ensemble Restaurant and Bar

February 2, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Prawn Cocktail

Black Cod with Pork Thai Broth – Bok Choy, Coriander, Chili Oil

Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio – Radish, Crisp Shallots, Rosemary Bannock

Beef Shin and Fritz – Carrot Purée, Watercress

Strawberry Soufflé

As a Top Chef fan, who got excited when we had Top Chef Canada, the discovery of ensemble Restaurant and Bar meant more excitement! Top Chef’s first Canadian winner Dale MacKay opened ensemble sometime last year in the spring, actually before Top Chef Canada was actually aired, and hearing pretty good reviews, I was excited to finally go try it out! Clearly, he did not disappoint! The Black Cod with Thai Broth had great flavour and the cod was cooked perfectly so that it was still moist. This was also top rated on his menu, and from what I remember, it was also featured on Top Chef. If you love carpaccio, the Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio is a must try! It was probably my favourite dish that night. It was extremely fresh and the seasonings were great! Lastly, for dessert, the Souffle of the Day was a Strawberry Souffle, which I enjoyed a lot. Not only did it look pretty, but it was fluffy and light and I liked the hint of strawberry twist to it. It’s interesting to also note that if you go to their website, they call themselves a French Restaurant, but I have to say that the food is more like contemporary WestCoast food.

Triple O’s Strawberry Sundae

February 1, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Craved some ice cream at school the other day…and Triple O’s was closest so I decided to give their Strawberry Sundae a try! I’m guessing no one really ever orders sundaes here, since the cashier paused for a second before processing my order. Pretty good vanilla ice cream, and you can even see the little black spots of vanilla in it! Came with a little wafer stick too! Not bad. At least it satisfied my cravings!

Kaneda Japanese Restaurant

January 31, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Assorted Sashimi, including Salmon, Tuna, Hokkigai, Tako (Octopous)

Beef Sashimi

Lobster/Kani, Chopped Scallop, Shark Fin, Mirugai Nigiri Sushi

Tobiko, Toro, Unagi Nigiri Sushi

Dynamite Roll, Alaska Roll, California Roll, Chopped Scallop Roll

Fresh Oyster, Gomae, Agedashi Tofu, Fish Soup, Prawn Tempura

Yakitori (Chicken Skewer), Beef Short Ribs

I was flipping through an asian food magazine and found that a new restaurant called Kaneda Japanese Restaurant had opened on West Broadway. I hadn’t had all you can eat sushi for a very long time since I hate that feeling of stuffing myself just to get my money’s worth, but I was definitely craving some this weekend. Decided to give it a try, but I have to say I was quite disappointed. I looked at the reviews and I saw that they had pretty good reviews, but I have to say that the food and service is not up to par. The food took extremely long to arrive and the order of food came in an awkward order. You would expect to get all your sashimi and salads first, but no, things like beef short ribs came before salmon sashimi was served. Salads as simple as gomae and shrimp sunomono took what felt like 30 minutes to come. You would assume that all you can eat places would have things like salad all prepared ahead of time since they need to send them out in bulk amounts. But no, they took forever, and they didn’t taste any better than other all you can eat places that served them right away. Our sushi was also all mixed up, or it was either that they didn’t have it and just substituted our food without asking. We ordered lobster nigiri sushi, but it tasted like imitation crab, and our albalone nigiri sushi never came, but something that was clearly chopped scallop, which we had not ordered, came. Would’ve appreciated if they let us know beforehand there wasn’t the items and they shouldn’t have just substituted it for something else. All the cook food, like skewers and agedashi tofu were pretty good though, and they presented the sashimi on a very nice platter. Food just took way too long to come though, and we had to even ask our server where our food was. He replied that there was only one chef preparing the sushi. Understaffed on a Saturday night? The restarurant wasn’t even full too though, so maybe that’s why. Service was just way too slow, and even when we asked for our bill, it took them 10 minutes to get it to us. Definitely not going back, but I have to say they have a large variety of food to choose from for all you can eat at around $25 a person.

Faubourg

January 23, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Cakes

Savouries

Types of Teas

Vert Provence – A grand green tea with flowery aroma combined with tastes of Provence, red and black fruits plus sweet lavender

3 sets of Purple Afternoon Tea – choice of 2 sandwiches, 2 pastries, and a scone with cream and jam, and choice of tea

My Purple Afternoon Tea Set! – Mini Opera, Chocolate Mousse, Smoked Salmon and Wasabi Cream Sandwich, Cucumber, Roast Beef, and Corriander Cream Sandwich, Scone with Cream and Mandarin Orange Jam

Went to Faubourg a little late in the afternoon, so most of their pastries and savoury items were already all sold out. We decided to have high tea, and they had a smaller set called the Purple Afternoon Tea for $16. We got to choose 2 sandwiches and 2 pastries, and it came with a scone and choice of tea. I have to say that service was quite terrible. We were served by a rude man who wasn’t very polite when we asked questions about the teas. He almost seemed impatient and didn’t want to serve us. Funny, since he was dressed in a dress shirt and all, and looked almost like a manager. He might’ve been, actually, but I don’t know. Food on the other hand was good, and everything was presented nicely. I extremely liked the Chocolate Mousse and the Smoked Salmon Roll. They also have another afternoon set for a slightly higher price, but it includes all the different pastries and sandwiches. I guess you have to go earlier if you want to try their full size pastries!

Bubble World

January 18, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Tofu Dessert with Red Bean

Matcha Ice Cream Slush with Agar Jelly

Been to the Bubble World in Richmond a few times already actually, but never really took pictures in the past… Bubble World is usually really packed during after dinner hours, especially on weekends. I went on a random weekday in the afternoon though, so it was basically my table and another table. Quite empty so service was really quick. They’re similar to Pearl Castle, with a variety of food and drinks to choose from. I tried their Matcha Ice Cream Slush with Agar Jelly which was quite large in size to my surprise. The Matcha was not bad, but I wish it actually had ice cream in it. I didn’t really get the ice cream texture, and it was more like all slush and ice instead. It was my first time trying agar jelly, which I heard was pretty good. I wanted a change from the normal pearls and coconut jelly. To my surprise, it didn’t really have any flavour to it, but it had a very nice chewy texture – not as chewy as pearls or coconut jelly. Nice change for once, but I think I still prefer coconut jelly!

Deer Garden

January 15, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Salted Jelly Fish in Chili Sauce

House Special Desert Wings and Vegetables in Fish Soup (in back)

Probably the most random food you can order at Deer Garden, but that’s cause we had all ate lunch or weren’t that hungry at the time… Deer Garden is famous for their “Make your own noodles”, just like Bubble Waffle Cafe, but it’s supposed to be much better! I always hear people raving about how good their noodles are. Unfortunately, I still haven’t tried them yet, but I will do so soon! Got some appies instead this time and I have to say their desert wings are really delicious! Almost as good as the ones at the Aberdeen food court. I haven’t gone there in a long ti me, but I hope they still exist! Food is good, and service is great here. It’s always packed during lunch or dinner hours though, so be sure to go early to grab a spot!

Bubble Waffle House

January 13, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Ramen in Hot and Sour Soup with Sliced Beef and Beef Ball

Ramen in Satay Sauce with Vietnamese Ham and Cuttlefish Ball

Bubble Waffe Cafe has been opened for a while now, but I never got a chance to try it since it’s usually very packed by dinner time. This time, I went a little earlier than dinner time, and got a seat very quickly. Their main specialty seemed to be their “Make Your Own Noodles”. Basically, when you are seated, they don’t give you a menu, but instead, you each get a small piece of paper with a pencil. From there, you choose what type of soup base you want, what type of noodles, 2 toppings on top of the cabbage and mushrooms which are included, and a hot drink. This comes to around a little less than $8. You can however add extra toppings, side dishes, drinks and desserts for a very cheap price. I decided to add egg balls to my bowl of noodles, but oddly enough, they gave me two bags of them. The lady said one was for free! I wish she had told me earlier though, since I really just wanted to try a little, and I was way too full at the end to even finish the other bag. I didn’t get a picture of the egg balls, but I have to say they weren’t the best. I found them a little too soggy, even though they were just fresh out of the kitchen. Noodles were also only decent, but it is a huge bowl for the price. I think I’ve had better noodles elsewhere though. Also thought their egg balls would be really good, since the restaurant name seems to be named after them, but they were a disappointment.

Tandoori Grill at Whistler

January 9, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Assorted Indian Snacks – Vegetable Pakora, Samosa, Chicken Tikka and Seek Kebab

Lamb Tikka – Marinated leg of lamb pieces

Spinach Naan – Leavened bread, stuffed with grated homemade cheese and chopped spinach and Naan – Leavened bread of fine flour

Aloo Gobhi – Fresh cauliflower and potatoes cooked with fresh onions, tomatoes and exotic spices, Curry Chicken – A traditional boneless chicken cooked in onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and exotic spices, and Butter Chicken – Boneless pieces of chicken marinated in ginger and garlic, cooked in a butter-tomato sauce

So I pretty much disappeared for a while after Christmas to New Years since I was celebrating my holidays up at Whistler! Sadly I didn’t get many pictures of food up there as we didn’t eat out much or I was too hungry to bother taking pictures. So this is the only post about food up at Whistler! Last dinner before we left, we decided to have a nice Indian cuisine dinner at Tandoori Grill. About a 15 minute walk from where we lived and situated in the Village, we were all starving to get some good food. We had made reservations ahead of time, which probably was a good idea as it was quite packed. To our surprise, it was a really quiet with dimmed lights and probably one the more fancy restaurants up at Whistler. Excuse my poor lighting pictures, as it was very dim inside and I only had a phone to take pictures! Food was quite delicious although portions were on the smaller side for the price. But then again, it’s about quality over quantity! I especially liked the assorted indian snacks as we got to sample a little of each, and the lamb was also very good. It came in a sizzling plate and had just enough spice. We asked for mild for all our dishes, but even so, the more we ate, it got a little too spicy for me to handle! Great place to have a lovely dinner up at Whistler!