Truth be told: Where've you eaten lately? (Part 1)

[Ling]

Trishca, I think "meat cookie" is "meen bang" in Cantonese--minced pork with various seasonings and add=-ins (e.g. my mom miches cuttlefish etc.) and steams it. Transleated word for word, meen bang is "meat cookie".

And joie, I am eating the chocolate tart. You were right.

edit: man, I must have been really drunk when I wrote that. "Meen bang" is actually a type of pancake/crepe thing. Yook bang is MEAT COOKIE!

Edited February 13, 2005 by Ling (log)

[Andrew Morrison]

joie and ian walked me to the door, they said i owned them a pos.ti already spell checked. goodnight!

attagirl ling.

[Mooshmouse]

And joie, I am eating the chocolate tart. You were right. 

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Your boyfriend was so robbed!!! Did I call that one, or did I call that one!

Of course, you realize that you'll just have to buy him another one. Or two.

[Ling]

he's drinkign at section 3 right now. should i go or should i stay, hmmmm....

i will buy himn some ganache cake. even better than the tart.

[Jeffy Boy]

Trishca, I think "meat cookie" is "meen bang" in Cantonese--minced pork with various seasonings and add=-ins (e.g. my mom miches cuttlefish etc.) and steams it. Transleated word for word, meen bang is "meat cookie".

That would have been even funnier last night, and it's tough to top "meat cookie". Comic: "what's in the styrofoam package?" Lady: "a meen bang".

joie and ian walked me to the door, they said i owned them a pos.ti already spell checked. goodnight!

attagirl ling.

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Geez ling, what language did you have selected? Or did you accidentally run your post through your "create_error-laden_quiz_for_tutored_students" program?

[sashavan]

I obviously left much too early last night! I won't make that mistake again. We didn't make it to Adesso as planned. A glass of scotch or two too many conspired to keep us at home. We've hidden the bottle and are committed to hitting Adesso tonight.

Edited February 12, 2005 by sashavan (log)

[appreciator]

Friday - lunch with SushiCat at HSG.... yum.... gingerbread pudding for dessert And not to forget ..... was great to chat with Neil for almost (or over?) an hour..... what a consummate host....

Friday - on way to stupidly placed sky train station (note to transit authority.... try to make it a bit more obvious would you????) - picked up BBQ Beef Kolachy (ate later.... it was fine, but I'm looking fwd to trying other flavours)

Saturday - late dinner at Chianti’s.... great service..... decent wine markup..... exactly what you'd expect for food. Place was packed. Discordant note.... what the f@*&^%k is up with tables taking 50 or more digital pix of their party..... do they have any idea how annoying that is to their fellow diners??? Not only should cell phones be banned from restos, so should digital cameras!

Later on Saturday (late show) - saw the movie Sideways (enjoyed it..... would definitely see it again)

Sunday - scone and coffee at Mix after run.... all I can say is: OMG.....

[Daddy-A]

Discordant note.... what the f@*&^%k is up with tables taking 50 or more digital pix of their party..... do they have any idea how annoying that is to their fellow diners??? Not only should cell phones be banned from restos, so should digital cameras!

You'd best not come to dinner with a group of eGulleters then!

A.

[*Deborah*]

Discordant note.... what the f@*&^%k is up with tables taking 50 or more digital pix of their party..... do they have any idea how annoying that is to their fellow diners??? Not only should cell phones be banned from restos, so should digital cameras!

You'd best not come to dinner with a group of eGulleters then!

A.

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Yeah, but we take pics of our food, not our party!!

[PaoPao]

After just getting back from 3 weeks away for Carnaval in Rio we we're ready to eat at some of our old favs. The restaurants are great there and they are the undisputed masters of Meat dishes. Soooo good. Ok, back to topic.......

First stop was the Congee Noodle House on Broadway near Main. They have an amazing crunchy, spicy, chicken wing dish that IMHO are the best around and we had to have it. Then moved on to the BBQ Pork, and the Soy Sauce Chicken Noodle Soup. All was excellent in quality, service, and especially value.

Next was Pink Pearl on Hastings for Dim Sum. It just amazes me the quantity of people they feed there for Sunday Brunch. All the Dim Sum we had was very fresh and tasty. I especially like the Taro filled with BBQ Pork and the Pot Stickers. We always have to put in a special order for their small chilli’s in Soy Sauce which brings in new levels of heat, and flavour to the dishes. The 3 of us we're rolling out of there stuffed for about $40 including tip. Another great value.

Last night a friend was really craving the sourdough bread at The Keg on Thurlow, so we went for dinner. It had been awhile since I've been there and it was very good. I had a Baseball Steak which is an extra thick Filet Mignon cooked Medium Rare and A double baked potato. Both we're excellent. We sat and ate in the lounge by the fireplace. We had a great time and enjoyed it there very much.

On a different note ..... it was interesting getting back in town and reading the hoopla about peoples opinions of their DOV experiences. Just have to say to Ling et all that I have appreciated your honest dining appraisals and hope the defensive responses don't dissuade you from continuing to post your opinions.

[snacky_cat]

Just got back from a lunch at The Mouse and the Bean - the best (and cheapest) Mexican food around, and the friendliest staff. I just want to hug them after I eat there. Or bring them a mouse statue for their collection. Their quesadillas are amazing, and I stole a few bites of Snacky Cat Dad's mole, which was delish. Wonderful corn flour tortillas too.

Had two lunches this weekend at The Gallery Cafe (working at Robson Square for the next two weeks, so I'm sure this number will increase). The best fast food in town, in a pretty space. The entree options change daily, but they always have an amazing selection of paninis (I have the Californian a lot) and the desserts are crazy. 4.50 for a nice big glass of BC wine too. Also, their rotating cast of young foodie trainees are always very handsome. Another thing I like about this place is the glasses-and-ice area they have - you can take the can of pop you acquired in the lineup and pour it into a nice big glass filled with whatever amount of ice tickles your fancy. A tiny luxury.

And Friday night was the great HSG meal. I woke up still-full the next morning

And tonight is Chambar!!! I have a waffle-shaped hole in my tummy.

[appreciator]

Discordant note.... what the f@*&^%k is up with tables taking 50 or more digital pix of their party..... do they have any idea how annoying that is to their fellow diners??? Not only should cell phones be banned from restos, so should digital cameras!

You'd best not come to dinner with a group of eGulleters then!

A.

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Yeah, but we take pics of our food, not our party!!

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I may have to rethink joining in for burger club if ya'll plan on blinding each other with the flash going off every 2 minutes........

[Edible Vancouver]

I have been amiss in not keeping up with this thread, but here are a few places from early last week.

Lift – a great room and view, personable service but the seafood dishes I ordered were a very overcooked (scallops and prawn skewers). I am also not a fan of having my wine in the new “O” glasses and I forgot to ask for a real wine glass.  However, I look forward to hanging out on the patio for drinks this summer!

Umami – what a great place that seems to be flying under the radar. I had appies and drinks with Debora there last week and was very impressed with the quality of the food. The crab spring rolls with avocado salad were amazing as was the salmon sashimi which was served with tiny dollops of Japanese mayo topped with pink peppercorns. My new favorite place for dinner (going again tonight).

Shiru Bay – a large and noisy room where we took some out of town guests for a Vancouver Happa experience. We chose the 11 course tasting menu for $30 which was a great value and we left stuffed. Some very interesting selections that evening by the chef, but overall a good experience.

Relish – another place that is hidden below an office building and seems hardly be mentioned, but the food was surprisingly good. I am always a little nervous of a place the bills itself as a restaurant and lounge with a clubby kind of feel as Relish does, but the chicken satay skewers with Asian slaw and a prawn dish (which I can’t remember) were both way beyond my expectations and the prices are very reasonable. The service was also very good!

Cheers,

Eric

[Sonja]

Sunday Morning: Chong Qing on 12th and Commercial. Awesome food, great, inexpensive Dim Sum. The most amazing Wun Tun with spicy red pepper & Peanut Sauce. Yum.

I dearly miss Fatzo's on Broadway & McKenzie, who made the best burger I've had the priviledge to enjoy in all of North America. We tried Moderne Burger last weekend, however, and had a fabulous meal.

And I relly like the living room for late tapas, although I think that the quality has gone down ever since Chefs AJ and Bernard left. Where are they now?

[Tete Carre]

I don't eat out all that much but here's where I/we've ben recently:

Addesso for lunch yesterday. Had the warm patio to myself. Linguine vongole was simply perfect and the side of sauteed rapini, which was either baby rapini or brocolini, was great - just the right amount of bitternes.

India Abroad in the odd little food fare on Hornby accross from the YWCA. I had butter chicken for a change. Unfortunately they'd finished off all the naan (which is terrific) so I had rice instead.

Sergios Hacienda in Port Angeles. Fahita salad hit the spot.

Like I said, I don't get out that much.

PS Sonja - gotta love that Sechuan Chong Qing at 12th and Commercial eh? mmm Tan Tan noodles and anything in their chili, sour and garlic sauce!!

[Bombdog]

Wow, what a chance to show off....

My SO and I just returned from an extended Valentine's Day weekend in Charleston.

Sunday night was the Penninsula Grill

Wonderful meal; the SO had the pan seared scallops and I throughly enjoyed the sliced duck breast ((menu)

Monday we had a fabulous time at Circa 1886

The chef prepared an out of this world Valentine's Day menu

Yesterday we pub crawled most of the afternoon and ended up at Tbonz on Market

[DameD]

Aaaah the last 3 places i have eaten out at most has actually been take out .. so here goes

Sushi king on the drive.. for 18 peices and miso soup a definite steal

Sophies for breakfast for waffles, whip cream and berries (I do this a couple times a week, so if you see a pregnant woman with a 2 year old at the counter that is me, I don't even have to tell them my order anymore they have it ready !)

Won More on Denman, my favorite Sechuan restaurant in town, We got take out which was mu shu pork, dry ginger garlic beef, chilli chicken and peanuts and fried mixed noodles with veggies and a black bean sauce. Oh so tasty esp, for breakky the next day!

Oh and also Ikea for their crazy $1 breakfasts and the mexican restaurant yesterday at Granville Isl for a burrito. tried going to Go FIsh but they were closed waiting for fresh fish (always a good sign!)

Edited February 17, 2005 by DameD (log)

[PaoPao]

Ikea's breakfast and dinner specials are crazy. We did some furniture shopping Tuesday and had dinner there. Pasta with Marinara and meatballs for $1.99! Total bill for both of us with 2 Dinners, extra veggies and Potato Latke's, and drinks was about $8.00 .

I felt like I was stealing or something ...... and the food was decent too.

[Ling]

3 days, 3 fantastic meals:

Tuesday night, Bistro Sakana: since this was actually my 2nd dinner of the day, we didn't order very much. We ordered some rolls, a seared blue fin tuna dish that came with a ginger dressing, and--my favourite dish of the evening--hamachi belly with blood oranges! The hamachi belly was incredibly buttery, and the blood oranges were sweet/tart--a really nice match.

Wednesday lunch, Adesso Bistro: I wrote about this lunch in the Adesso thread. We had the aracini, arugula salad with candied pecans and gorgonzola, crispy calamari and prawns, butternut squash pizza, and the red wine risotto. Everything was delicious (especially the red wine risotto!)

Thursday lunch, Ajisai: I just came back from an incredible, leisurely two and a half hour lunch with montrachet. He is a friend of the chef, so I was totally spoiled by a series of remarkably fresh, sweet-tasting fish. My favourites were a mountain potato and unagi dish (the mountain potato was raw, crisp, and sticky), the miso black cod, and the freshest ika, uni, and geoduck (killed while we waited!) I'd ever tasted. I also very much enjoyed the hamachi belly (I think this is fast becoming one of my favourite sashimi) and the flounder fin. The Japanese saba was also very fresh (I believe this was Mike's favourite today). The ika and the scallop nigiri were lightly dusted with yuzu zest (a gift for the chef from Japan). I wish more Japanese restaurants had access to yuzu, because it imparted a really different flavour to the seafood. What an absolute treat; thanks Mike!

Edited February 17, 2005 by Ling (log)

[Mooshmouse]

Now that I'm finally vertical after spending days battling a cough, I can post my recent dining adventures on this thread.

Dinner with a girlfriend at Pair Bistro last Thursday evening. My first time there... what a wonderfully relaxed room. Very comfortable, neighbourhood feel, decorated with First Nations artifacts. Warm, attentive service. As Pair doesn't take reservations, we arrived at 6:30 and were only the second table seated; however, the restaurant was packed by 8:00 p.m. Started with a Portini, made with blackberry port. Absolutely delicious... I could've easily had these with the rest of the meal! Appetizer was the Okanagan Wild Boar Proscuitto served with wild rice risotto, sun-dried cranberries, watercress (or were they pea shoots) and cabernet franc fig molasses. Unexpected and pretty presentation: they were plated like spring rolls, using the prosciutto as a wrap for the cranberries and wild rice. Great flavour on the wild boar, not too heavily smoked. Main course was the Pinot Noir Braised Spring Lamb Shank with sauteed wild BC foraged mushrooms, and a side of bannock bread. Lamb was falling-off-the-bone tender. Sauce nicely enhanced rather than overpowered the flavour of the lamb. Side order of bannock bread topped with grated mozzarella was heavenly... slightly sweet, not greasy at all. My least favourite of the three courses was dessert -- a Two-layer Chocolate Pave with sour cherry compote -- but only because I'm not a big milk chocolate fan. Texturewise, it was great, and the sour cherry compote was done well. However, the star menu item of the evening was the Cinnamon Sugar Yam Fries. Dear God. Cut into shoestrings, perfectly crisped on the outside with just a hint of softness inside. Unbelievably good. Stuck with BC wines for pairings: a glass of Kettle Valley Brakemans Pinot Noir/Merlot with my appetizer, and the Tinhorn Creek Cabernet Franc with the main course. A fabulous evening overall and I'll definitely be heading back for another meal soon... those yam fries are calling my name.

Light Saturday brunch at Pane From Heaven. Waffles with sliced kiwi fruit and strawberries, served with raspberry and mango (?) coulis and a dollop of pastry cream. Absolutely delicious, and an amazing deal at $4.95!

A nostalgic dinner last night with Mr. and Junior Mouse at a White Spot drive-in. We remembered how much we enjoyed doing this as kids and thought it was high time that we brought number one son for his first drive-in experience. Huge fun! Zucchini sticks and clam chowder for me, chicken strips and caesar salad for dear husband, and a fish and chips Pirate Pak for our little guy (complete with gold chocolate coin, of course). Blueberry shakes all around, some of the best in town. As a sentimental aside, the last time we'd done this was about three weeks after Noah was born. It was an August evening, and we had tucked our sleeping infant into his car seat for a drive. We sat at the West Broadway White Spot and had cheesecake and blueberry shakes, sunroof open underneath a starry sky, while our newborn son slept peacefully in the warm summer night air. Wow, how time flies when you're having fun.

[canucklehead]

Holy cow - you should be writing white spot's commercials. All kidding aside - what beautiful little moment. I thought that I was going to cry.

[Mooshmouse]

Thanks! I shamelessly wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to my husband and son.

[Vancouver Lee]

Thanks!  I shamelessly wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to my husband and son. 

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You go, girl! This proud Dad feels the same way.

(about my wife and son, however...)

[Andrew Morrison]

Aw...I've got an empathy I.V. drip going on here

My boy Jack (just turned 3) and I always sneak out to the Spot when Mom's out of town for shakes, pirate paks and as many gold coins as we can con out of the staff.

Loads of fun, but seriously...their colouring placemats suck. Only 3 crayons, too.

Though I'm a glutton of some portly note ( ) I can't get through their fries. They are like sunbaked sawdust after a spring shower.

Luckily when you're only 3 it's more about the atmosphere and the company of Dad.

[dodger]

I remember their deep fried mushrooms with ranch dip as a fave starter......only had a few as my Mom would always scarf 'em fast.....didn't matter tho'...has to save room for the gold coins!!!

John

P.S.....I still have a vinegar shaker from about 1976....I guess it didn't make it back on to the tray from the back of the '69 Super Beetle ...I was in the 'WAY' back....

JB