Chi Restaurant

[montrachet]

Mike, I think jackfruit is another name for durian, is that correct? If so, I must try Chi's durian martini! 

←

I'm not sure about jackfruit. Maybe Joie will help us out.

I plan to try all the flavours. Their specialty drink is the Teatini (tea infused vodka or gin is used I think) which I didn't get a chance to try out last night.

Mike

[eatrustic]

No, Jackfruit is from the Breadfruit family. No where near as stinky! Thank god for that.

It does sound like a promising beginning, thanks for the review.

[Ling]

Oh...I really like durian, but as long as the flavour of the jackfruit is similar, I'd still like to give it a try.

[RooStew]

Oh...I really like durian, but as long as the flavour of the jackfruit is similar, I'd still like to give it a try. 

←

I find the flavour of jackfruit a bit of a cross between a banana and a pineapple.

With that lobey, fiberous texture like a mangosteen or durian.

Super delicious when fresh and ripe.

I believe you can get canned and frozen pieces from T&T. Yet they don't even come near fresh.

[Mooshmouse]

Mike, I think jackfruit is another name for durian, is that correct? If so, I must try Chi's durian martini! 

←

I'm not sure about jackfruit. Maybe Joie will help us out.

I plan to try all the flavours. Their specialty drink is the Teatini (tea infused vodka or gin is used I think) which I didn't get a chance to try out last night.

Mike

←

Dear God... a durian martini! Do I have to hold my nose when I drink it?!

Jackfruit, known as nangka in Indonesia or langka/nangka in the Philippines, is quite sweet and rich with a slight musky undertone. Not as musky as durian, certainly... almost like a sexy 'al dente' peach perhaps?! As Roo Stew said, "lobey", but I wouldn't necessarily categorize it as fibrous.

When canned, it's usually packed in quite a sweet syrup, but it's certainly delicious served with vanilla ice cream. Finding an adequate fresh, ripe specimen here in North America is a tall order, so settling for canned is about the best we can get. Most Asian stores sell it... hell, even Save-On-Foods and Superstore have it in their "Asian" foods section.

A taste unlike any other and definitely worth sampling, even if only canned.

Back to Ch'i... I hope nothing but good things for them as it'd be nice to have a great restaurant just down the street from home! Will try to swing by for a meal soon.

[Andrew Morrison]

Going to Chi next week. Excited.

I know Montrachet went on the 5th and had what sounded like a fine evening, but has anyone else anything to report?

Mooshmouse, have you been well enough yet to do a walk-by? It's your hood, if I remember correctly. It sounds really kinda cool.

Their website is what I would call "info-light": no pics, no menus, no wine list, no staff bios...zip, nada, nuh-uh. Anyone know the name of the chef? Shouldn't this stuff be showcased when you're out on Nanaimo Street?

Bleh. I should just call.

Edited February 19, 2005 by editor@waiterblog (log)

[Mooshmouse]

Info-light... ... I'm with you on that one!

Since a good part of last week was a write-off in the health department, I haven't been able to do a walk-by, and it's tough to see anything of Ch'i from just driving past as it's rather set back from the road with a patio surrounding it. However, dear husband and I are thinking about checking this place out on Wednesday evening and I'll be sure to report back if we do. When are you going?

Edited February 20, 2005 by Mooshmouse (log)

[Luciano Loi]

Just read Tim Pawsey's review on Ch'ic in the Courier. Overall it's pretty positive but I have to wonder about a prominent review done just within days of opening. Maybe they had a press opening? In any case we will definately try it with our "30 somethings" daughter and son in law.

[Andrew Morrison]

Their Grand Opening Party is this Friday (I believe it's a press junket sort of thing, complete with fashion show, appy parade, etc.), but they opened a couple weeks ago - ample time for Mr. Pawsey to sneak in.

It sounds like a really interesting place.

Anybody got a quote from the Pawsey article?

[Luciano Loi]

Headline reads " Ch'ic kitchen has some catching up to do"

[Andrew Morrison]

It's Ch'i right? Or has Pawsey's editor let slip a booboo by calling it Ch'ic?

Since a good part of last week was a write-off in the health department, I haven't been able to do a walk-by, and it's tough to see anything of Ch'i from just driving past as it's rather set back from the road with a patio surrounding it. However, dear husband and I are thinking about checking this place out on Wednesday evening and I'll be sure to report back if we do. When are you going?

Sorry Moosh, this Friday for the thing.

Edited February 20, 2005 by editor@waiterblog (log)

[appreciator]

The headline does read "Chi'c....

I think it's just one of those play on word things. Now I was going to post a link to the courier website for their restaurant review but I checked and they have not updated that section since Thursday, August 26, 2004 @ 11:00 AM!!!

Edited February 21, 2005 by appreciator (log)

[jhiroshi]

Since the Courier does not seem to be too quick at posting his reviews online, here's the concluding paragraph from Mr. Pawsey's review:

"On Chi's surface, all is indeed as smooth as the river rock that supports your chopsticks, a stellar room with service that is friendly, dedicated and flawless. But however well intentioned, this neophyte kitchen still needs time to find its tempo."

As people have mentioned above, his visit was just after the soft opening, so they were still most likely working out the kinks.

Sounds very promising. I'm hoping to try it on Tuesday since my student loan finally came through!

James

[Adesso Chef]

Does anyone know who the chef at Chi is, or anything about his/her background??

Ciao

[Andrew Morrison]

I visited a closed Ch'i today (open for dinner only), pressed my face up against the glass and looked at the menu beside the door. Nothing special from the outside but it looks groovy as all hell inside. Now I'm even more curious. Boasts what appears to be a fascinating menu. Interesting list of faux martinis, teatinis (beware the wrath of the martini purists lurking ), and plenty sake and ice wine to boot.

As for the chef, it's a mystery. We had Alex (owner?) visit this thread last month, but have heard nothing since. I'm going this Friday, Travis, so I'll write more about it later that evening.

Info-light website still gets me...

[Keith Talent]

Martini purists don't lurk, we post with abandon to defend the fine name of a cockatil whos' glassware and name have been misappropriated by the forces of evil, or at least the forces responsible for raising the blood alcohol content of young women everywhere (Thanks guys!).

[Andrew Morrison]

I feel the same way about beer.

[Daddy-A]

J & I may be going on Saturday with friends. I'll be sure to take notes.

A.

ps. I'm with you Keith! If it ain't gin, it ain't a martini.

[montrachet]

To tell the truth, I've been 3 times but I wanted someone else to try Ch'i out and post their comments.

I like the drinks, I like the wine selection and I like the food. I know they are still fiddling around with the menu so I don't know what the final version will look like but the items I have had were wonderful. Even the reserve wine list has gone through many changes but it's becoming more and more fine tuned thanks to the creativity of the sommelier Kelly. It covers wines from all corners of the globe.

The ambiance is very nice as well as the music that they play. They had a DJ spinning nice tunes the second time I went and on all three occasions, the room was 2/3 to 3/4 full with a nice "buzz".

Despite the crosstown drive, I think it's worth the trip for a nice and relaxing evening.

I never did see a chef-type person around so I never introduced myself but the hostesses seemed to remember my name in the reservation book.

Waiting to hear from the rest of the eGullett gang!

Mike

[Mooshmouse]

Sampled a few small plates, martinis, cocktails and desserts at Ch'i this evening in the good company of my dear husband, montrachet, Ling and dUbVADER. I'll post a more comprehensive review tomorrow after a good night's sleep to rid myself of hay fever sneezes. Yes Arne, I did take notes!

All in all, it's nice to know that there's a great venue for food and drink just three minutes from home. Kudos to Sean (sp?) the bartender who mixed us some outstanding libations. The Citron and the Jumpin' Jackfruit are more than enough to bring me back... throw in an order or two or three of lotus root chips with sweet chili aioli and I'm set for the evening!

[Daddy-A]

My turn to visit Chi'i last night. J & I were joined by some friends of ours (who happen to live 2.5 blocks away ... crawling distance ). First impressions of the room ... way too cool for the area! Seriously though, I was a little concerned when I saw the cube chairs in the lounge area, but the rest of the room is beautiful. Warm colours, clean lines ... the bar in particular with the oligatory water feature is very inviting. I can imagine sitting there for a couple drinks on a Friday (hint hint hint) or even taking over the large communal table with a large group of eGulleters! Very cool.

We started with a round of cocktails ... Lechee Mojito for me, something fruity for J. The teatinis looked really good. I'm just not a fruity drink kinda guy. The Mojito was excellent, although I never got a chance to have one of the booze-soaked lechees as I forgot abut them and I allowed the glass to be wisked away Wine list looks nice too. I'll leave serious critique to montrachet and Coop, but it's been a long time since I've looked at a list of whites and had a hard time making up my mind. I selected the Ironstone Sypmphony (thanks Mike!) which went really well with all the spices that accompanied the dishes to come.

Starters: Lotus Root Chips, Duck Spring Rolls, Roti. If I had known the Lotus Root Chips came with several of the other dishes I wouldn't have ordered them. Good, reminded me of roasted cauliflower, but not something I'd eat with a beer. Hve to try the Tarrow Fries next time. The Spring Rolls were amazing! Crispy, not too greasy, and full of ducky goodness. Little globules of duck fat mixed in with the bean sprouts made these a very luxurious version of an old favorite. The Roti was great too ... although I didn't like the dipping sauce as much as the rest of our table. Blame it on personal preference.

Small plates: Spicy Eggplant, Wild Atlantic Salmon, Seared Ahi, Grilled Duck, Spice Rubbed Beef, Spicey Beef Carpacio, Monkfish. Sorry for the lack of detail, but I just can't bring myself to taking notes when I'm dining with friends They think I'm odd enough already. The standout (a unanimous decision) was the Carpaccio. One of our friends has a real aversion to anything "raw" (a difficult aversion to handle at Chi'i) but she really enjoyed this dish. Nice heat, and wafer thin slices. I could have ordered at least two more of these. The Monkfish was excellent as well ... the best fish dish of the night. I've recently discovered the joy of fish skin, and the crispy skin here was a treat! I got it all to myself as nobody esle at the table shares my appreciation. I'm just a little curious about the choice of Atlantic salmon. I'm glad it's a wild fish, but it seems a strange choice considering the abundance of superior (IMO) Pacific salmon. The Atlantic salmon was pepper crusted ... nice spice, but I found it a bit dry. I'd like to try this dish with Spring salmon instead.

Desserts: They were out of the Lemon Grass Creme Brulee, so we just ordered one each of the remaining deserts: Coconut Creme Caramel, Deep Fried Banana, Tropical Fruit Salad, Varohna Chocolate Suffle (The Suffle takes 20 minutes to prepare, so plan accordingly). The Creme Caramel and the Fruit Salad were served with Mango Ice Cream. All were very good, but I enjoyed the Creme Caramel the best. Simple but full of flavour. The Fruit Salad was surprising ... something I'd expect to see for lunch at my Grandma's house, not at a place like Chi'i. But it really works. Something I'll enjoy during the summer months I'm sure.

I introduced myself to Alex at the end of the evening. He knows we've been in and been talking about Chi'i. He and the rest of the staff seemed very interested in what we have to say, and certainly seem proud of what they're doing. And they should be. A few minor service glitches need ironing out, but for a new restaurant the service was really top notch. Food & drink? Slam dunk. They know the location is a challenge. For the sake of those of us who don't live as close to Vancouver as our dining tastes would like, I certainly hope they overcome it.

A.

[maxmillan]

I would not go back to this restaurant. The experience was similar to Wild Rice. I felt so ripped-off. If I were to have tapas, Bin is the place.

The beef on the stick was tough and chewy and it was one long thick piece making it difficult to eat. The seasoning was no different than my mom's peasant cooking. My chopstick flew onto the floor while I tried tackling the meat off the stick!

We returned the mussels as it tasted and smelled "fishy". Didn't want to risk getting sick. The grilled sablefish was okay as was the duck in tamarind sauce. Dessert was a deep fried banana wrapped in wonton wrapper with a "nutella" sauce.

My friend liked it enough to return for another meal but the atmosphere is too superficial for my taste. The food is too minimalist and the service is attentive but insincere.

But for anyone who likes Wild Rice, they may like this restaurant.

Edited March 11, 2005 by maxmillan (log)

[Ling]

Ch'i is, imo, a great place for snacks and drinks. I love the jackfruit martini. Heading there tomorrow....

[Foodie in Vancouver]

Just back from dinner at Chi. Overall, excellent. Standouts were the crabcakes, sambal green beans with prawns and the spicy squid. We had numerous dishes but I truly can't remember all that we had - late hour etc. The only off notes were the jasmine rice - soggy and the lemongrass tart which was tasteless and gummy. But the savoury dishes were all very good to excellent. Service was good.

On a really picky note - the Japanese style chopsticks were quite annoying. They are so shiny that they make it difficult to manuever some of the food and they were constantly rolling off the plates.

Wine list is very good - interesting and unique selections, fairly priced. Definitely would go back again - even though it is quite off the beaten path for some of us.

[oanababy]

Only 2 blocks from my friends' place, so had to try it. Surprised to see that such a new place would require reservations for 6 pm on a Saturday, but fortunately there was a cancellation so we got in. Bill for 4 of us, with a bottle of wine and about 10 dishes came to about $120. The Atlantic salmon was pretty terrible, and so was the marinated duck breast, but the roti and spring rolls were very tasty. My favourite has to be the creme caramel, but that's just my sweet tooth talking =) Good wine list.