CinCin

[D90]

I felt that my experience at CinCin made it worthy of a new post. The experience was only comparable to that I had at Bearfoot Bistro almost a month back (Which I yet have to post about).

My friend (Ling) and I both had to work till late on Vday so we decided on going out for dessert at CinCin; she had been raving about their pastry chef for some time. We got there at 10 and were promptly seated at a table, this being my first time at CinCin I didn’t know what to expect but the room was beautiful, very classy, and the lighting was prefect.

The food was phenomenal we ended up having 2 flights of wine, a couple of appetizers, a trio of desert (vday special) and a couple treats from our waiter and I believe the manager.

Our waiter Jamie was friendly and probably one of the most knowledge waiters I have come across, also he was one of four sommelier they had working on the floor at the same time. I would rank last night up there with some of the best service I have ever received, I defiantly will be back for a full dinner and to try some of the treat Jamie told us about; The cooked under a brick chicken breast, a strawberry basil infused soup w/ a white chocolate ice cream and the lemon tarts.

>-Three 2oz (more like3-4oz) BC White Wines. Semillon-Lake Breeze 04, Pinot Blanc-Sandhill 04, and the last one she substituted for the Oyster Bay.

-Three 2oz (more like3-4oz) Italian Red Wines. Chianti-Straccali 02, Rosso Del Veronese-Masi "Campofiorin" 01, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Casa Girelli-Canaletto 01. My favourite was the Campofiorni.

-I found the bread too hard, then was educated that good bread should have a very thick crust. I still prefer a little less of a crust and a softer bread.

-Cappesatee Bottarga: Carpaccio of Scallops, Endive, Apple, Lemon-Chive Citronette w/ mullet Caviar. I loved this dish so light and clean tasting, the apples were a great touch I cant wait to try making this at home.

-Vitello Tonnato: Thin slices of rotisserie fried and chilled Veal with a creamy Tuna sauce, Capers and Anchovies. Another awesome choice, especially the tuna in a sauce it worked great. I would have preferred it without the anchovies but that’s just my personal preference.

-One of the items that we were both surprised with; Two slices of Rare seared Ahi Tuna with a balsamic vinegar and soya sauce aioli. A prefect match that had me dragging the tuna back and forth across the plate to get every last drop of the aioli.

-Valentines Trio of Deserts:

*Miniature Tiramisu: The shell was very crisp, buttery and sweet, I wish it was bigger.

*Miniature three chocolate mouse cake encased in Valrona Chocolate: It wasn’t as rich as I expected it to be but it was also my favourite of the three items.

*Pineapple, Apple, and I believe oranges in a coconut sauce in a white chocolate cup. Soo refreshing I wanted to pick it up my like a miso soup bowl and drink it all.

-In house Pistachio Sorbet- A treat from Jamie, this is the first time I try Pistachio ice cream locally that comes close to that I tried while in Lebanon.

Thank you CinCin and Jamie for a wonderful evening.

Edited February 16, 2006 by D90 (log)

[eugene]

^ i dont think its fair that im reading this while eating wendy's chilli with mystery meat....

[BCinBC]

Thanks for the photos, sounds and looks great and like I said in the other thread I'm glad to hear CinCin is still running on all cylinders.

-I found the bread too hard, then was educated that good bread should have a very thick crust.

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Just a note though that I thought this statement might be a bit too general. Good bread does not necessarily have to have a very thick crust.

Plus, your personal preferences still count for something!

[Ling]

^Just to clarify--I didn't tell D90 that good bread should have a thick crust, but that I love a good crust on my bread (as opposed to soft, chewy Wonderbread crusts.)

D90--what am I going to do with all those pictures I Photoshopped, resized, and artistically cropped?!!!

[sanrensho]

The presentation on the pistachio sorbet looks great--simple and elegant. In comparison, the dessert trio looks like an Exxon Valdez spill, although I'm sure it tasted great.

Thanks for the photos!

[BCinBC]

I'm not too sure about the pear fans (or whatever that fruit is), perhaps they could have used smaller slices?? However I agree that the pistachio sorbet itself really looks great, like a ball of marble.

[D90]

^Just to clarify--I didn't tell D90 that good bread should have a thick crust, but that I love a good crust on my bread (as opposed to soft, chewy Wonderbread crusts.) 

D90--what am I going to do with all those pictures I Photoshopped, resized, and artistically cropped?!!!   

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Wow I didn’t mean that chewy you are going from one extreme to another, but wonder bread does have its place for example in stuffing.

As for your artistic photoshoping, maybe I will switch them later.

I enjoyed the presentation of all the dishes, and yes the sorbet was tongue tantalizing and sweet.

Edited February 16, 2006 by D90 (log)

[Ling]

Wow I didn’t mean that chewy you are going from one extreme to another, but wonder bread does have its place for example in stuffing.

As for your artistic photoshoping, maybe I will switch them later.

I enjoyed the presentation of all the dishes, and yes the sorbet was tongue tantalizing and sweet.

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I didn't mean to imply you liked Wonderbread! Oops! heh heh...

...and it was a pistachio gelato. The gelato was a bit too sweet for me, but the fact that Jaime brought out a beautifully garnished dish and gave us both a smaller spoon and a larger spoon each (such attention to detail!) really impressed me.

Both the scallop dish and the tuna were amazing. The scallops are blanched for 30 seconds in a court bouillon before being sliced. The crisp sweetness of the apples and the slight bitterness from the greens really heighten the dish.

The vitello tonnato was as robust as the scallops were delicate. I loved the salty pungency of the anchovies and the tuna aioli against the rosy velvet slices of veal breast.

The tuile that holds the tiramisu was incredibly thin and buttery--the picture does not do it justice. The tiramisu was served with an espresso sauce. It was my favourite of the trio.

The white chocolate cup held a coconut fruit salad, and is served with a papaya mango sauce. I'm not a fan of white chocolate, but the sauce was quite acidic and cut through the sweet creaminess quite well.

The chocolate mousse cake is encased in a Valrhona package, and this was served with a ginger sauce. Inside are layers of dark chocolate sponge, milk chocolate mousse, and white chocolate mousse.

[SushiCat]

Oh it sounds and looks like good fun!

Funny, went there for dine out and the experience left me flat. Didn't feel it warranted a post, but just thought oh Cin Cin is now a Robson eatery as opposed to being a good place for a special meal. I guess I have to chalk that one up to dine-out, or perhaps the young and beautiful ( ) get more attention!

[Junior]

Who is the chef at CinCin and those were great pics. The only thing I have to say is that the picture of the scallops; it looks like there is alot of scallops on the plate. How many scallops were on the plate ?

[Ling]

The chef is Andreas Wechselberger and the Pastry Chef is Thierry Busset.

They were thinly sliced...it was a good deal for $19 though, I think.

And I know you've seen all the pics already, but I do love this one I fixed up and cropped, so please indulge me...

Edited February 17, 2006 by Ling (log)

[sanrensho]

And I know you've seen all the pics already, but I do love this one I fixed up and cropped, so please indulge me...

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Mmm, the tataki looks great. What kind of soy sauce did they use in the aioli? Was there anything else added to the aioli?

[Ling]

^I don't know what kind of soy sauce was used, but I'm going to guess Japanese. It was a balsamic aioli.

[sanrensho]

^I don't know what kind of soy sauce was used, but I'm going to guess Japanese. It was a balsamic aioli. 

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Ah, I see. I parsed through D90's description too quickly. (Doh!) Thanks.

[LordBalthazar]

Oh it sounds and looks like good fun!

Funny, went there for dine out and the experience left me flat.  Didn't feel it warranted a post, but just thought oh Cin Cin is now a Robson eatery as opposed to being a good place for a special meal.  I guess I have to chalk that one up to dine-out, or perhaps the young and beautiful ( ) get more attention!

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Hmmm. When I moved to Vancouver seven years ago, I was living at the extended-stay suites at the Sutton Place Hotel. The concierge highly recommended CinCin. I checked it out and left thoroughly underwhelmed. Several months went by and I decided to check it out again, wondering if, perhaps, I'd visited on an off night. Well, make it two off nights. I had a terrible crab risotto and vowed never to go back. Flashforward to last year when some guests from out of town surprised us by taking us out to, yet again, CinCin. And strike three. Like Cioppino's in Yaletown, its one of those restaurants whose endless "buzz" continues to mystify me.

[Ling]

^I had dinner at CinCin a few years ago--started with the beef carpaccio, followed by the veal cheek pasta, then finished with the tiramisu. The first two dishes were pretty good, but the tiramisu came absolutely soaked in espresso to the point where the biscuits were really mushy. I didn't really enjoy the dessert, but that was, I assume, before Thierry was working there. I thought the dinner was good, but not something I'd go back for anytime soon, with so many other restaurants in the city to try.

I thought the dishes we chose a few nights ago--the scallop carpaccio and the veal--were both excellent...but both dishes are pretty hard to mess up if you're starting with quality ingredients. I hope my next dining experience there lives up to recent memory!

Edited February 18, 2006 by Ling (log)

[eatglobally]

Oh it sounds and looks like good fun!

Funny, went there for dine out and the experience left me flat.  Didn't feel it warranted a post, but just thought oh Cin Cin is now a Robson eatery as opposed to being a good place for a special meal.  I guess I have to chalk that one up to dine-out, or perhaps the young and beautiful ( ) get more attention!

←

Hmmm. When I moved to Vancouver seven years ago, I was living at the extended-stay suites at the Sutton Place Hotel. The concierge highly recommended CinCin. I checked it out and left thoroughly underwhelmed. Several months went by and I decided to check it out again, wondering if, perhaps, I'd visited on an off night. Well, make it two off nights. I had a terrible crab risotto and vowed never to go back. Flashforward to last year when some guests from out of town surprised us by taking us out to, yet again, CinCin. And strike three. Like Cioppino's in Yaletown, its one of those restaurants whose endless "buzz" continues to mystify me.

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Well said; I've been underwelmed by this restaurant on my four visits both solo and with small groups of wine friends. The wines are great but food is nothing to write about. I'll also add that the same goes for Blue Water which is way overpriced for the food quality. West on the other hand is the best of the Top Table restaurants.

Ralph

Edited February 18, 2006 by eatglobally (log)

[McTee]

My last two experiences at CinCin were like night and day, foodwise. I went for Dine Out in 2005 and had a pasta with braised rabbit that was so basic it was boring. I went again this year on the night before Dine Out started and had the regular menu which was very, very good.

I think that the idea to expand DOV to include the $35 option was not a good one, given that the higher end restaurants need to adjust their menus too much in order to make it viable.

[LordBalthazar]

Okay, admittedly I've never never been a big fan of CinCin. My previous visits have been disappointment and I had, for all intents and purposes, written this restaurant off. Until, that is, I heard they were offering a special "wild mushroom" menu for the month of November. Well, fourth times the charm, right? As matter of fact...

I'll give credit where credit is due. My wife and I had a wonderful meal. Instead of ordering the mushroom festival tasting menu, as I had originally planned, I decided to go off-book by ordering a variety of dishes and share plates (several wild mushroom "accompaniments" among them). We had the Taglierini Al'Astice (thin, almost fettucine-like pasta in a delicious, only slightly spicy chili-garlic-olive sauce, served with roasted lobster), and the Garganelli al Vitello (a delicious penne-like pasta in a delicate cream-based sauce with shitake mushrooms and oh-so-tender veal cheeks). The mushrooms selection was wide and varied (some 15 or so choices if I remember correctly) and they could be prepared either in a dish or served solo. We went with the cauliflower fungus, blue chanterelles, and the velvet piopinni (sic?) - each cooked with a little butter, olive oil, garlic, and parsley. Heavenly! My wife adored the velvet piopinni (sic?). My favorite was the blue chanterelles - slightly crispy, incredibly flavorful, they reminded me of the times my father would pick "shaggy manes" and fry them up for us. They were so good, in fact, that we ordered seconds of both. Rounding out the meal was the dish of the night, a subtle but thoroughly perfect risotto bianco with shaved white truffle.

As is often the case when it comes to dessert, I couldn't choose - so decided to go with three choices: a classic creme brulee with dark chocolate gelato (terrific on both counts, I was only able to steal two bites before my "I don't feel like dessert" wife polished off the rest), a ten layer chocolate-coffee cake served with walnut gelato (incredibly moist and slightly, wonderfully, boozy), and my favorite: the house tiramisu served in a brandy snap with espresson cream (and, once again, I was reminded of my father and the home made tiramisu he used to make with rich marscapone cheese - CinCin's version was as close to his version as I've ever tasted).

Service was terrific. Overall, a fantastic meal.

Yup, I will go back.