Awesome Craftbeer Dinner and Building Up of Disappointments...

Craftbeer Dinner @ Blue Canoe Restaurant Thursday Oct 24, 2012. 

Last Thursday at the Blue Canoe, they had a limited seating Craft Beer dinner event. Will and I were lucky enough to join them for a wonderful gastronomic experience! There was more than enough food and beer to go around and we certainly left stuffed.

Caramelized pear on a grilled brioche with rocquefort blue cheese and walnuts was the amuse bouche that started the night off.  It was paired with the Common's Brewery Urban Farmhand Ale. This bite size serving packed a lot of flavour. It set the par for what is to be expected for the rest of the night. 

Pumpkin seed crusted scallop on roast squash risotto with orange thyme cream sauce was such a comforting dish on a cold rainy night. It hit the spot! The creaminess with the hint of orange was well complimented with the 8 Wired Company's Saison Sauvon.

Mussels pot steamed in shallots, apples, grape tomatoes, and green curry sauce with crusty house bread served with Alameda Brewing Company's Klickitat Pale Ale was the second course. With all the food consumption and beer, my stomach was nearing full at this point. Despite the filling stomach, I consumed this yummy dish of plump juicy mussels. You can never go wrong with their mussels, no matter how they choose to cook it or what sauce they use, it always comes out spectacular!

Thank goodness they gave us a little bit of a break before the food continued to come out! They must have seen the comatose looks on everyone's faces.The third course was short rib that was slow braised served with baby carrots, local yellow german mash, roasted cipollinni and bacon au jus with 8 Wired Brewing's Hopwired IPA. The meat was a good sized portion that was juicy and tender. I love it when you can eat a piece of meat without using a knife! The vegetables were well prepared, I've never had roasted cipollini before, but it kind of had the same consistency of roasted garlic, flavourful but not too strong and overpowering like garlic.

Dessert was rum, coffee and chocolate mousse cake with vanilla bean cream paired with Evil Twin Brewery's Soft DK Imperial Stout. Rich with chocolate flavour, this dessert was indeed decadent.. However, I had no more space for it so I had to pack it up to go after one bite.

Dinner came to an end with the Pont L'eveque Cheese with Skull Splitter's Strong Ale. I some how found space for this small piece of creamy cheese. It came with sweetest concord grapes. What a fabulous way to end off a night of good eats. I can't wait till have they have another one of these special dinner series. The next one is supposed to be a wine dinner, you can bet that we'll be there!

Notturno Paninoteco (280 Carrall Street)

On our 4th visit to this restaurant, we were finally successful and finally got our chance to eat here. However, there's not a lot to report on this particularly small joint.

This is the Anatra Bruschetta, unlike the kind you would regular see that is topped with tomatoes, this had duck prosciutto. 

We also had the charcuterie, it came with brie, blue cheese and pecorino and as for the meats, i twas sopressata, Italian salami, capicollo and prosciutto.All in all, it wasn't anything that we have never had before. It was a disappointing and very underwhelming.The food and wine seemed some what authentically Italian. The service was sub par. We were ready to spend money, but I guess they just didn't want it. we had two things, waited for more serviced but in the end left hungry searching for more food. Will we come back here for a second try? Most likely not - those positive reviews I've read on other the web clearly don't make up for their lack of attentive service.

Another Guud Weekend!

Friday @ The Alibi Room (157 Alexander Street).

If you love craft beers, this is the place to be! They  have over 50 different kinds on tap and their food isn't bad either. The only thing is, don't come in big groups and if you don't have reservations before 7pm. Otherwise, please expect to wait.

We started off with a Frat Bat, that's $11 for a tasting flight of four kinds of beer. On the menu, one side has all the lighter beers, and the other side are the darker ones. We started with the light side first. The second one from the left was our favorite, that's the Ephemere Belgian Apple Beer.

 I had the pork belly sandwich, it came with fries and a jalapeno slaw. I'm not a big fan of coleslaw, but this was a good one! It wasn't the usual stuff with a lot of messy dressing, it had cilantro and obviously spicy from the jalapenos. As for the pork belly, it was crispy and it tasted like it was marinated in balsamic vinegar. Not bad for food that is made to pair with beers.

Ended the night off with another Frat Bat! This time it was the darker beers. The Farmhand was on the hoppy side, the Winterale was heavy as it should, the Milkstout tasted like espresso and the Longboat tasted like chocolate. Who knew beer could taste like dessert?!

We were supposed to go get some meat and cheese afterwards at Notturno, but we were much too full so we saved it for another night.

Saturday @ La Casita (101 West Cordova).

The original plan that night was to go eat at Notturno. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived they were expecting a 16 person party. Seeing that the place is super tiny and there is only standing space. We opted out and figured we'd go back another night. Gastown has so many choices, and we were joined by our friends Russ and Danielle. We tried to eat at L'abbatoir since it was right across the street, but they were sold out (as usual). 

 After perusing the streets of Gastown, we went to La Casita. If you are craving Mexican food, this is where you want to go. I don't think it gets any more authentic than this. The food, the ambiance and the environment reminded us of our vacation in Los Cabos.  Will had the beef fajitas. He played it safe. It came with tortilla, rice, refried beans and all the necessary dressings.

I had the chipotle prawns. This also came with refried beans, rice and tortillas. You could choose your sizes. If you are hungry you can go for the large, but the small was more than enough for myself. The flavours were tangy and spicy, It was hot enough that I felt like I could breathe fire after (but in a good way of course).

Sunday Afternoon @ Food Truck Festival

I read on Twitter that there would be a food truck festival at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown on Sunday. There were 17 food trucks in total. What better way to spend Sunday than try out what the streets have to offer?

I've been dying to try Roaming Dragon. They seem to be pretty popular and seem to get a lot of catering gigs since  they started their business. I ordered the Messy Duck Sandwich. Essentially, it was pulled duck meat on a brioche bun topped with some pickled cabbage. It reminds me of a banh mi due to the Vietnamese flare. Did I like what I ate? It wasn't bad, but to me, it didn't meet the hype.

 Will ventured off to get some food from Street Meet. The first thing we tried was the Risotto Balls. they were a little bit on the salty side and whatever dressing they used, may be they should have stuck with marinara sauce....

The Crispy Pork Belly was the best thing we had!! It far exceeded our expectations and it was so delicious. Despite being covered in sauce, the pork remained crispy. It also came with some home made potato chips. Those were quite delightful as well and we'll definitely eat from Street Meet again! 

We also had some meat in a cup from JJ's Trucketeria. They weren't the most amazing food ever, but it does hit the spot (stomach and wallet wise). Can't really go wrong with something that is $3/cup.

Sunday Night @ Kitanoya Guu in Gastown.

Third attempt at Notturno was a fail!! Third time isn't always a charm. We were so disappointed to drive all the way out there only to discover they were closed for the night!! Their stupid website said they're open on Sundays from 5pm till late. That was not true, we were there at 8! So once again, we had to walk around and decide where to eat. 

We stumbled across this place called House Guest. From the outside, it looked pretty interesting, but when we got inside, it looks as if it was a place where vampires gather. Browsing through the menu, it wasn't really going to hit the spot either so on to the next. Guu is always a safe spot.

I wasn't too hungry so I let Will take the reins on the food ordering. Of course he has to order Takowasabi....(baby octopus in wasabi sauce).

And more baby octopus followed, this time they were deep fried. This, I will eat with a splash of lemon  and a bit of Japanese mayo.

Crab and shrimp croquette was on their fresh sheet. This was pretty good with a creamy texture, think crap and shrimp cakes, just Japanese style.

The Daikon Seaweed salad was my favorite dish of the night. The daikon was nice and crisp. The dressing was a black sesame vinaigrette. All together, the ingredients were a good combination.

We also had the enoki mushrooms wrapped scallop and kimchi udon. Since we were busy eating, we forgot to take pictures of those. Will finished his dinner with deep fried bananas and coconut ice cream, another pictureless dish...

Lots of eating this weekend.. the next event will be Thursday, we'll be going to Blue Canoe's Craftbeer dinner! So excited!

Fall Arrives... So Does the Rain!

Friday night was not our regular date night, rather it was time to collect on my winnings for succeeding the bike challenge. It was a night full of food and drinks with good friends. We dined at Calabash (428 Carrall St) in Gastown. This tiny restaurant has quite the happening vibe and it was packed!! I guess everyone wanted to get their Carribean cuisine fix and to get their jerk on!

My friends Mike and Karen have been telling us about this drink called Dark and Stormy. After all the rage, we got to try it out. Ingredients included rum, ginger beer, bitters topped with coconut shavings. You can barely taste the alcohol, and it has a nice warming feeling from the ginger when it goes down. A bit on the spicy side, reminds me of a Moscow Mule (but that's made with vodka).

Poutine was up next, not the regular type of poutine with the cheese curds, it was spicy and topped with brie cheese! I liked that the amount of gravy wasn't too much. I don't like it when it's super soupy and my fries are swimming in it. The fact that it was topped with brie made it very different and tasty. Spicy and things with creamy textures go well together!

For the main course, we had the jerk duck confit served with rice and veggies. Since its not the French style duck, it wasn't salty, rather it was spicy. The meat was so juicy and tender, it fell right off the bones. I eat a lot of duck, I'd have to say this has been of the best duck I've ever eaten! We also ordered a tart made with duck, ackee and goat cheese, however, due to hunger we devoured that before we had a chance to take a picture. Overall, the Caribbean experience was spectacular, I look forward to coming back.

Gudrun.

When the season gets cold and the rain is upon us, one of my favourite places to go is Gudrun (3500 Moncton St). Nestled in the small town of Steveston, you can find a large variety of wines and beers to sip on while noshing on some spectacular meats and cheeses. The variety is always changing, just check on their chalkboard.

We love getting the charcuterie! The best thing about this place is their selection. Most often, you can get meats and cheeses you've never had before. Unless you go too often and the board hasn't changed yet. Tonight was one of those night where everything on the plate was new to us.

We ordered the Cheese and Charcuterie B, it comes with two kinds of cheese and three kinds of meat accompanied with some fruits, nuts and condiments. In the bottom of the picture, those slices are Red Leiceister, a type of cheese from England. The taste reminds me of cheddar, but the texture is hard like cave aged gruyere. To the right of the Red Leiceister, there was a blob of homemade grape jam and to the right of that is the Gaulas. Gaulas is a creamy type of cheese, if you like brie, you will like this one, it has the same type of texture. The creaminess of the Gaulas is wonderful, so suiting and comforting for a rainy day. Moving counter clockwise, the first type of meat is the Finochionna, this to me tasted like cervelat or prosciutto but less fatty and less salty. The meat at the very top of the plate was called Lardo. This is by far the best type of meat I've had while eating charcuterie. I don't know how to explain the taste but its absolutely wonderful!! It paired so well with the Gaulas and a slice of apple! The last meat was the Szegedi, this one reminded me chorizo, however, it's more thinly sliced and less spicy. Szegedi paired well with the grape jam.

Gudrun is another one of my favorite restaurants in Steveston. If we're not at the Blue Canoe, the next place to find us would be here =)

Good Food = Good Life at Kiriri

This year my parents are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. I had a tough time figuring out what to do for them this year. Normally, I would send them off for the weekend up to Whistler or the Island, but my mom didn't want to travel far. That was understandable seeing they had just returned home from Hawaii. I remembered how much Will and I enjoyed the Omakase at Kiriri. So why not send them there for a good dinner? I had to go in and pay for their dinner and seeing that we're going to be there, we might as well eat!! This time we had the a la carte. 

We started off with the Ankimo (monk fish liver). It has the texture of patte, if you are a texture kind of person, this might not be the dish for you. It's served on ponzu sauce, pickled cucumbers and grated daikon on the side. These elements help bring out the flavour.     

The red tuna tower was next. Rice, mangoes, avocados, tuna, masago, and tobiko were stacked neatly on top of each other. The tuna was really fresh, and the taste was pretty good. I felt that the mangoes kind of over powered the tuna though. Overall it was a good combination.

I LOVE Black Cod. I swear, it is the butter of the ocean. It is so extremely tender, soft and flaky. The best thing about it is how smoothly it goes down. It's so very delicious and it must be one of my favourite dishes of all time. The crunchiness of the skin is excellent as well. I have nothing bad to say about this. If you haven't had this, try it. It's SO GOOD!

Aji was on the fresh board tonight. I also like to call it "invisible fish" because at some restaurants, they cut it so thin you could barely see it on the plate. It's amazing. I try to order it whenever I can. I love the taste of it with the green onion, ginger and ponzu sauce. However, this place takes presentation to a whole new level. Our Aji was served in an ice bowl in the shape of what reminded me of a dinosaur egg. For $20 for the whole fish, the presentation definitely made it worth it.

Most of the Aji meat is served sashimi style, and the whole entire bone of the fish is deep fried after. I'm pretty sure there's no way in making bones look presentable, nevertheless, the taste didn't have to sacrifice despite the appearance. The pieces broke off easily and it tasted so good with a dash of lemon juice.

I also ordered the Spider roll (soft shell crab) and Will ordered a Natto roll. Since dinner was just too delicious we forgot to take a picture again when it first arrived. In this picture, most of the Natto is gone, but you can see the Spider roll. Natto is fermented beans or something, it has this sticky texture to it and it smells kind of funny. The roll had wasabi inside too, it over powered the stinkiness I was anticipating. As for the spider roll, you can see it's not wrapped in the regular nori (seaweed), rather it was wrapped in a soy paper. The soy paper allows you to taste more of the crab unlike its regular nori counterpart.

Will needed a carb dish to fill him up. We had the choices of donburis (rice) or noodles. We went with the Age-Udon. This is tempura fried udon with seafood soup served on the side. When you pour the soup over it and eat it, it's an explosion of flavour and texture. You can taste the crunchy part of the tempura along with the chewiness of the noodles. We never had this type of udon before, but I would definitely eat it again. I have a few favourite Japanese spots in Richmond, but this is probably now my No.1 place!

***Side note, if you do plan on eating there, don't expect a cheap dinner. The prices are a bit steep. I'm pretty sure there is no sashimi for last than $10/4 pieces.But keep in mind, dinner will be spectacular and you will truly be amazed!

Le Regalade & More Cycling Adventures!

Friday night we made our way to North Vancouver because we needed to pay MEC a visit. Being out that way, it only made sense to have dinner on that side of the bridge. A friend of mine suggested that we should give Le Regalade (2232 Marine Drive) a try. Boy, are we glad we did! 

When you get seated, they give you a drink menu. The actual food menu is written on a chalk board, and they bring it right to you! Their menu is constantly changing, which also means only fresh ingredients are used!

If there is Foie Gras on the menu, you know we are going to get it. Need to get our fix! I don't think we had monthly foie gras in September! It came with a side salad. The greens were nothing out of the ordinary but I appreciated the serving of vegetables.

The foie gras itself was served on top of grilled pears and a piece of toast. Taste wise, it wasn't anything extraordinary. It could have been better if it was a bit hotter, the temperature of it was more on the cold side.

We were really excited for our mains to come. When we were first seated, we looked at the table next to us and the serving looked quite large. Will is a greedy guy so he was definitely looking forward to his Prime Rib! Just as we thought, his big piece of meat with potatoes wedges came on a giant griddle. The portion was enough to feed two! Presentation wise, it didn't look like the regular prime ribs you would receive at other restaurants. Rarely do we ever seen food get served on a griddle, unless you are at Denny's, but  the taste was really good. The meat was tender and extremely juicy and the potatoes were well seasoned.

The portion of my duck was equally large. In total, there were three pieces, it almost seemed as if I was served half a duck! The taste was just right, I hate it when they make it too salty. As complimentary sides there were sauteed fruits (yes, you read right, not veggies) and potato gratin. The serving of potatoes helped make the meal more filling. Neither of us actually finished our meals, we both had to pack about half of the portion home.

Luckily, the sun has chose to extend its' stay with us during the long weekend! What better way to enjoy it and to work for our turkey calories than a bike ride? We parked some where in Kitsilano, made our way over the Burrard Bridge and did the Stanley Park loop twice. I  must say that hill leading up to Prospect Point is quite dreadful, but the speed coming down the hill is quite exhilarating.  We didn't do the seawall, there's just too much traffic and it's just not meant for road bikes.

We also stopped at a cyclist friendly cafe. It's a pretty cool! You can bring your bike in while you enjoy some refreshments. Lots of cyclist came in fully geared up, so we felt like we fit right in. They have lots of little snacks that are on the healthy side for you to fuel up for your ride. We were hungry, so we had a sandwich (turkey, apple and brie on ciabatta). It was the perfect snack!

On that note, hope everyone had a good thanksgiving weekend! I'm sure all of you have a lot to be thankful for. Let's be thankful for this sunshine and lets hope it stays...

Sales and Baru Latino

A dear coworker of mine shared with me some good news the other day. There's a sale!! Not just any sale, it was a sale over at West Point Cycles. What a perfect way to feed my new hobby even more!! It was a one day only thing, and it was from 6pm-9pm. We headed over there after work, expecting there to be a huge line up. 

When we arrived there, we were the first ones there and early. Regardless, the rep still let us start shopping and what good deals I scored!!! I bought two new Gore Bike Wear jerseys and a pair of knee warmers for under $140!! For those who know the sport, Gore does not come cheap, I left feeling like I got the best deal of my life! They had Shimano cycling shoes for $50/pair! Even though those were a steal, I don't need two pairs so I had to put them down... the thought did cross my mind!

Prior coming down to the store, I googled what restaurants were around. We decided to give Baru Latino (2535 Alma) a try. Most of the time when I think Latin, the only things I could think of are tacos. But after browsing through their menu. I figured it would be worth a try. I started the dinner off with a Sangria, it goes good with everything. The only suggestion I would have to make this even better is to add a bit more fruits. The flavour was great, but more fruits would have helped the presentation.  

The first tapas to arrive was the Baru Ceviche. This was made with shrimp and halibut, with fresh lemon juice, avocado, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. It came with some sort of plantain fritata that was crispy, that along with some of the ceviche on top was fabulous. This dish was a good combination of texture and taste. You can taste the freshness of the ingredients. Freshness is important when it comes to ceviche. No one wants to eat bad fish.

Up next was the Baru Tacos (3 spicy halibut tacos with a mango chipotle salsa). Seems like everyone lately likes to put mango with their fish tacos. 

I don't blame them, the sweetness of mangoes compliments spicy flavours very well. I enjoy the crispy texture of the fish with the freshness of the salsa. I'm not a big fan of cilantro either, but in this combination, it worked very well.

The last dish we had was the Chuletillas de Cordero, which is essentially Australian lamb chops served with mashed potatoes, guava mojo and caramelized onions. As mentioned before, mine and Will's view on lamb are on different spectrum. He loves it and I could do without it. But I have to let him pick something that he likes to so that is what we ended with. The jus was savoury yet sweet, it masked the gamey taste of the lamb very well. The meat was very tender and it fell off the bones quite easily. Presentation was great, I like that when they come french tipped, it makes it more visually pleasing and easier to eat. The mashed potatoes were a bit too soft for me, nonetheless, you can't really screw up mashed potatoes. Overall, the meal was pretty good, it gave me a new view on Latin cuisine, I can definitely come back again.

What's Not Meant To Be and The Tomahawk

It seems like most Sunday's we go out and do something bike related. We woke up early this morning and brought Will's bike into Cove Bikes for a tune up. Prior heading out, we have been talking about Dr. Fine, he's this bike that I fell in love with the last time we there. I know I already have a road bike, but a hybrid would be nice, so I can go on trails. He would have been perfect for it. So light and so fine! But when we we arrived, and after looking through the store, I didn't see him park in his usual spot. He has been sold!! Definitely felt some sadness and that feeling of my heart sinking to my stomach. I hope who ever bought him treats him right, rides him regularly and gives him a good home.. Oh, Dr. Fine!

Being in the area, we went to have a second go at The Tomahawk. Our friends joined us as well, and it was their first time there. Will had the Mixed Grill, that included 9 pieces of bacon, sausages, eggs, cheese, burger patty, hashbrowns and toast. His plate was gigantic! Don't worry, he didn't finish it all, but he did conquer about half his plate. He needed to save space for his pie. 

I had the Yukon, this had 2 eggs, back bacon, served on toast and a bed of hashbrowns. The last time I was there, I saw this kid get a side of hollandaise sauce with the exact same meal. I thought it was a good idea and I did the same thing. The hollandaise helps makes the texture less dry, and obviously it adds flavour. I really enjoy back bacon, way more than I do the regular kind! My portion was pretty big as well, I saved some to be added to the box of leftovers we'd bring home.All of the portions on the menu are pretty large. A lot of the times, I feel that there's a correlation between quantity and quality. When there is more quantity,  often quality is lacking, and when you get a meal that looks small in quantity, the quality is usually better. At Tomahawk, the quality does not suffer even though their plates are of quantity. So go hungry and leave happy. Let me warn you though, go early or there is going to be a wait. There is always a wait!

We had originally plan to ride Stanley Park afterwards, but with the much needed digestion and avoiding the possibility of cramps, that plan fell through. We did end up walking around downtown and visiting some bike shops though. There's always something new to see. Before we knew it, it was getting rather late. We still wanted to get a ride in, so we just headed back in to Steveston.

Our favorite spot never fails us. Seeing that it was dinner time and our previous meal lacked vegetables. We had a few beers and shared the Mediterranean Salad. It had jumbo prawns, greens, onions, cucumber and a bit of feta and goat cheese. It's pretty safe to say that there is nothing bad on their menu, but I am looking forward to the menu change in October.

Fall is upon us! It was not long ago the sun used to set long after 7. But tonight, the sun was definitely down a lot more earlier than we were used to. My first time riding home after sun down. Time to get on those reflective night gear and tail lights.