Wow…this is seriously embarrassing. I have no excuse except that I am a lazy ass! I’ve been totally MIA for the past couple of weeks. Blame it on the holidays, the turkey and all the good food out there! I’m so sorry. I totally started out this project all gung-ho about it and wanting to keep it up. But my laziness got the best of me! But no more! I’m back! And I’ve been eating ;)
I don’t have the endurance to write a full-on review of all the restaurants that I’ve been to in the past while but I’ll just write a short blurb of the notables…cuz honestly, I don’t think I can remember all the places I’ve been lately! But as a new years resolution, I RESOLVE TO KEEP THIS BLOG UPDATED AS BEST I CAN!
Joe Fortes:
I think just about everyone knows about Joe Fortes in Vancouver. It’s been around for as long as I can remember. And there’s a reason that it’s been able to stay afloat in the cutthroat Vancouver scene-it’s really damn good! The selection of seafood is wide-ranging, wish a large selction of fresh fish on the menu. They also have a large oyster bar right in the center of the restaurant with a guy manning the station full time. For the blood-hungry carnivores out there, Joe’s also has some great cuts of meat on the menu. Surf and turf anyone?
The service here is also fantastic. The waiters are all very attentive and they just make you feel like a million bucks. No overly perky, in your face servers…just someone who knows to refill your drinks, put in a few nice words and makes sure you’re happy. And believe me…we were! Defiantly going back for more!
Mauyra:
I’ve been to Mauyra a long time ago when they first open. They were featured on the food network on an episode of opening soon and when you see a restaurant on the food network, you wanna go! I remembered having a great experience there with the most attentive service ever and so I was ready to head back for more.
I love Indian food and Mauyra was good. I mean it’s not a spectacular culinary experience but it was good. It’s the typical Indian food-butter chicken, dahl…etc. But the setting is defiantly very nice. High ceilings and gold detailing defiantly makes you feel like you’re in someplace important. However, our server was defiantly not on her game that night. I mean the service was fine but it was just like any old service. And she even got one of our orders wrong too! She asked if we’d like rice or naan with our meals (which, by the way, you had to pay extra for) and we said sure…naan would be good. And she brings out rice instead! The communication was defiantly a bit messy. But other than that, Mauyra is a nice place. I think it’ll be better in the summer when they open the patio and more light gets into the room. If you’re looking for a run-of-the-mill Indian place, Mauyra will defiantly suffice.
Nan-Chu:
Japanese izakayas are all over the place in this city but Nan-Chu in Richmond had defiantly been getting a lot of good buzz. I’ve been there a few times now and I would have to say the buzz is a bit perplexing to me. I mean yeah the food is good but it’s not anything out of the ordinary. They do have quite a wide selection to choose from and the prices are hard to beat but when it comes to creativity and taste, I think they’re just average.
Provence Mediterranean Grill:
This is the older sister to Provence Marinaside down in Yaletown and they both just ooze that French bistro charm. I went the Provence for brunch with a friend of mine and was waiting to be blown away. Provence has, arguably, one of the best brunches in the city and their French toast is supposedly quite legendary. However, given my own desire to be more health conscious, I skipped on the French toast and went with the granola. I know…it’s hard to give a review on a restaurant based on granola and I don’t pretend to be able to. But the atmosphere of the place is defiantly worth going for. My friend had a veggie omelet and she seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. My oatmeal with quite yummy but at $9 a pop, I think I was kinda taken for a ride. Damn me and my stupid health conscious kick!!!
Glowbal Grill and Satay Bar:
This is probably the most recognized place in Yaletown. Smack dab in the center of it all, Glowbal is the place to see and be seen. You may think that a place like this will just try to squeeze every last penny out of you in quest to be “hip” and “cool” but au contrair! They have a very reasonably price brunch that will keep your stomach and your wallets full. The best part of the meal tho was defiantly the fresh banana bread they give you, along with 3 kinds of spead. So yummy! It’s almost as good as the banana bread I bake!
American Grill at the Marriott Airport Hotel:
This is a place that we sometimes go if we feel like a decent western meal in Richmond. Located at the Marriott hotel on Westminster and Minoru, this place probably gets passed by a lot. But it’s defiantly worth checking out. The dining room is spacious and comfortable and an open kitchen allows you to keep on eye on all the action. The dinner is very good and very reasonably priced while the lunch is also very satisfying. Too bad it’s in a city where people get blindsided by the Asian-ness of it all. But if you want to find a nice quiet retreat from all the chow mien and fried rice, this is defiantly worth checking out.
Mortons Steakhouse:
Mortons is legendary of their steaks. This pricey chain has restaurants all over the world and I’m sure steak lovers everywhere has been to Morton’s. But I never really understood why steakhouses can be so expensive! I mean $50 for a piece of meat????? It’s just meat! And at Morton’s they literally just give you the meat and nothing else. If you want sides, you gotta pay extra. But even if you just want sauce, you gotta pay extra for that too!!! But their service is impeccable. You don’t get a menu perse. The wait staff works as a team and the head waiter will come by your table with a cart of basically the entire menu on a cart. They carefully show you every cut of meat they have (think an entire cow on a table), show you all the other types of food (the salmon and tuna are huge!), explain all the appies and sides and list off everything they have available from memory!! Say that fast 3 times! But before you think you have to have a memory of an elephant to order, they hand you a hard copy of the menu for you to pour over.
Now on to the food. Fine, their steaks are good….really really good…I’m talking tender, succulent pieces of meat. But still. Richard ordered a piece of medium rare porter house (a small portion…at 16oz!) and it was a bit undercooked, while I ordered crab cakes as a main. The crab cakes were crazy! They were literally CRAB cakes! No fillers or anything, just honkin’ chunks of crab. It was pretty good….that is until you hit your 3rd piece and by then, the crab had just gotten to be too much for me. We both weren’t able to finish our dishes but in our defense, we had ordered 2 sides of veggies. But alas, a meal at Morton’s would not be complete without dessert…specifically, the legendary Mortons chocolate lava cake. OMG! This dessert almost made the entire meal worthwhile. It’s a chocolate cake made with Godiva chocolate and it’s crispy on the outside but completely runny and gooey on the inside! Just perfect!
Verdict: maybe skip the pricey cow and go for the dessert.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
La Terrazza
La Terrazza
1088 Cambie Street, Vancouver
You know that place on the corner…right on Pacific and Howe…you know, it’s like right on the edge of Yaletown…yeah you know the one. Well I’ve always seen this place as I make my way onto the Cambie Street Bridge but for some reason, I’ve never been. Maybe I thought the location was bad. Maybe I though it kinda looked gaudy. Nevertheless, it never struck me as a place I’d want to go and to be honest, I’ve never heard much about it. But that began to change recently when I started hearing people talk about this restaurant – a traditional Italian restaurant that isn’t just a pasta bar. The food was supposed to be sensational and the wine list was one of the most comprehensive. I began to grow curious. I mean this place has been in Vancouver for quite awhile now so it must be doing something right. Well luckily, I had the opportunity to go there this week and see for myself what the little rumblings were about.
I went to La Terrazza for a special function, which meant we had a set menu and had a choice for our main course and dessert. Because we have a relatively large group (35ish people) we were seated in one of their 2 private dining rooms. The restaurant is quite stunning, once you step inside. Right when you walk through the doors, you enter into their lounge area with a full service bar. I found it kind of weird that people were actually having dinner in the lounge even though the dining room wasn’t full at all. But I guess that was their choice. Walk around the bar and you can see the dining room, which was beautifully decorated with Italian paintings on the walls and red wood chairs and tables lined with white linen. I headed into our private room, up 2 steps and through a stoned archway and was pleasantly surprised. The room has wines stacked up in shelves on the far wall and was spacious enough to fit at least 6 or 7 tables.
We all mingled with each other and the servers were all very attentive, pouring wine and making sure everyone was comfortable. Before we were told to settle in, 2 plates of appetizers were placed at each table with an assortment of the restaurant’s favorite appies for us to try. But even before we got to dig into that dish of food, our head waiter gave his spheal about our meal that evening. He told us what was on the appetizer plate (there was so much stuff on there but I do remember the duck sausage, the mushrooms, the ratatouille and the tomato and bocconcini…at delicious!), what our choices were for the main and the choices for dessert. As he was reading out our choices, you can hear everyone whispering and discussing what they should get. It was all very exciting and I think they do this simply to stir us up a bit for the food. For my main, I decided on the beef tenderloin and for dessert, I went with their special marscapone cheesecake wrapped in phyllo.
After chowing down on the appies, the servers brought around round 2 of our 5 course meal. We had a mushroom ravioli (they had a fancier name but it was basically ravioli) in a mushroom reduction sauce. Now you know I don’t eat pasta but being in that restaurants just made me throw my diet to the wind and I ate the ravioli. It was good but honestly, I think they can do with more stuffing inside the pasta. I personally found the pasta a bit thick and the filling thin. I mean it was good but probably wasn’t good enuf for me to actually eat pasta. Oh well…
Our next course was just a green salad, which wasn’t anything too special. But then it came. For our main course. I had the beef while my mom went with the duck. Oh boy was I ever happy with this piece of meat! It was made to perfection! I had ordered my steak medium rare and it was cooked exactly to medium rare. The gentleman sitting beside me got his medium well and again, he was so impressed that they actually made it exactly to medium well. The steak was juicy and tender and just plain gorgeous. They duck was really good too and my mom was happy with it. I thought it was good but I was defiantly happy that I ordered the tenderloin!
We all had a latte or cappuccino before our dessert and I was getting kinda full at this point. The portions weren’t huge so it wasn’t like I was stuffed but I guess I didn’t need to eat dessert. But then the dessert came and, again, I threw my diet out the window. This dessert was just heaven! It was a warm piece of cheesecake wrapped in phyllo pastry and I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like it. This dessert is defiantly something you should all try!
The service at this place is top notch and the waiters were all just so nice. They were always there filling our glass with wine and making sure we were okay. They knew how to serve and were very professional. On a side note, the white wine they served that night was a Burrowing Owl Pinot Gris and I think I just found another wine that I can actually enjoy! Very very yummy!
Well I’m sure glad I got to go there and I’ll defiantly be going back again. I guess this is just another lesson not to judge a book by it’s cover, or in this case, it’s frontage on Cambie Street. The little rumblings about this place were all true and hopefully, the rumblings will turn into an earthquake and more people will start checking this place out!
1088 Cambie Street, Vancouver
You know that place on the corner…right on Pacific and Howe…you know, it’s like right on the edge of Yaletown…yeah you know the one. Well I’ve always seen this place as I make my way onto the Cambie Street Bridge but for some reason, I’ve never been. Maybe I thought the location was bad. Maybe I though it kinda looked gaudy. Nevertheless, it never struck me as a place I’d want to go and to be honest, I’ve never heard much about it. But that began to change recently when I started hearing people talk about this restaurant – a traditional Italian restaurant that isn’t just a pasta bar. The food was supposed to be sensational and the wine list was one of the most comprehensive. I began to grow curious. I mean this place has been in Vancouver for quite awhile now so it must be doing something right. Well luckily, I had the opportunity to go there this week and see for myself what the little rumblings were about.
I went to La Terrazza for a special function, which meant we had a set menu and had a choice for our main course and dessert. Because we have a relatively large group (35ish people) we were seated in one of their 2 private dining rooms. The restaurant is quite stunning, once you step inside. Right when you walk through the doors, you enter into their lounge area with a full service bar. I found it kind of weird that people were actually having dinner in the lounge even though the dining room wasn’t full at all. But I guess that was their choice. Walk around the bar and you can see the dining room, which was beautifully decorated with Italian paintings on the walls and red wood chairs and tables lined with white linen. I headed into our private room, up 2 steps and through a stoned archway and was pleasantly surprised. The room has wines stacked up in shelves on the far wall and was spacious enough to fit at least 6 or 7 tables.
We all mingled with each other and the servers were all very attentive, pouring wine and making sure everyone was comfortable. Before we were told to settle in, 2 plates of appetizers were placed at each table with an assortment of the restaurant’s favorite appies for us to try. But even before we got to dig into that dish of food, our head waiter gave his spheal about our meal that evening. He told us what was on the appetizer plate (there was so much stuff on there but I do remember the duck sausage, the mushrooms, the ratatouille and the tomato and bocconcini…at delicious!), what our choices were for the main and the choices for dessert. As he was reading out our choices, you can hear everyone whispering and discussing what they should get. It was all very exciting and I think they do this simply to stir us up a bit for the food. For my main, I decided on the beef tenderloin and for dessert, I went with their special marscapone cheesecake wrapped in phyllo.
After chowing down on the appies, the servers brought around round 2 of our 5 course meal. We had a mushroom ravioli (they had a fancier name but it was basically ravioli) in a mushroom reduction sauce. Now you know I don’t eat pasta but being in that restaurants just made me throw my diet to the wind and I ate the ravioli. It was good but honestly, I think they can do with more stuffing inside the pasta. I personally found the pasta a bit thick and the filling thin. I mean it was good but probably wasn’t good enuf for me to actually eat pasta. Oh well…
Our next course was just a green salad, which wasn’t anything too special. But then it came. For our main course. I had the beef while my mom went with the duck. Oh boy was I ever happy with this piece of meat! It was made to perfection! I had ordered my steak medium rare and it was cooked exactly to medium rare. The gentleman sitting beside me got his medium well and again, he was so impressed that they actually made it exactly to medium well. The steak was juicy and tender and just plain gorgeous. They duck was really good too and my mom was happy with it. I thought it was good but I was defiantly happy that I ordered the tenderloin!
We all had a latte or cappuccino before our dessert and I was getting kinda full at this point. The portions weren’t huge so it wasn’t like I was stuffed but I guess I didn’t need to eat dessert. But then the dessert came and, again, I threw my diet out the window. This dessert was just heaven! It was a warm piece of cheesecake wrapped in phyllo pastry and I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like it. This dessert is defiantly something you should all try!
The service at this place is top notch and the waiters were all just so nice. They were always there filling our glass with wine and making sure we were okay. They knew how to serve and were very professional. On a side note, the white wine they served that night was a Burrowing Owl Pinot Gris and I think I just found another wine that I can actually enjoy! Very very yummy!
Well I’m sure glad I got to go there and I’ll defiantly be going back again. I guess this is just another lesson not to judge a book by it’s cover, or in this case, it’s frontage on Cambie Street. The little rumblings about this place were all true and hopefully, the rumblings will turn into an earthquake and more people will start checking this place out!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Queen's Cafe
Queen’s Café
6091 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Richmond is a mecca for Asian food. Is it really a wonder though? With the huge Asian immigrants, the market (as well as the appetite) is defiantly there. But what is one to do when they are stuck out in the ‘burbs and feeling for some nice downtown style dining?
Queen’s Café is the answer. A contemporary westcoast style restaurant located right in the heart of Richmond, Queen’s is a nice change from all the rice and noodles you get in the area! Suffering from a bad location (right on No. 3 Road beside the Moores clothing store) and a non-descript awning in the front, Queen’s is one of those places you can be easily missed. But defiantly keep your eye open for this place and check it out because it’s well worth it. The space is quite lovely and calm, with clean linens, warm colours and soft music (my mother thought the lights could be dimmer to create an ambience) and the service was attentive. They really made us feel welcome. Yes it could be because of the fact that it was a quite night (we were the only customers until the end of the night when another table came in) but nonetheless, our waiter was great and very pleasant.
The food is solid, thanks to executive chef Brian Leung and the prices are jaw-dropping to say the least. I went there with my mom last week and we both ordered the 4 course meal for $29.99! That’s like the price of an appie at most fine dining places downtown! I started with the lobster bisque and crab cakes while mom has the corn chowder and the shrimp. The soup was a bit on the salty side but still delicious and both the crab cakes and shrimp was heaven! We both ordered the rack of lamb which was done to perfection! She ordered medium well while I got it done medium rare and it was great when we actually got it cooked the way we ordered it! You know how sometimes you say rare and someone else says well and they look just about the same? Yeah…not cool. And the plating and presentation was done with such attention to detail that it almost seemed like a shame to eat the food on the plate. We both ordered the crème brulee for dessert and that again was just fantastic.
In all, Queen’s is defiantly one worth checking out! And go support the non-Asian restaurants in Richmond! They are a dying breed in the area and we want to promote diversity right????
On a side note, if you don’t think you can handle a 4 course meal, well then you are just weak! But you can also chose from a 3 course menu that is only $19.99. Trust me, the 4 course meal fills you up so bring an appetite!
6091 No. 3 Road, Richmond
Richmond is a mecca for Asian food. Is it really a wonder though? With the huge Asian immigrants, the market (as well as the appetite) is defiantly there. But what is one to do when they are stuck out in the ‘burbs and feeling for some nice downtown style dining?
Queen’s Café is the answer. A contemporary westcoast style restaurant located right in the heart of Richmond, Queen’s is a nice change from all the rice and noodles you get in the area! Suffering from a bad location (right on No. 3 Road beside the Moores clothing store) and a non-descript awning in the front, Queen’s is one of those places you can be easily missed. But defiantly keep your eye open for this place and check it out because it’s well worth it. The space is quite lovely and calm, with clean linens, warm colours and soft music (my mother thought the lights could be dimmer to create an ambience) and the service was attentive. They really made us feel welcome. Yes it could be because of the fact that it was a quite night (we were the only customers until the end of the night when another table came in) but nonetheless, our waiter was great and very pleasant.
The food is solid, thanks to executive chef Brian Leung and the prices are jaw-dropping to say the least. I went there with my mom last week and we both ordered the 4 course meal for $29.99! That’s like the price of an appie at most fine dining places downtown! I started with the lobster bisque and crab cakes while mom has the corn chowder and the shrimp. The soup was a bit on the salty side but still delicious and both the crab cakes and shrimp was heaven! We both ordered the rack of lamb which was done to perfection! She ordered medium well while I got it done medium rare and it was great when we actually got it cooked the way we ordered it! You know how sometimes you say rare and someone else says well and they look just about the same? Yeah…not cool. And the plating and presentation was done with such attention to detail that it almost seemed like a shame to eat the food on the plate. We both ordered the crème brulee for dessert and that again was just fantastic.
In all, Queen’s is defiantly one worth checking out! And go support the non-Asian restaurants in Richmond! They are a dying breed in the area and we want to promote diversity right????
On a side note, if you don’t think you can handle a 4 course meal, well then you are just weak! But you can also chose from a 3 course menu that is only $19.99. Trust me, the 4 course meal fills you up so bring an appetite!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Shiru Bay Update!!
Went there again last nite with Viv and Eddy! Yumm-O! Check out the post about Shiru Bay from last week for the update!
Coast Restaurant
Coast Restaurant
1257 Hamilton StreetVancouver, BC V6B5P9
So I’ve been going on and on about the Taste of Yaletown but have I actually been??? Well now the answer is yes! For my first foray in to the Taste of Yaletown menus, I went to Coast and in all, it was a pretty good experience.
To be honest, I was going to go to Goldfish with 5 of my friends for dinner. The plan was for us to go the Yaletown, looking all pretty and stuff, and dine out at a nice restaurant. However, after looking at the set menus offered, the menu at Goldfish just wasn’t up to snuff. So in a mad rush to find a place that can accommodate 6 of us at the last minute, Coast was chosen. But don’t get me wrong, it’s not like this was a “oh-shit-i-can’t-find-anything-better” type of deal. The menu offered for the taste of yaletown was sounded pretty good so we decided to give this place a go!
I did my reso online on OpenTable.com (you all should know how much of a fan I am of this site!) and the day before the reso, the restaurant called to confirm the booking. They told me that I need to be on time since the only hold tables for 15 minutes. It’s always a nice touch for a restaurant to call you to remind you of your booking and I thought the 15 minutes thing was fair. However, on the day of the booking, I was running super late and I was just scrambling to get another one of my friends there on time. Luckily, my non-tardy friends made it but when I got there, they informed me that the server told them that the table was booked for a party after us and that we were on a time limit. Now, Coast is a popular restaurnt but when I got there, it wasn’t like the place was packed! Fine, whatever! We knew what we wanted or order anyways and we got right to it. All of us got the set menu and the funny thing was while we all go the crab and halibut cake for an appie (you don’t make friends with salad!) the boys went with the surf and turf while the girls went with the baja scallops. The boys definatly got the better deal on that one. The surf and turf was quite delicious, with a 5-6 ounce piece of bacon wrapped beef tenderloin and 3 pieces of shrimp. The scallops was kinda disappointing, given that we basically got 5 small pieces of scallops on a bed of risotto. I wouldn’t even call that a scallop dish! It was more a risotto dish with scallops…but I’m not the chef there so whatever! The risotto was also a bit overdone but that’s understandable since they would probably make it in huge batches for the tasting menu. As for desert, instead of giving us 3 choices, the server told us that we’d actually be getting both the chocolate fondue and the german chocolate cake but in smaller sizes! Yay! Less decisions and more food. I quite enjoyed the desert but I did hear some people say that the cake was too sweet. I’m also pretty sure the fondue was made with milk chocolate so that added to the sweet factor.
All in all, Coast is a nice place and we had a good experience. Was it sensational? Not really. And to top it all off, remember how they said we were on a time limit? Well at the end of the meal, they didn’t even ask us to leave, which makes me wonder if they did have a second booking or if they were just trying to clear us out of there quick. Hm…….
1257 Hamilton StreetVancouver, BC V6B5P9
So I’ve been going on and on about the Taste of Yaletown but have I actually been??? Well now the answer is yes! For my first foray in to the Taste of Yaletown menus, I went to Coast and in all, it was a pretty good experience.
To be honest, I was going to go to Goldfish with 5 of my friends for dinner. The plan was for us to go the Yaletown, looking all pretty and stuff, and dine out at a nice restaurant. However, after looking at the set menus offered, the menu at Goldfish just wasn’t up to snuff. So in a mad rush to find a place that can accommodate 6 of us at the last minute, Coast was chosen. But don’t get me wrong, it’s not like this was a “oh-shit-i-can’t-find-anything-better” type of deal. The menu offered for the taste of yaletown was sounded pretty good so we decided to give this place a go!
I did my reso online on OpenTable.com (you all should know how much of a fan I am of this site!) and the day before the reso, the restaurant called to confirm the booking. They told me that I need to be on time since the only hold tables for 15 minutes. It’s always a nice touch for a restaurant to call you to remind you of your booking and I thought the 15 minutes thing was fair. However, on the day of the booking, I was running super late and I was just scrambling to get another one of my friends there on time. Luckily, my non-tardy friends made it but when I got there, they informed me that the server told them that the table was booked for a party after us and that we were on a time limit. Now, Coast is a popular restaurnt but when I got there, it wasn’t like the place was packed! Fine, whatever! We knew what we wanted or order anyways and we got right to it. All of us got the set menu and the funny thing was while we all go the crab and halibut cake for an appie (you don’t make friends with salad!) the boys went with the surf and turf while the girls went with the baja scallops. The boys definatly got the better deal on that one. The surf and turf was quite delicious, with a 5-6 ounce piece of bacon wrapped beef tenderloin and 3 pieces of shrimp. The scallops was kinda disappointing, given that we basically got 5 small pieces of scallops on a bed of risotto. I wouldn’t even call that a scallop dish! It was more a risotto dish with scallops…but I’m not the chef there so whatever! The risotto was also a bit overdone but that’s understandable since they would probably make it in huge batches for the tasting menu. As for desert, instead of giving us 3 choices, the server told us that we’d actually be getting both the chocolate fondue and the german chocolate cake but in smaller sizes! Yay! Less decisions and more food. I quite enjoyed the desert but I did hear some people say that the cake was too sweet. I’m also pretty sure the fondue was made with milk chocolate so that added to the sweet factor.
All in all, Coast is a nice place and we had a good experience. Was it sensational? Not really. And to top it all off, remember how they said we were on a time limit? Well at the end of the meal, they didn’t even ask us to leave, which makes me wonder if they did have a second booking or if they were just trying to clear us out of there quick. Hm…….
Friday, October 12, 2007
Shiru-Bay Chopstick Cafe
When most Vancouverites think of Yaletown, it’s usually one of 2 reactions: “Oh Gawd! Love Yaletown! It’s like so chic and it’s where all the hot and beautiful people hang out now, like, you know!” or “You can cut the pretentiousness with a knife…excuse me Mr. Ferrari, are you trying to advertise you’re going through a mid-life crisis???” But whatever the reaction, you can’t deny that Yaletown boasts some good eating! But the choice of restaurants down there also seems to cater to either crowd 1 or crowd 2. Well fear not! Finally there is a restaurant in Yaletown that will make you feel special without all the Paris Hilton wannabes hanging around.
With the recent growth spurt of izakaya places all over Vancouver, one might overlook this joint. But with an awesome reputation (they have won Best Casual Japanese Dining Silver for the past 2 years in Vancouver Magazine) and amazing food, Shiru-Bay Chopstick Cafe is defiantly a “must eat!” Shiru-Bay is actually part of a chain of restaurants owned by the Uno family back in Japan. This Yaletown location is the first Shiru-Bay outside of Japan and is run by Kodai Uno, the youngest chef in the family. Now I’m sure you all know wut izakaya is about and have been to a few izakaya restaurants. They all have their own take on how izakaya should be done since there really isn’t any formula to it-it’s basically what the chef creates. The really great thing about Shiru-Bay is that while it’s still traditional izakaya, there are defiantly some western influences on the food. Aside from the regular smoked fish and sashimi, there are also crab croquettes and ceviche on the menu. I heard some great things about this place from my friend Peter so I just had to give it a try.
I went there last Thursdaywith Martine and was ready for a great izakaya experience. The restaurant itself looks like any other Japanese restaurant, with wooden furniture and beams, a sashimi bar and dark lighting. We were seating by our super friendly server, who was actually the only non-Japanese person working there. She was east Indian but I’m sure she speaks fluent Japanese and/or studies Japanese history or something! She did sorta stand out but her great attitude more than made up for it. Martine and I didn’t really know what to order or how to even start and our server was really helpful in pointing out our options. They had two set menu available but in the end, we decided to do a la carte.
We ordered about 4 dishes between the 2 of us and we were just stuffed! We had the smoked halibut, which was juicy and delicious and we tried their “famous ebi-chilli mayo” which was a cool take on the traditional tempura. We also had the crab croquette and salmon sashimi. Everything was just delicious...except for the sashimi. Now you all know I don’t eat raw fish but the server insisted that I should try it here because they only use the best. Well I decided to try it and now I can confirm that I don’t like raw fish AT ALL! This is nothing against Shiru-Bay’s sashimi!!! Martine liked it and said it was good but I felt like puking after eating it! *sigh….well I gave it a shot!
Anyways, we were so stuffed after our meal that we actually had to cancel one of our orders! But that didn’t stop us from ordering desert! The deserts here are actually very very good…and when I say very very good, I mean orgasmic! We each ordered 1 desert (screw sharing!) and I ordered the Match cheesecake while Martine got the banana macchiato. They were both sublime! MmmMmmm! But while we were eating our desert, we noticed 2 ladies at the bar eating some sort of gooey grey concoction. There server was literally standing there for 5 minutes mixing the thing. We asked our server what it was they were eating and apparently, it was natto ice-cream. For those of you who don’t know, natto is the Japanese fermented beans. Sounds gross eh? But apparently, it’s mixed with vanilla ice cream and syrup and it’s quite yummy! Very interesting and defiantly worth trying out next time!
So if you’re in the neighborhood and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg in Yaletown for dinner, this is defiantly the place to go! I’m defiantly going back soon so if anyone wants to join me, let me know! But you better be ready for some natto ice-cream! ;)
UPDATE!!!
Well I just went again tonite and tried the natto ice-cream. It was soooo good!!!!!!!!! Don't let the whole "fermented beans" thing scare you off! I'm definately a fan and it's worth a try! The icecream just gets gooey-er and yummier!!! Try it!!! Thanks to Viv and Eddy for coming with me!
As for the food...again top notch! Had the ebi prawns and the smoked cod again but this time, we also go the beef tongue and the shabu shabu. hmmmMMMmmMMMMmm....very good! But the service this time was kinda weird. The servers kept trying to collect our plates even when there was food on the plates! Hello!!! We paid for the food and we want to eat it! but aside from that, it's was just perfection!!!!!! This might be one of my fav restaurants in Vancouver!! But stay tuned! I'm gonna keep my taste buds guessing and asking for more! so who wants to take me out to dinner???? :D
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Metro Dining
Metro Restaurant
2A-200 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC, Canada
You know when we go out to eat, we always want to try everything. And if you’re Chinese, you have absolutely no shame in reaching over and just picking something off your dinner companion’s plate! Hey…sharing is caring right? But at Metro, they make it easy for you. You get to chose how much of each portion you want of each dish and therefore, you can order as many different dishes as your hearts desire!
Metro is brought to you by Brian Fowke and Tim Keller, the same guys who brought Rare onto the scene. The whole concept of Metro is decidedly more Westcoast-from the minimalist and clean décor to the type of food they serve. On their website, they talk about how Metro is all about sustainability and ecology and what steps the restaurant is taking to be environmentally friendly. But these aren’t a bunch of tree huggers..nonono…Metro is also all about being upscale, sophisticated and classy. I guess if you think about it, Metro does embody what Vancouver stands for: classy, sophisticated, a bit snooty, granola munchers! :D And that’s not a bad thing people!
So I went to Metro with my new-to-Vancouver friend, Mike and his sister. Both of them just very recently moved to Vancouver to study (him at VFS and her at Blanche Macdonald). Well I figured that since they are from out east (Ottawa to be exact), I should take them to a place where they can really experience west coast cuisine.
I really liked the décor at Metro. Like I said, it’s minimalist and clean but not too bare. You can tell it’s a new restaurant since the kitchen is still pretty spotless. They have a huge bar and lounge on one end with wood paneling and a big screen TV and the other side is the restaurants. They have these really cool leather bucket chairs which at first glance will make you think that maybe you should have brought your own seating but once you settle in, they’re actually really comfortable. Penny really did like the chairs! While you probably won’t be getting a nice view from the restaurant for the next six months (hell you won’t get a nice view from anywhere in this city for the next 6 months!), you’re actually rite by Canada Place so there is the POTENTIAL for a nice view! :D
There has been a lot of new “west coast cuisine” style restaurants opening up in Vancouver but what makes Metro different is the way that you can order their food! Like I said, they price their items buy the ounce. It’s a really really great concept and it really allows you to get a taste of everything! For example, if you can’t decide between the striploin, tenderloin or the duck breast, you can have all 3! Basically, what you would do is order a small cut of each (say 2-3 ounces of each type of meat) and then you’ll be presented with something like a tasting menu! And the best part is that each of the meat comes with their own garnish so it’s not like you’re just getting the meat-you’re getting the accompaniments too! Think tapas but your own way! Mind you, if you know what you want, you can order that on its’ own too. Just order a larger cut, say 5-6 ounces and you’ll have a full sized main course ready to go.
The three of us started off sharing the smoked duck sausage served on a brioche hoagie round with slow cooked onion corn chutney. It’s kinda like a duck sausage hotdog! The sausage was really good but when meat is in a sausage form, you can really taste the difference I guess. But it was quite yummy and a great way to start the meal. For our main, I chose to go with a full-sized order of the sablefish with oyster mushroom risotto while Penny got bison and the pork tenderloin and his sister go the Dungeness crab and the blade steak. My sablefish was excellent (as sablefish usually is!) but I did get a bit of the fish taste with it. However, the risotto was delicious! It was cooked perfectly and even though I don’t usually eat carbs or rice, this was some good stuff. From what I heard about the other twos main courses, they seemed really happy with it. The pork was a bit dry and giant cous couse that came with the crab was a bit wet but in all, I think the meal was quite a success!
I’m defiantly going back there and trying all the other types of food. And I guess I won’t have to bring an army of people to try everything there!
2A-200 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC, Canada
You know when we go out to eat, we always want to try everything. And if you’re Chinese, you have absolutely no shame in reaching over and just picking something off your dinner companion’s plate! Hey…sharing is caring right? But at Metro, they make it easy for you. You get to chose how much of each portion you want of each dish and therefore, you can order as many different dishes as your hearts desire!
Metro is brought to you by Brian Fowke and Tim Keller, the same guys who brought Rare onto the scene. The whole concept of Metro is decidedly more Westcoast-from the minimalist and clean décor to the type of food they serve. On their website, they talk about how Metro is all about sustainability and ecology and what steps the restaurant is taking to be environmentally friendly. But these aren’t a bunch of tree huggers..nonono…Metro is also all about being upscale, sophisticated and classy. I guess if you think about it, Metro does embody what Vancouver stands for: classy, sophisticated, a bit snooty, granola munchers! :D And that’s not a bad thing people!
So I went to Metro with my new-to-Vancouver friend, Mike and his sister. Both of them just very recently moved to Vancouver to study (him at VFS and her at Blanche Macdonald). Well I figured that since they are from out east (Ottawa to be exact), I should take them to a place where they can really experience west coast cuisine.
I really liked the décor at Metro. Like I said, it’s minimalist and clean but not too bare. You can tell it’s a new restaurant since the kitchen is still pretty spotless. They have a huge bar and lounge on one end with wood paneling and a big screen TV and the other side is the restaurants. They have these really cool leather bucket chairs which at first glance will make you think that maybe you should have brought your own seating but once you settle in, they’re actually really comfortable. Penny really did like the chairs! While you probably won’t be getting a nice view from the restaurant for the next six months (hell you won’t get a nice view from anywhere in this city for the next 6 months!), you’re actually rite by Canada Place so there is the POTENTIAL for a nice view! :D
There has been a lot of new “west coast cuisine” style restaurants opening up in Vancouver but what makes Metro different is the way that you can order their food! Like I said, they price their items buy the ounce. It’s a really really great concept and it really allows you to get a taste of everything! For example, if you can’t decide between the striploin, tenderloin or the duck breast, you can have all 3! Basically, what you would do is order a small cut of each (say 2-3 ounces of each type of meat) and then you’ll be presented with something like a tasting menu! And the best part is that each of the meat comes with their own garnish so it’s not like you’re just getting the meat-you’re getting the accompaniments too! Think tapas but your own way! Mind you, if you know what you want, you can order that on its’ own too. Just order a larger cut, say 5-6 ounces and you’ll have a full sized main course ready to go.
The three of us started off sharing the smoked duck sausage served on a brioche hoagie round with slow cooked onion corn chutney. It’s kinda like a duck sausage hotdog! The sausage was really good but when meat is in a sausage form, you can really taste the difference I guess. But it was quite yummy and a great way to start the meal. For our main, I chose to go with a full-sized order of the sablefish with oyster mushroom risotto while Penny got bison and the pork tenderloin and his sister go the Dungeness crab and the blade steak. My sablefish was excellent (as sablefish usually is!) but I did get a bit of the fish taste with it. However, the risotto was delicious! It was cooked perfectly and even though I don’t usually eat carbs or rice, this was some good stuff. From what I heard about the other twos main courses, they seemed really happy with it. The pork was a bit dry and giant cous couse that came with the crab was a bit wet but in all, I think the meal was quite a success!
I’m defiantly going back there and trying all the other types of food. And I guess I won’t have to bring an army of people to try everything there!
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