Mimibuloveme (Revisit #2)

June 23, 2014Leave a comment

White Pasta – bacon and creamy Parmesan cheese

On my last day of final exams, that feeling I got walking out of the exam room was actually sort of bittersweet. I felt so relaxed, but at the same time, it would be my last final exam of my university life. I decided to celebrate so K came to pick me up along with others. She wanted her parfaits again, so we ended up going to Mimibuloveme. It was packed as usual, but we luckily scored a tiny square table for the four of us. I was extremely hungry after my exam, so I decided to actually get a meal. They recently added pastas to their menu, so I went for the White Pasta. I had originally wanted the Yellow Pasta, which is curry based, but they sold out! I like how it seems like their food is fresh as they will actually sell out! Anyways, the White Pasta reminded me of a Carbonara. A creamy white sauce with Parmesan cheese and loads of bacon. It also came with a small side of salad. I would say that their portions are quite small for the price, but the pasta was cooked to al dente.

Brownie Banana Parfait – chocolate ice cream, organic banana, brownie

The rest of them got some desserts. E got the Brownie Banana Parfait. It had a huge scoop of chocolate ice cream and a slice of brownie on the side. Underneath were slices of banana and topped with loads of whipped cream.

Black Sesame Parfait – black sesame ice cream, vanilla bean ice cream, mochi balls, gluten free graham crackers

K got the Black Sesame Parfait. It came with a scoop of the black sesame ice cream and lots of mochi balls which I liked! The black sesame ice cream was also rich in sesame flavour.

Chocolate Banana Waffle

Dad got the Chocolate Banana Waffle. The waffle itself isn’t too special, but you get loads of ingredients on top and on the side. They don’t cheap out on the slices of bananas, and there’s also a lot of chocolate brownie cakes on the side. A huge scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream to top it off.

Overall, the food is always quite good at Mimibuloveme. The service is also very friendly, although the wait time can be a bit long. They only have 2-3 people working, so don’t expect fast service here. Prices are average like anywhere else. I guess the seating is the biggest problem here. This place is good for a maximum of 4 people. It’s also extremely difficult to find a seat during busy hours and weekends.

Zakkushi Charcoal Grill – Denman (Revisit 2)

June 17, 20141 Comment

Zakkushi Set – Umeshiso Yaki, Momo, Me Maki, P-toro & Oropon Beef

For M’s birthday, he wanted a cool, chill atmosphere with great snacks and lots of drinks. Off we went to one of his favourites – Zakkushi! There are two Zakkushis – one on Main St and one on Denman. We went to the one on Denman just because it’s usually more lively. They also used to have a third location, but it recently closed down. Since we made reservations, we were quickly seated. The restaurant is very small at this location, so we probably took up a quarter of the space. A lot of my friends shared a large variety of different skewers. Zakkushi is known for their yakitori and izakaya type of food. Yakitori are essentiall grilled chicken skewers. For myself, I chose the Zakkushi Set. Starting from the left was the Umeshiso Yaki, which was a chicken thigh with a sour plum sauce and Japanese basil. Next was the Momo, which was a chicken thigh with a nice barbecue sauce. In the middle, was the Me Maki, which were garlic stubs wrapped with pork. I actually didn’t even realize they were garlic stubs. They didn’t give me that garlic breath at all, and I thought it was just asparagus or some type of veggie. Next, was the P-Toro, which was a crunchy and juicy pork. It reminded me of porchetta. My friends and I agreed that it was more fat than meat though. Last but not least, on the very right was the Oropon Beef which came with grated daikon and Ponzu sauce. Oropon beef is essentially their ‘AAA’ beef, so it was very tender and the daikon and Ponzu sauce was very light and refreshing. Overall, a good deal for 5 skewers priced at $9.20.

Matcha Mochi Ice Cream

Other than food, we also had tons of Sapporo and their plum wine. The plum wine was really good! For dessert, MC and I shared the Matcha Mochi Ice Cream. This was the perfect way to end the night! The mochi balls were still slightly frozen and filled with matcha ice cream. It came with some whip cream, red bean paste and topped with matcha powder on the top. After ordering, everyone at our table ended up getting it too. Unfortunately, some weren’t able to get their orders as they were eventually sold out. Definitely a best seller!

Matcha Chiffon Parfait

We realized that another table was also celebrating a birthday, and the restaurant would turn off their lights and bring out a dessert for the birthday customer. They also sang the birthday song! We immediately sneaked over to the waitress and asked for a Matcha Chiffon Parfait for M as well. Again, they shut off the lights and sang the birthday song carrying the cake over. Pretty nice place to celebrate your birthday. The dessert came with a chunk of matcha chiffon cake, topped with whipped cream, mochi and red bean. Not bad.

Overall, we had a good night at Zakkushi on Denman. They gave us great service even though we were pretty loud and probably sat their for quite a while. The bill came to be quite expensive due to the drinks, but everyone enjoyed their night. It’s a great place to grab a small snack, but it is definitely expensive if you want to be fully filled up.

La Mezcaleria

June 16, 2014Leave a comment

After many attempts, S, J and I finally found time to try La Mezcaleria. The Mexican joint is located in the Commercial Drive area and is the newly opened sister restaurant of La Tacqueria.

The inside is dimly lit and has a casual vibe with a bar table and a small section of seats against the other side of the wall. They are famous for their Mezcal and Tequila flights as well. Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from a plant similar to agave and is a typical Mexican drink. Unfortunately, we did not try their drinks this time, but I hear they are quite good.

After ordering, we were given 4 types of sauces that we could add to our food. It ranged from mildly spicy to very spicy. Salsa Verde was the least spicy, then it moved on to Chipotle, Chile de Arbol and the spiciest Habanero. The Salsa Verde was good in the beginning, but once you tried the spicier ones, you got hooked onto the spicy ones! In the end, most of us were using the Chile de Arbol or the Habanero. You can definitely feel the heat with those two.

Our food actually took quite some time to arrive, but it then came at a consistent speed. First, we had the Campechano Flight. It came with 4 glasses of dips that we could use with our tortilla chips. Starting at the front, the green one was the Guacamole. It was made with tons of fresh avocado, some lime, onion, jalapeno, tomato and cilantro. Next was the Albacore Tuna Ceviche. It consisted of diced up albacore tuna, avocado, lime, radish and pico de gallo. It also came with pork chicharron, which are like deep fried pork rinds. A nice crunch and the tuna was very fresh. Next, the glass in red was the Pico de Gallo. It’s very typical in Mexican cuisine and is also sometimes called the salsa fresca. It’s made with chopped tomatoes, white onions, and chilis. Definitely very appetizing. Lastly, there was the Pacific Red Snapper Ceviche, which included tomato, lime red onion, serrano and cilantro. I really liked it since I loved the bouncy texture the red snapper had. The flight is a really good deal if you have a group of friends to share, since for $17 you can try most of their ceviches and dips. Normally, one of these dishes around $9-$15 on its own and the sizes looked somewhat similar. We had so much leftover compared to the chips, so we had to order another side of chips for an extra $1.

Next up, we got their signature dish, the Queso Fundido. We’d been looking at pictures of this all over the Internet and were excited to try this interesting looking cheese fondue. It comes in a volcanic rock molcajete, which is a traditional Mexican mortar and pestle. Back then, people would use it for grinding food. We also added the chorizo for an extra $2.50. It was definitely very cheesy, but I also found it too oily. Well I guess cheese is oily to begin with. Unfortunately, I was too busy stirring this bad boy so I didn’t get a picture of how stringy the cheese is.

It comes with around 6 soft tortillas. I found these tortillas to be just okay. To be honest, I didn’t find the cheese dish to be amazing. I didn’t like how the cheese cooled so quickly, and you were just biting into a chunk of cooling cheese. You really needed the sauces to add more flavour to this dish.

I was told by the server to shake the bag up a bit, then open it and dump it on top of the rice. After shaking, you open the bag up, and this is what it looks like. Not too appetizing I know. We had chose the chicken, so it had been slow steam cooked along with a green tomatillo sauce, onions, cilantro and poblano peppers to add flavour. I thought this was just average. Not my favourite, and I found it quite pricey for the portions at $17.

Meat Tacos – Asada, Pescado, Carnitas, Al Pastor (front left clockwise)

We also got the Meat Tacos which were priced at 4 for $11.50. I’ve had the tacos at La Tacqueria and the menu is essentially the same (although La Tacqueria has more choices). I got the Asada which came with grilled ‘AAA’ flank beef and onions. I loved the flavour and tenderness of the meat. Above the Asada was the Pesacdo, which included Zarandeado fish with a chipotle mayo, radish and pepitas. Next to it, was the Carnitas which consisted of pork confit and pickled red onions. At the bottom right corner was the Al Pastor which was pork marinated in achiote chili and pineapple. Everyone enjoyed their tacos, although it gets quite messy since they fill them up quite full.

By the end of our night, we were beyond stuffed. Prices are average with each dish ranging at around $17. It’s a great place to go with at least 4 people, so you can really try many of their dishes and share. For the 3 of us, we found ourselves wanting to try more dishes, but we were definitely too full! A really cool, hip, and casual spot to spend your evening. I hear they are also having late night menus now with DJs too, so it’ll definitely be lots of fun. Looking forward to coming back again.

Minami

June 12, 20141 Comment

A spontaneous night took J and I to Minami, the sister restaurant of Miku. Miku is one of my favourite Japanese restaurants when I’m looking for creativity and aburi sushi, so I had always wanted to try Minami. The restaurant was packed and although we had no reservations, we got a spot at the bar. The environment is definitely much more casual and loud compared to Miku.

Sitting at the bar was actually quite nice as the bartender pretty much serves you the whole night. We had some great prompt service and she was able to answer all our questions. The only downside is you may not have as much privacy since she’s always standing there making drinks.

You get two types of soya sauces at Minami. She said that one is the regular soya sauce, while the other is a little sweeter. I liked the sweeter one.

Premium Nigiri – chef’s selection traditional nigiri

J loves traditional Nigiris, so he got the Premium Nigiri set. It came with seven nigiris that the chef had chosen.

I believe there was tuna, salmon, saba, unagi, and scallop to list a few. He said they were all very fresh and the amount of fish to rice portion was perfect.

Aburi Sushi Sampler – aburi temari, oshi and roll topped with specialty sauces and garnishes

For myself, I got the Aburi Sushi Sampler. It came with 7 dainty little sushi. They were so cute! Some were in the form of temari, which are ball-shaped sushi. Others were oshi (square shaped), while some were regular rolls. They were beautiful to look at! I almost didn’t want to eat them.

Some of the fish I remember included, saba, scallop, salmon and tuna. They were all quite delicious, and the fish was very fresh. However, you don’t get too filled up by these, since they are really half the size of a normal nigiri.

Ebi Oshi Sushi – pressed shrimp, lime zest, ume sauce

We also shared an Ebi Oshi Sushi. We wanted to try one of the oshi sushi, since Miku and Minami are famous for them. The bartender recommended the Ebi Oshi and it was absolutely delicious. The shrimp was slightly seared and it melted in your mouth. I loved the hint of smoky flavour. Definitely recommend trying this!

Green Tea Opera – green tea genoise, dark chocolate ganache, matcha ice cream

Obviously we were still a little hungry by the end of the night. We shared a dessert, and I chose the Green Tea Opera. I’ve had this back at Miku, but I found the one at Minami presented slightly different. Again, it was delicious since I’m a huge matcha fan. It was made of a green tea genoise, which is an Italian sponge cake which is really thin. It had layers of dark chocolate ganache, which made the dessert very smooth in the mouth. It was then topped with fruits and caramelized sugar. On the side, there was a scoop of matcha ice cream topped with a sesame crisp. Definitely ended up our meal very nicely.

Overall, Minami wasn’t too bad. However, I find that the prices are only a few dollars cheaper than Miku. With that being said, I would rather pay a few extra dollars and dine at Miku, since the environment and dishes are much better in my opinion. I find the atmosphere too loud at Minami, and it’s more casual. I also found that the food at Miku was executed more carefully. Not a bad option if I’m in the Yaletown area though.

Dubh Linn Gate

June 9, 2014June 7, 2014Leave a comment

Clam Chowder (Cup) – hearty chowder combined with Arctic clams, Yukon Gold potatoes, bacon and fresh herbs

The next afternoon, we looked for a quick meal before we headed back to Vancouver. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Whistler, and Dubh Linn Gate is attached, so we decided to just go for convenience. Dubh Linn Gate is an Irish bar, but also offers breakfast and lunch menus. We began with a cup of Clam Chowder, and we both agreed this was one of the best Clam Chowders we’ve had! It had tons of clams, and something just made this chowder so flavourful! We were devouring this so quickly!

Bangers and Mash – hearty pub classic with Guinness infused bangers

K got the Bangers and Mash for her entree. Bangers essentially are sausages. The sauce was a Guinness sauce and it came with some mashed potatoes. I was a little disappointed in this. I didn’t think it was that great and definitely not worth $16.

Honey Garlic Chicken Wings with Ranch Dip

For myself, I was craving some wings, and got the Honey Garlic Chicken Wings. This was a good portion, with around 10 pieces. The sauce a sweet and sticky, with the wings lightly fried. Not bad for a pub! I did find it a little pricey at $14 though.

All in all, we were quite surprised with the quality of the food at the pub. Usually, I don’t expect much at a pub, but we were both quite happy with our dishes. Again, prices are a little high for a pub, but food in Whistler is just expensive in general.

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro (Dine Out 2014)

May 30, 2014Leave a comment

For my second dine out, I visited The Oakwood Canadian Bistro with J. Parking is a bit tough here since there’s only street parking and it’s pretty packed in the Kitsilano area. The bistro was packed and I found the atmosphere to be a bit too loud. It was sort of hard to talk, but it would be a nice place to hang out with friends.

Pork Terraine – maple cauliflower puree, pickled shallots

For the appetizer, J got the Pork Terraine. I took a bite and it was alright. We both agreed it sort of tasted like spam, but of higher quality. Wasn’t my favourite.

Smoked Seafood Chowder – cod, clams, bacon lardon, oyster crackers

For myself, I got the Smoked Seafood Chowder. It was quite flavourful, with loads of clams and bits of cod fish. It also came with oyster crackers, which I enjoyed. You could actually taste the oyster flavour in the crackers.

Grilled 16 oz Pork Chop – roast fingerling potato, charred cippolini and fennel, apple glace

For the entree, J paid an extra $10 for the Grilled 16 oz Pork Chop. It was decent, but I don’t know if I would pay an extra $10 for it. The meat was juicy and came with a nice apple glaze.

Roast Porchetta – confit garlic brocollini, dijon spatile, caramelized onion puree

For myself, I got the Roast Porchetta, that everyone talks about. However, I was actually quite disappointed in it! I found that my dish had more fat than anything! The amount of meat was so minimal. I know porchetta is supposed to come with some fat, which is why it’s so delicious, but this was too much. It felt kind of disgusting just chewing on the fat. The crispy layer of the porchetta, however was quite crunchy, although I found it under-seasoned. It was just salty, but not flavourful. My favourite part was actually the dijon spatile. Not exactly sure what it was, but it’s crunchy and sort of like popcorn.

Chocolate Mousse – coffee pistachio crunch, whip cream

For dessert, J got the Chocolate Mousse. This was the only item he really enjoyed the whole night. He loves coffee desserts, so this was perfect. It was a chocolate mousse with coffee flavoured bits mixed with pistachio, so you got a nice crunch. The whip cream just underneath this crunchy layer gave it a smooth texture along with the mousse. Mix it all up and you get a delicious mousse with a crunchy bite.

Maple Creme Caramel – pecan shortbread, cranberry gel, vanilla caramel

My dessert was the Maple Creme Caramel. It was such a Canadian dessert, with the red being a cranberry gel and the maple leaf being a pecan shortbread. Underneath was a vanilla caramel that tasted sort of like a pudding. I personally didn’t really enjoy this dessert. The cranberry gel gave it a sour taste and I found it a bit odd.

Overall, we were slightly disappointed with the Dine Out Vancouver 2014 menu at The Oakwood Canadian Bistro. Next to us was a friendly diner who said he visits the bistro regularly, and he agreed that the dine out menu did not showcase the best of what there is to offer. He suggested that we try their regular menu next time because there are some really good dishes. The Dine Out menu was for $28, and although I wouldn’t say that’s pricey for the amount of food we had, the dishes weren’t that great. They weren’t dishes that made me want to return to try out more of their menu. But again, I hear good things about their normal menu, so I’ll definitely think about a revisit soon.

Koto Izakaya Sushi & Robata

May 25, 2014May 25, 2014Leave a comment

Chopped Scallop Roll People keep talking about how amazing Koto Izakaya is for their value, so I finally decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I didn’t try their late-night menu, which is when people usually go there since the food is imposingly really cheap. For their regular dinner menu, I didn’t find the prices to be a super good value. Average priced, but the quality isn’t superb. First, we had the Chopped Scallop Roll. It was filled with a lot of chopped scallop and topped with tons of tobiko and sesame seeds. The rice to filling ratio was pretty decent also. Toro Nigiri Next, we got some Toro Nigiri. This was actually pretty decent. However, I wouldn’t say the sashimi was packed on the rice too well. It was quite sloppy. The toro sashimi itself was very fatty and fresh though. Pretty good for the price you pay. Mentaiko Udon The Mentaiko Udon was a huge disappointment. It was simply udon with mentaiko on top. That wasn’t the real problem though. The problem was the mentaiko were all clumped together. It’s like they bought these cheap mentaiko that came in a paste or something and hadn’t treated it so they would split up. So at points, you would be eating a huge clump of mentaiko and it would be really salty. Lastly, we chose two specialty rolls. Koto doesn’t have a website so I couldn’t find their menu names. The one in the front was a roll topped with salmon sashimi, avocado, and massago. It also came with a spicy sauce, so no soy sauce was needed. Behind, we had a roll filled essentially like a dynamite roll, with deep fried prawns, and topped with unagi, avocado, orange and black tobiko. These were both pretty decent, but just as specialty rolls are usually, they were much more pricey. Overall, I thought Koto was just average. I guess it would a much better value for late-night, but I have yet to try. Don’t expect much service here though. It’s pretty slow and you have to wave your hand furiously to be noticed. They literally walk by you without looking. There’s also limited parking, so that might be a problem if it’s really packed.

Suika (Revisit #3)

May 24, 20141 Comment

Suika Mojito (watermelon)

Suika Snackbar reminds me of Guu, and is also always packed. We had our girls catch-up dinner here and the food didn’t disappoint. We got a pitcher of the Suika Mojito, which is basically watermelon flavoured. Super refreshing and delicious!

Corn Kakiage – organic corn niblets fried with cilantro batter, soy sauce, and butter

We started off with the Corn Kakiage, which was basically pieces of corn that had been battered up and deep fried. It was seasoned with a soy sauce and butter. Everyone enjoyed this! You get a nice crunchy batter on the outside, but the corn is still soft inside.

Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki – with home made chili oil on a bed of sliced onion topped with scallions

Next, we had the Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki. I found the portions to be a bit small, but regardless, it was still extremely fresh with a great texture. It came with a home made chili oil and was placed on top of sliced onions.

Aburi “Shime-Saba” Sushi – seared cured mackerel prsesed sushi served with mustard soy dressing

We also got two dishes of their sushi. Well, they actually only offer two types on their menu. First, was the Aburi “Shime-Saba” Sushi. Essentially, seared saba or mackerel, and this was done as a pressed sushi. Seared meant that it had been lightly torched. It came with a mustard soy dressing, so no extra soy sauce was needed. The fish was fresh and the dressing was extremely flavourful. Sometimes I find that saba has a fishy taste, but the dressing covers that up.

Aburi Toro Battera – lightly seared pressed fatty tuna sushi with avocado, shiso, sesame seeds topped with home made soy dressing & seaweed sauce

The second sushi we ordered was the Aburi Toro Battera, and this was my favourite. Since it was toro, the tuna was so fatty. With the tuna being seared, the tuna’s fatty oils came up so it was extremely smooth in the mouth. Again, it was pressed in a box shaped, and came with a home made soy dressing and seaweed sauce. This time, I didn’t find that the sauce was too overwhelming, so you could taste the freshness of the fish.

Dynamic Steak – “W” Lbs Beef Rib Steak with Wasabi, Soy & Garlic Sauce

Lastly, M suggested we try the Dynamic Steak. It was priced at $38, so I initially felt like it was quite pricey. However, when I saw the steak, I was in awe. It was humongous piece of steak! On the menu, it states that it is “W” Lbs – not exactly sure what that means. I don’t think this picture does it justice. The Rib Eye was enormous! The inside is cooked perfectly to medium-rare, so some of my friends who like their steak well-done were grossed out by how pink it was inside. I, on the other hand, loved the juiciness of the steak and thought it was excellent. I’m surprised they could handle cooking such a huge piece of steak. It was dressed with a wasabi, soy & garlic sauce, which gave it a Japanese flare.

Matcha Brulee – Frozen Matcha Creme Brulee with Fresh Whipped Cream & Red Bean Sauce

Lastly, I had to get my all time favourite dessert from Suika – the Matcha Brulee. It’s basically “frozen” matcha creme brulee, so it almost tastes like you’re eating matcha ice cream. Topped with some whipped ream and a bit of red bean sauce, this was the perfect way to end our meal! Always a fun time at Suika!