of the table with a fork or something. When he was bringing over some dishes, he accidentally hit my sister's friend on the head - so hard that her head bounced forward . He refilled their water maybe 3 times in a 2 1/2 hour period. When my sister's friend made eye contact with him because she needed something, he looked at her and then pretended not to have seen her. I mean, they were quite busy, but my sister saw him standing around and chatting with other servers at certain points in the evening (while it was still busy).

I should note that we've never gotten a server this bad before at Feenie's, or maybe even ever (except in the HK style cafes, but that's another story). I'm planning to take my cousins to Feenie's next month, actually - hopefully we won't get the same server.

One nice thing about the evening though - no cake cutting fee!

Edited February 21, 2006 by chocomoo (log)

[samasutra]

Samasutra,

Welcome to the madhouse!

I haven't been to the Old Surrey in ages. I had a gf who lived out that way and her mom & dad always used to take us there. Glad to hear it's still chugging along.

Looking forward to more from you.

Re: East End near Slocan ... Phnom Penh?

Thank you, very much

Old Surrey under new owners last couple years. Husband is French. They own a farm and source alot of what they serve organically from their farm.

S

[Mooshmouse]

I need assistance in picking a good restaurant in the east end near Slocan as I am taking someone to a meeting there tomorrow night and have been told I have my choice of restaurants in that area as payment!

←

There's always Senhor Rooster on Rupert.