Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

After a tasty time with the appetizers at Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen , I had wanted to bring a group back to try just the appetizers and momos. I worked out a 20% off deal for every appetizer and the two types of momos, and 4 plates for 10 people. After tax and 18% tip, it would have come to about $40 per person based on the price quoted. However, our dining group balked at the cost and the event never got off the ground. Last Thursday I did, however, go with one friend to try all the appys. We went with a 1 plate per 2 persons deal from the restaurant, with a special pricing of $40 per person before tax and tip. This turned out to be a mistake. First, it was an overwhelming amount of food. We were stuffed, and had to take the last two plates to go. Second, the kitchen churned out the plates sort-of dim sum style, where everything comes as soon as it's ready. Unfortunately, we weren't keeping up, and some of the items were clearly better hot, such as the Lollypop Chicken. The...

The idea of an authentic Dutch pancake place was intrigued me enough to give this place a try. The pannekoeks are bigger (about the size of a dinner plate), thinner, and a bit more porous than a regular North American pancake, reminiscent of Ethiopian injera . You get stuff on and/or in the pannekoek itself. Other than pannekoeks, there are a few other Dutch things on the menu that might pique your interest, such as Indonesian fried rice ( nasi goreng ), an ethnic food that apparently the Dutch do like very much. Sort of like Brits loving their curries, I suppose. There are also rusks (which our server described to us noobs as a slice of bread that's like a "hard crouton"), and bitter balls (deep fried stew). The idea of the bitter balls intrigued me enough to try it the one time, and it basically is a deep fried ball of salty/savory stew. The outer crust is very thin but crunchy, and the inside is almost liquid. It is served with a bit of mustard for dipping. After...

Ki Modern Japanese & Bar is a part of the larger building/complex that is the Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver , and thus shares space with other posh dining experiences like MARKET by Jean-Georges . From the get-go, then, expectations are set high. It's upstairs from the ground level, and actually encompasses quite a bit of square footage. There the lounge on one side, the restaurant on the other side, and in between in a courtyard that in warmer and less rainy days has seating, and for smokers on colder days there is a long fireplace so you don't have to shiver in the fall rain and snow. Inside the restaurant, decor is clean and beautiful, dimly lit (in some alcoves a bit too dimly lit, such that some of our party had to use their cellphones as flashlights on the menu), lots of reds and blacks. Menus and even the folder for the bill followed a consistent black appearance of various sizes, and that uniformity added to the overall sense of everything being part of a larger ...

Something ticked my nose at Bishop's Restaurant when I went this past Saturday, and I sneezed. Oops. But lo! A server brought a small plate, on which was a round napkin, and on top of that, a fresh packet of Kleenex, with the first tissue partially pulled out for my convenience. I am not kidding. Where else can you find such care, consideration, and the extra special touch of a napkin-on-a-platter? Bishop's is an extraordinary restaurant that's a safe bet if you want superb service. My dining companion for the evening had for the longest time (20 years!) meant to go to Bishop's, but just never got around to it. Well, this past Saturday, she finally went, and I along with her. I'd been there a few times but never really paid much attention to the special note at the bottom of the menu, which states that vegetarian and vegan options are available. Some of the regular menu is vegetarian, like some soups, but if you want a no-meat-meal at Bishop's, you'll ha...

No big foodie outing this weekend, sadly, as I'm saving up to catch up with a bunch of friends parachuting in during the holiday season. I did, however, get out for a casual dinner at Moderne Burger . Dinner was at 6pm, and already the place was pretty full. Shortly after, there was a horde waiting at the counter, though tonight's downpour may have had something to do with it. Things settled down a bit shortly after, but when we left close to 7pm, the diner was still nicely full. The decor is very bright and has a light art deco feel plus a touch of tiki bar with their palm trees. Overall, a very nice change compared to so many restaurants that like to dim the lights so much so that some of my foodie friends have to pull out their cellphones for extra light to read the menu. There's a buzz of conversation that can, occasionally, make you have to lean in closer to your dining companion to make out what they're saying. Moderne Burger's steak patty uses "real ...

I'd been to The Fish Shack not long ago , but went again as part of the Food Bloggers dining group just this past Saturday because I actually did NOT get their regular fish and chips last time. (I know, right? Like, "What?!") Anyway, here's how our outing turned out... New England Clam Chowder in mini sour dough bun ($0 - free amuse-bouche) ( picture ) Oh my gawd this was so tasty. It's got a big spicy kick to it too, but nothing really lingering. It's also the biggest amuse bouche I've ever been given, sized slightly bigger than a tennis ball! Amazing what you get for free nowadays. Fish Bites ($8.50) - with chipotle tartar sauce ( picture ) Mixed fish (not "mystery fish") bits from their fish and chips lineup. Each piece is about or slightly smaller than a tater tot. For $8.50, it's sort of okay (comparing it with the price of everything else in The Fish Shack) since it sort of adds up to a single piece of fish in a fish and chip...

This past weekend's eats took us to the weird little restaurant, Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen on Friday night. If you're not looking for it, you may very well miss it because it doesn't have a storefront per se. Instead, it looks like a house next to a parking lot. At the porch, there are little prayer wheels. Inside, the decor bits are reminiscent of various cultures and curious to see. I had asked for a set menu for our dining group, and basically left it up to the restaurant. They came back with a $27 dinner that was to include 3 types of appetizers, 2 meat dishes, 1 vegetarian dish, 1 "daal type item", a Nepalese style rice pudding for dessert, and chai tea. What we got was still $27, but very different. Somehow there was a communication breakdown and they weren't sure we were coming, and the servers had no clue about the set menu. Eventually things got straightened out, but our meal was mostly appetizers, a thali with our "main course", and a wh...

Somewhere along the way I got hooked on afternoon tea, and I suppose it's only natural I ended up at probably one of the most well-known afternoon tea venues, The Secret Garden . On the Saturday afternoon for our 2:15pm seating, every seat was full. Definitely get a reservation. Ambiance is lacking, sadly, although in part it is because the place was buzzing not just with conversations of the other diners, but also the traffic jam at the counter in the back half of the room. The room is very bright, and decor feels like a too-airy rustic tea house. Not a calming, elegant, tea experience sadly (for that, try Pâtisserie Für Elise ). The items on the tea service change (they have recently switched to a December menu, as well as rolled out a Christmas menu), so the next time you go, what I mention here will probably not be anywhere to be seen. Individual pieces were generally good, and there is evidence of attention and care to presentation, such as with the white bread cream chee...

It is a sister restaurant to Miku  and despite the storefront, actually contains a deep and expansive dining area. Plus there's a bar with two televisions, which allows it to double as a sports bar (well, sort of). According to my friend who drives, it is also much more affordable for drivers, as you can park more cheaply and conveniently along Pacific than around the Guiness Building. The menu idea is the same, however: Aburi sushi (i.e., blowtorched sushi). Professionally all-black dressed servers here, with a mix of males and female. No mini-skirted hotties, if you were hoping for that sort of Yaletown establishment (try Chinois  for eye candy instead). Aburi Carpaccio ($16)  organic 64° egg, asian pear, market greens, lotus root chips, jalapeño-garlic ponzu Mush the egg over the beef. This is an interesting item if you don't separate the items on the plate, but pair each bite. There are interesting flavours here: The jalapeño gives the beef a bit of bite...

After the popular  Cannery  restaurant closed, it essentially resurfaced as (Eddy's) Pink Peppercorn Seafood House  ( pictures ) in a less glamorous neighbourhood, bringing with it favourite menu items such as the Salmon Wellington, and also a touch of pink peppercorn to every plate. If you chance to meet the chef, Eddy, he may tell you the story behind it: It is in memory and honour of his culinary mentor who, sadly, is paralysed on one side. Decor is fishing-boat trappings plus a few almost cheese items, such as a plastic swordfish and a strange boiled-orange half-prawn half-lobster as you walk in, which nevertheless can be a fun photo op. Portions are generous: For example, the Salmon Wellington comes in two huge halves, and could easily weigh in as two whole entrees. Bring a friend and order cautiously, especially if you are interested in having an appetizer or dessert. Plating is rather unimaginative, with many of the fish items being different slabs of fis...

Soirette is a very small store on West Pender, with very few seats (and a couple of outdoor tables) -- their popular "High Tea" can really only seat 8 persons around four tables inside. The counter features very few items, mostly a wide selection of macarons and a few creamy cakes. The macarons themselves have a bit of extra effort to them with the addition of a bit of decoration on top, whereas many places simply just leave them monotone. The various creative uses of macarons in the store displays are also worth a look as well. ( pictures ) In addition to macarons, they also have a selection of interesting teas if your palate is fine enough to appreciate the differences. Not the same huge selection as, for example, at Shaktea or The Urban Tea Merchant , but at least you do get a decent selection to go with the afternoon tea service. The afternoon tea seating is more or less 60 to 90 minutes, which can be very tight if your group is 6+ and you're all distracted...

I hardly ever get out to Steveston so I really didn't know any good places there. Our day trip group was guided by a local and we were ultimately steered to Sockeye City Grill  on the waterfront. For some reason, no one mentioned Pajo's . Heck, even I forgot to look it up. After "just fish and chips" at The Fish Shack the night before, I ended up choosing something other than fish and chips. Dungeness Crab and Tiger Prawn Cannelloni ($19)  fresh pasta filled with dungeness crab. ricotta cheese and spinach, savoury rose sauce. jumbo tiger prawns, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil. parmesan cheese and garlic toast Lots of sauce, not a lot of actual cannelloni. However, the crab flavour came through past the ricotta cheese filling. The "jumbo" part of the tiger prawns seemed to be missing. There was, however, an OK amount of prawn. Pretty tasty sauce. Overall, this was a light lunch and quite tasty and a safe choice to order at this restaurant. Could defi...

The Fish Shack is another restaurant by the Glowbal Collection , who have other lovely restaurants like Black + Blue and Italian Kitchen. It replaces the rather interesting menu of Sanafir with a lineup of fish and chips and shellfish, and I'm actually rather sad about that. Also, with various other classy restaurants to its name, I really struggled with my expectations for The Fish Shack. Would it be jazzed up fish and chips? Is that even possible? Fortunately, I was dining with someone who gently reminded me that fish and chips is fish and chips, and location, ambiance, and decor all have a cost that trickles down to the customer. She also thought the prices quite reasonable/cheap, hence the late 20's / early 30's crowd. Our very light dinner for two including one glass of wine and one non-alcoholic beverage came to $33.99 after tip but before tax. I can't say I really like the decor much. Using pallets for the walls... Hmm... Also, restaurants really, really,...

Chinois was a year old in the final week of the Taste of Yaletown. As it coincided with the weekend before Halloween, they also had Heaven & Hell Halloween night on Saturday, October 27th. The restaurant opened to some buzz last year, although mainly what I heard was a lot of whining about the price. And as some of these tapas plates do come in at the $20-$30 range, that's not unjustified. The room is rather dimly lit, but if you want a bit more light you can sit against the wall on the right side, which has lower-hanging lights. Decor is interesting and how they do the Chinese theme is definitely worth a look. Far in the back is a cocktail lounge (Pierre's) where they completely drop the Chinese theme in favour of a curious classic-artwork-meets-irreverent-additions pieces of art on the wall. You'll understand what I mean when you see it. Servers are all friendly hotties in tight black dresses. Our two servers, Jessica and Rebecca (Becky) were super, super nice...

EDIT (2012-Oct-22) - Corrected various details in the post after hearing from the owner. Gosh, someone actually reads my posts?! O_O  I went to Bistro Sakana last year for the Taste of Yaletown , and was very pleasantly surprised, so well ahead of time I made a reservation for this busy restaurant. Like Miku , they do the "aburi" style box-pressed and blow-torched. Here, they use a stick of charcoal (imported from Japan) to deflect the flame onto the sushi instead of using the direct flame jet, to reduce the chances of the sushi smelling/tasting like fuel. There are three seating areas -- reservations go in the main dining room, walk-ins go to the covered and heated patio, or to the bar. Our party was to dine at 6pm, but two dropped out at the last moment, two no-showed, and two were stuck behind traffic in Surrey after a wine tour. So there was just two of us and we decided to move to the bar. Which doesn't sound so great, unless you like watching the chefs roll a...

Chocolate cake with stinky goat cheese! Yuck! But Heirloom Vegetarian does have inventive fare, if you're not just vegetarian-curious / committed-vegan / gluten-free-mandatory, but also an adventurous diner. It hadn't been open long at where Primo's Mexican Grill used to be when my chicken-permissible-vegetarian friend and I walked in on Friday. (No reservations, but supposedly has a fast turnover; no lineup at 6pm, either, unlike the smaller roomed Acorn ). Inside, it's high ceilings, white walls, vintage farm decor, and noise noise noise from conversation. The left side has taller tables and bar seats, and is a bit quieter. For reasons unclear to me, I settled on the raw cauliflower risotto, one of the two raw items on the dinner menu . I'm not hardcore raw vegan, so I really don't know why I did that. I think it was because I ran into my vegan friend Emma Smith (of Zimt fame) and she had mentioned she'd had it and it was good. Now that I've ha...

I got this shocking letter from Elizabeth May, the MP for the Saanich-Gulf Islands, after putting my name on an online petition against the CCIT (Canada-China Investment Treaty). It basically echoes what the petition was about, and confirms that http://www.greenparty.ca/stop-the-sellout weren't crazy. What *is* crazy is that this treaty will go into effect without anyone really knowing about it. I have highlighted some key sections... Who the heck thought up this ludicrous treaty? From: Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca Sent: October-17-12 3:54:46 AM To: <masked> Thank you for your interest in the Canada-China Investment Treaty. Although Stephen Harper prefers to keep Canadians in the dark about this Agreement’s grave implications for our sovereignty, security, and democracy, I am hopeful that we can force the issue into daylight. Your letter proves that you recognize the seriousness and urgency of what is about to take place behind our backs. Whil...