Bob Likes Thai Food

September 6, 2016September 6, 2016Leave a comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are based on my own experience.

Thanks to Jacqueline, I was invited along with a few other foodies to a tasting at Bob Likes Thai Food. The restaurant is located on Broadway and Granville, and I’ve actually been there quite a few times for their lunch menu since it’s close to my work place.

The interior is colourful but it definitely cannot fit too many diners. It can get quite cramped but all the times I’ve visited during lunch hasn’t been too bad in terms of getting a seat. Probably because of the large variety of Thai/Malay restaurants in the area.

Lychee Mimosa

We started off with a variety of drinks to try. The first was a Lychee Mimosa which I really enjoyed! With a mix of sparkling cava and lychee juice, this was a light and refreshing drink.

Mai Tai

For those who want a non-alcoholic drink, there is the colourful virgin Mai Tai. Tasted like a delicious orange punch.

Iced Thai Milk Tea, Iced Thai Lime Tea

A favourite among the group was the Iced Thai Milk Tea. Creamy and strong in tea flavour, this will give you a little wake me up. The Iced Thai Lime Tea is similar but without the milk and instead is flavoured with lime. I wasn’t a fan of this one as I didn’t like the lime and tea flavour mixed together.

Thai Mojito

The Thai Mojito is another option if you want alcohol in your drink.

Kar Tong Tong with Mango Salad

The first appetizer was the Kar Tong Tong with Mango Salad. The whole dish is edible with the little tarts made with flour and filled with corn, carrots, peas, mangoes, cashews, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. These bite size appies are fun to eat and delicious.

Bacon Wrapped Lychee

I’ve had bacon wrapped scallops, but Bacon Wrapped Lychee is something new! Surprisingly it worked. The sweetness of the lychee with the salty and smoky bacon complemented each other quite well!

Gai Hor Bai Toey

The Gai Hor Bai Toey is marinated chicken with Thai herbs, coriander root, white peppercorn, wrapped with pandan leaf and served with their housemade sesame soy sauce. This reminded me of the Malaysian dish I had in Singapore. So flavourful and would pair well with rice.

Koong Prah

The Koong Prah is perfect for the summer, featuring prawns with lemongrass, roasted rice, lime leaves, tomatoes, basil, cashew nuts, and organic greens tossed in lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar.

Pompano in Wok

The Pompano in Wok features a whole golden pompano, fresh peppercorn, Thai basil, chili, fish sauce, palm sugar, and tamarind. The fish was moist and slightly spicy due to the chili.

Steamed Fish Bangkok Style

Another impressive dish was the Steamed Fish cooked Bangkok Style. The fish was topped with shallots, Laotian coriander, basil, chili, fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind, lime, pickled plum, and pickled garlic.

Prawns in Pineapple Curry

I really enjoyed the Prawns in Pineapple Curry as large prawns in a red coconut curry filled the pineapple shell. Pair it with rice, and this tropical curry will not disappoint you!

Pad Thai

Last but not least was the Pad Thai. I usually get this for lunch, so it was a familiar dish. This classic dish features fried rice noodles with prawns, smoked tofu, peanuts, egg, bean sprouts and chives. I find that the Pad Thai here is slightly more sweet and isn’t very spicy. I’d like a little more kick to it.

Coconut Pudding

For dessert, the Coconut Pudding was visually appealing but I found it to be a little too gritty. It is made with fresh coconut, palm sugar, coconut water, and caramelized coconut.

Fresh Coconut

You can also get a full Fresh Coconut with the pulp scraped out. So refreshing for the summer!

Overall, Bob Likes Thai was consistent with the previous visits I had. I normally get their curries during lunch (they have great lunch deals too!) and they are always great. However, they also have many seafood dishes during dinner such as the ones we tried that night. I find the flavours to be more mild but I think you can ask to have it more spicy.

Chef’s Plate

September 5, 2016September 5, 2016Leave a comment

NOTE: The two meals were sent by Chef’s Plate for free but all opinions are based on my own experience.

Don’t you hate it when you buy too many groceries because everything comes in bulk and you end up wasting all of it since you simply don’t have enough time to cook? I remembered that happening to me all the time when I lived alone in Spain. That’s when Chef’s Plate comes in handy! On their website, you can select the receipes you want each week (which changes every week), and Chef’s Plate will deliver you all the ingredients you need in a refrigerated box. The ingredients are already portioned exactly as you need for each recipe so nothing goes to waste and you don’t need to measure anything. Plus, the refrigerated box comes with ice packs to ensure your food is still fresh when you get home.

Your box will also come with colourful detailed recipe cards. I love the step by step instruction with pictures so you won’t mess up any steps! All recipes are categorized as easy, medium or hard when you select it on the website and most of them can be cooked in no more than 30 minutes.

Since I was cooking for a family of 4 that night, we decided to go all out and cook both recipes, since we were given 2 recipes with each recipe portioned for 2 people. The first recipe was the Steak and Chili Roasted Potatoes. I really liked how all the ingredients were portioned and were even labeled so if you have never used an ingredient before, you’ll still be able to identify it.

The meats were all locally sourced too which is always a plus!

And this was our finished product! Looks pretty good for someone who barely ever cooks right? My family was surprised how fresh the steak was too! The recipe uses flat iron steak which is a cheaper cut, so the meat was obviously a little chewier, but we were still surprised by the quality and how you could really taste the beef.

The corn was also absolutely delicious with a lime crema topped with Monterey Jack cheese. A little tangy from the lime but the cheese really made the corn creamy. The corn itself was also very sweet! As for the potatoes, they were seasoned with chili powder and is a recipe I look forward to making again!

The second recipe was the Pork Steamed Buns. As you can see, Chef’s Plate has a variety of different cuisines, from Asian, Mexican to American flavours. It’s got something for everyone and that includes vegetarians.

Although the recipe card said to just steam the buns over boiling water and a colander, we have a steamer, so we turned this on instead and got it done very quickly. You can definitely adapt to the recipe card, but the recipe can be done with a very basic kitchen. Salt and pepper would be the only additional ingredients you need to have.

And here was the finished product! Everyone agreed that the buns were so soft and fluffy! They were filled with a savoury pork filling that was seasoned with ginger and Korean black bean sauce so definitely had the Asian flavours. Alongside was a side of pickled radishes and cucumber to open your appetite.

Overall, my family was very impressed with the quality of the ingredients and the recipes from Chef’s Plate. I think this is great for those who want to learn how to cook or have small families and don’t have a lot of time to cook or buy groceries because of work.

If you’re interested in giving Chef’s Plate a try, use the promo code #EVERYDAYISAFOODDAY or use this link to get 3 FREE plates on your first order! That’s over $30 of savings!

21 Nautical Miles – ChineseBites Media Event

September 4, 2016September 4, 2016Leave a comment

NOTE: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are based on my own personal experience.

Seafood boils have been exploding in Vancouver and appears to be the new trend. I guess that means we don’t need to go down to Seattle for Crab Pot! A few weeks ago, I was invited by ChineseBites to attend a tasting at 21 Nautical Miles in Yaletown.

The restaurant took over the previous tenant, Society, so the decor is still somewhat similar with high ceilings. High tables and chairs with a bar feel is what I would describe the restaurant. I do find that the decor is slightly odd for the type of food we’re eating, but we are in Yaletown.

At the entrance though, you get the Asian decor with modernized paintings and cute chairs. As you can tell, the restaurant features seafood boils with Asian flavours.

We started off with a 3 litre tower of beer. Definitely reminded me of the times when we had this in Spain, but I haven’t seen this anywhere in Vancouver yet. Great to share across the table! They also have wine and pretty much any other drink you want since they have a large bar.

Seafood Party: Garlic Butter

And then the Seafood Party started! The seafood boils come in a metal bowl and are dumped onto your table which has been covered with parchment paper. Each diner will have a mallet and wooden board so you can smash open your crab. You’ll also get plastic gloves and a bib so you can get as messy as you want! There is a two person minimum order and it’ll cost you $38.95 per person. This will get you BC Dungeness crab, selva tiger prawns, blue mussels, clams, corn and potato. If you want to get fancy like we did, you can also add on Alaskan king crab, lobster tail, and snow crab. There are also four flavours to choose from, and pictured here is the Garlic Butter. This is perfect for those who can’t eat spicy and is really the only option since the other three are all spicy. This was a crowd pleaser since you really can’t go wrong with garlic butter flavoured anything!

Seafood Party: Black Pepper

Moving on to something a little spicy was the Black Pepper flavour. This flavour reminded me of the late night clams you get at Cantonese restaurants. The Alaskan king crab was delicious by the way. Normally, I don’t really care for king crab because I find that our BC Dungeness crabs are quite meaty already, but man, these were juicy! I highly recommend splurging a little to get the king crab here! One leg is plenty to share with your guests.

Seafood Party: Xi’an Spicy

Another level up in terms of spice gets you the Xi’an Spicy. With red chili peppers giving that extra kick, I actually really enjoyed this as it had a depth of flavour and wasn’t just plain spicy and numbing. Oh and the tiny lobster tails were juicy and delicious.

Seafood Party: House Special Spicy (5/5 Spice Level)

Then onto the spiciest you can get is the House Special Spicy. We had ours at 5/5 spice level, but you can choose how spicy you want when you order. Many of our group couldn’t take spice so this was a struggle, but I actually didn’t find it as spicy as I had though. I didn’t mind a few pieces in between the other flavours, but I thought that this was more of just plain numbing and spicy rather than having any additional flavour. If you like spicy, I would suggest the Xi’an Spicy instead since it has more flavour. And to be honest, I found the snow crab to be just average as they have long legs but the abundance of meat is very little. I like my crabs with lots of meat!

Overall, the seafood boils are great with the seafood being quite fresh although many of the spicier flavours will cover any freshness. If you really want to taste the seafood flavours, I’d recommend getting the Garlic Butter. I also wish there was some bread to soak up all the flavours. The seafood boils are OceanWise by the way, so always a plus!

Seafood Party: Wok Fried Spicy

Next up was the Wok Fried Spicy, a dry seafood dish which featured crab and spot prawns. These had a nice kick but the flavours really came from the outside crumbs covering the shell as the inside is not seasoned.

Kung Fu Soup

To clean our palettes, we tried the Kung Fu Soup which is an abalone flavoured soup with goji berries. Served in a beautiful tea pot and cup, the soup was light but full-bodied. I loved this and highly recommend ending your meal with this to calm your palette!

Stone Cooked Scrambled Eggs

Other than seafood boils, they have some other dishes on the menu including this very interesting Stone Cooked Scrambled Eggs. The staff brings over a very hot pot with hot stones inside. They then pour a blend of eggs, shrimp, and green onions in the pot and cover the pot. Because of the hot pot and stones, the eggs get cooked. It’s fun to watch but the stones are not very practical because you have to scoop them out before eating the egg.

Grilled Oysters

They also have Grilled Oysters which are filled with lots of garlic. I found these to be slightly too salty and you could barely taste the oysters.

Chicken Wings

The Chicken Wings are flavoured with preserved plum but tasted like peanut butter to me. Very crispy on the outside but the salty and sweet flavour threw me off a bit.

Beef and Lamb Skewers

The Beef and Lamb Skewers are flavoured with cumin spices and brings an Asian flavour. I found the beef (top) to be quite dry, so I did prefer the lamb (bottom) much more.

Sichuan Style Boiled Fish

A new dish that the chef let us try was the Sichuan Style Boiled Fish. This is served with flat glass noodles and tofu. The tofu really soaked up the spicy sauce, while the glass noodles did the opposite. I think a different type of noodles would have worked better and the noodles were also too hard for my liking. This was made with a 5/5 spice level, but it can be customized for milder tastes. This was mostly numbing so I wish there was another dimension of flavour to it.

Crawfish Tower

Then came the Crawfish Tower which was a crowd pleaser with everyone trying to get the perfect shot with the liquid nitrogen smoke. However, I’m not a huge fan of crawfish just because I find that it’s a lot of work to get so little meat!

The flavours were the same as the seafood boils, including garlic butter, black pepper, Xi’an spicy, house special spicy (spice level 5/5).

Blue Crab in Chef’s Special Sauce

As if we did not have enough seafood, the chef brought us the Blue Crab in Chef’s Special Sauce. This turned out to be a favourite with the dish featuring blue crab, chicken wings, chicken feet, and potatoes in a special chef’s secret recipe from his Xi’an hometown. I find that there isn’t much meat in blue crab, but this sauce was tasty!

Mango Thousand Layer Mille Crepe

To finish off our large meal, we had the Mango Thousand Layer Mille Crepe. These are super popular these days, and even my sisters has been obsessed at making them. This was quite good with a nice layer of mango jelly in the centre. They told us it was directly imported from Taiwan but my sister actually found this at Price Smart when she was looking for crepe cakes to taste test. She’s pretty sure it’s the same one because of the special layer of mango jely in the centre. As well, when I ate it, it was slightly frozen so it seemed like it was frozen and then defrosted. So I guess you could still say it’s imported from Taiwan… It was still good but not even close to the ones at Lady M!

Overall, 21 Nautical Miles definitely is a great place to visit if you want to try seafood boils with Asian flavours. The prices are not cheap, but you also get a fancier ambiance.

PeakFine at Sparkling Hill

September 2, 2016Leave a comment

Last month, S took me to Sparkling Hill Resort to celebrate my birthday. I’ll write a separate post on the resort itself and our adventures in Kelowna at a later date, but this post will focus on the restaurant inside the resort. PeakFine is the only restaurant they have, other than the cafe downstairs, but the cafe serves up snacks and drinks more. Be sure to reserve in advance, since we tried to reserve on the day and ended up having to eat very early. The interior is beautiful with the crystals adorning the ceiling and walls, just like the rest of the resort. Although this was fine dining, they did not seem to have a strict dress code. There is a pianist playing live music during dinner time.

Dinner started off with complimentary bread and sun-dried tomato whipped butter. The bread was warm and soft and I especially loved the sun-dried tomato butter. Light but flavourful.

Roasted Pork Loin

Dinner is not cheap at PeakFine. Well, I mean, everything at Sparkling Hill is expensive, so not a surprise. There are many options for food in Kelowna and even Vernon, but the problem is where Sparkling Hill is situated. It’s up on a hill, and literally requires driving quite far to get to city centre. With that, if you want to drink, you’ll need to call a cab to get around. Hence, we ended up having to dine at PeakFine. S got the Roasted Pork Loin which came with creamy peppercorn sauce, potato gratin and local vegetables. Not bad, but also not the best I’ve had. Nothing wrong with it, but it was quite average for the price we paid.

Pan Seared Salmon

For myself, I had the Pan Seared Salmon on white and wild rice with almond broccoli and topped with orange and maple beurre blanc. This was not bad with the salmon being moist in the centre, but it could’ve used a little more salt. Again, it’s quite expensive for what it is.

Overall, we both agreed that the food was quite average for the price we paid, but we were surprised that the portions were quite generous. Not like the fine dining where we’re used to having to catch another meal after.

Our stay also included complimentary breakfast buffet every morning, of which is located in PeakFine as well. I actually quite enjoyed the variety at breakfast and found that more pleasing.

Service is decent and the views are quite spectacular. Be sure to arrive early in the morning for breakfast to get seated next to the window.

Pros:
– Beautiful ambiance and great views by the windows
– Great selection for breakfast buffet

Cons:
– Mediocre food
– Quite pricey, although portions are decent

Price Range: $40-60

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 3 Service: 3.5 Ambiance: 4.5 Parking: 4 Overall: 3

Victoria Sushi

August 31, 2016August 31, 20162 Comments

After seeing everyone posting pictures of Victoria Sushi, I decided to visit with my family. I liked it so much that I returned a second time recently! Anyways, Victoria Sushi is located in New Westminster in a residential neighbourhood. Apartment buildings actually sit on top of the restaurant. Because of where it’s situated, it can be quite difficult to find parking during peak hours, although they have an garage that’s connected to the apartment but for customers of retailers.

Kabocha Korroke

The restaurant is Korean run, so they aren’t known for traditional nigiris and such. We started off with some appies, like the Kabocha Korroke. Kabocha is an Asian variety of squash and is overlooked often but has become a popular ingredient in cooking today. I loved how they battered mashed kabocha and deep fried it. The tangy sauce along with the sweet squash was perfect! They also have this at Guu which is just as good!

Atlantic Salmon Sashimi

My parents love sashimi and for some reason, they always go for the Atlantic Salmon Sashimi. I guess it’s because of how fresh salmon is in Vancouver! Also, salmon is a fatty fish known to be a great brain food because of all the vitamins and omega-3 essential fatty acids it provides, so remember to eat lots! I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh the salmon sashimi they offered here. Very reasonably priced with the portions cut to a good size. I hate it when the cut is so large that I feel sick eating it, but I also hate it when the pieces are so small I keep longing for more! These were just right.

Mango Scallop Roll

Onto some of their creative rolls we tried, which included the Mango Scallop Roll. This was essentially your scallop roll but topped with a fresh ripe slice of mango, some avocado, a caper, and some Japanese mayo. Light and refreshing.

Aburi Tobiko Roll

One of my favourite rolls was the Aburi Tobiko Roll. This was essentially a California roll but filled with salmon sashimi and topped generously with tobiko and mayo and lightly seared with a flame on top to melt the mayo. What results is delicious sushi that practically melts in your mouth! A must order!

Salmon Oshi and Scallop Oshi

All the food we had tried were pretty good, but what we came here for was the oshi sushi! If you’re new to the wonders of sushi, then you may be confused over all the different types of sushi. However, with Miku and Minami making the aburi oshi sushi famous in Vancouver, it has literally become the hype here. Everyone is searching for an aburi salmon oshi sushi just as good as Miku’s to be exact! Well, here at Victoria, they do a pretty darn good version of this. We also tried their Scallop Oshi which again is so creamy and melts in your mouth!

Salmon Oshi

We loved the Salmon Oshi so much that we ordered a second order… A layer of salmon sashimi is placed on a rectangular formed rice and topped with mayo. The sushi is then lightly seared on top with a torch so that the mayo melts and the salmon is slightly torched. It’s then topped with a slice of jalapeno pepper to give it that kick. You end up getting a very creamy and smoky piece of sushi that melts in your mouth! Compared to Miku though, I still enjoy Miku’s more. I think it’s the secret sauce they put on that’s so hard to recreate. However, the price of this was only around $10-11 whereas Miku costs $16. So I’d say for the price, Victoria Sushi does a pretty good job.

Aburi Beef Oshi

Continuing on with the oshi trend, we tried the Aburi Beef Oshi. This was the same concept but with beef tataki, red pepper, a genourous amount of mayo and a piece of fried garlic chip. Another worthy dish!

Chicken Yaki Soba

Since S is not a huge fan of sashimi and fish in sushi…(he likes the boring stuff…), he ordered the Chicken Yaki Soba. This was a huge dish with great flavour without being too salty. I quite enjoyed the chewy texture of the soba noodles. Great for sharing.

Overall, we really enjoyed Victoria Sushi, hence we have already made a revisit! It may be quite far for some, but even for myself, it’s less than 30 minutes drive from Richmond, so it’s not that bad when you compare it to Downtown. Service can be a bit slow during peak times (the second time we went, it was late in the afternoon, so they were super quick), but the service is friendly and they try their best with the limited staff and chefs they have. The restaurant itself is quite small, so call in advance for reservations to guarantee you a spot!

Pros:
– Great alternative to Miku’s aburi salmon oshi at lower price
– Creative rolls are on well executed

Cons:
– Service can be a bit slow during peak hours
– Make sure to make reservations as can get packed!

Price Range: $10-30

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: 3 Parking: 2 Overall: 4

Morals Village

August 30, 20163 Comments

NOTE: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are based on my own personal experience.

Thanks to the team behind Chopstick Fest, I was invited to a tasting at Morals Village, as they will be a participating restaurant during the festival that will run from October 15 – 30, 2016. Morals Village is a chain restaurant popular in China, but has expanded to Canada with a location in Toronto, and now Richmond.

Whereas the Toronto location has all-you-can-eat, the Richmond location is only a la carte right now. For $2.85, you can make your own sauce.

Special Spicy Style and Mixed Mushroom Soup

Since we had a large group, we tried almost all their soup bases. They have different soup bases ranging from very spicy to a healthy and non-spicy soup base.

Pork Rib Soup and Black-Bone Chicken Soup

The pot in front of me was the Pork Rib Soup and Black-Bone Chicken Soup, so I ate mostly from this one. Both of these soup bases were filled with goji berries, a superfood, which is good for your health. The soup itself was cloudy and flavourful. But to be honest, with the sauces you dip your food in after, it’s hard to taste the true flavours of the soup base.

Beauty in the Golden House

One of their most expensive soup bases is the Beauty in the Golden House which must be ordered in advance and is limited. This beauty is priced at $68 so definitely not cheap. However, it’s filled with a whole chicken, winter melon, goji berries and abalone. It depicts the winter melon soup that you often find at Cantonese restaurants. The soup was absolutely delicious with a mix of seafood and chicken flavour.

Standard Joshu Wagyu Kobe Beef

Onto what I’m always excited about at hot pot – the meat! Well onto the luxury style of hot pot here at Morals Village, we were presented with the Standard Joshu Wagyu Kobe Beef. This sells for a hefty $58 for around 5 slices! Yes…very expensive, but man, this stuff melted in my mouth! Be sure to hold onto your meat and just dip it in the broth until it turns light brown and quickly take it out or you will overcook it!

Angus AAA Short Rib

Onto another favourite which was the Angus AAA Short Rib. The cut was just the right thickness and again this melted in your mouth. I highly recommend getting this as it won’t cost as much as the wagyu. This one goes for around $23. Still quite expensive for the number of slices you get, but its quality over quantity here.

Deluxe Lamb Roll

The Deluxe Lamb Roll is perfect for all you lamb lovers out there. Because of the marbling, the lamb was absolutely tender and juicy and it did not have a strong gamey flavour. Love how thin they cut the lamb as well.

Ox Tongue

Some may find this odd, but Ox Tongue is actually very popular in Chinese culture. The ox tongue is cut thinly and after cooking, it has a nice chew.

Pork Belly

Last but not least, we tried the Pork Belly which had tons of fat, but after cooking, the fat melted in your mouth.

Cheese Beef Ball, Fish Ball, Pork Ball, Prawn Ball

Morals Village has a variety of balls, which appear to be made in house because they are still fresh in a paste form. We were able to try the Cheese Beef Ball, Fish Ball, Pork Ball, Prawn Ball, with the seafood ones being my favourite. They were very bouncy and fresh.

Deluxe Seafood Platter

As if our meal wasn’t luxurious enough, we were presented the Deluxe Seafood Platter which goes for $108! The platter features abalone, BC crab, prawn, oyster, grouper, with the seafood being extremely fresh. So fresh, that the spot prawns were live! Yes – I skipped a beat when I realized I was cooking the prawn live… I usually cook prawns, fish and crab in my hot pot as well, but abalone was a first for sure.

Quail Eggs

Next, we got to try some Quail Eggs, also an ingredient that I’ve never put in the hot pot. I actually really enjoyed these in the hot pot as you could soak in the broth.

Shrimp Paste on Chinese Donut

A pretty random item was the Shrimp Paste on Chinese Donut. Yes – we threw a Chinese donut into the hot pot! I usually eat this with congee, but not at Morals Village. Since the shrimp paste is raw, we had to throw it in to cook, but the tobiko fell off and got lost in the soup. Not bad though as the Chinese donut is great at soaking up all the tasty broth.

Bean Curd Roll

Of course there is your typical hot pot ingredients including all the much needed veggies. The Bean Curd Roll was a bit more special since it was your typical bean curd but deep fried and rolled up. However, when boiled, it wasn’t anything special.

Gold and Silver Bread

They also have some cooked food including the Gold and Silver Bread with condensed milk. Everyone loves this Shanghai baked good.

Handmade Noodles

If you’re still hungry, then carbs are the way to go! They feature Handmade Noodles which we cooked to al dente. I really liked these!

Last but not least, remember the Beauty in the Golden House soup base? Well, they took out all the overcooked food sitting at the bottom and the chefs added in rice and tons of garlic. What resulted was a delicious rice in broth, sort of like a congee. This was filled with flavour from all the cooked meats and seafood we had thrown in and the garlic really gave it added flavour.

Overall, I really enjoyed the meal at Morals Village, but many of their top items will leave your wallet empty. However, it is worth a try for a special occasion, and you can of course go for their less pricey items. Private rooms are also available, perfect if you need to entertain your guests.

Bauhaus

August 27, 2016August 25, 2016Leave a comment

Bauhaus has been opened for over a year now and is famous for two things: the owner, Uwe Boll, a Hollywood director who some may dislike, and Michelin chef Stefan Hartmann. Bauhaus offers German fine dining, so the prices are definitely up there which is why I’ve delayed visiting for so long. Luckily, I found a Travelzoo deal (Groupon-like website) for $79 for a 2-course lunch for 4. That comes to around $20 before tax and tips per person which is a pretty good deal since their appies range from $13-14 and entrees go from $20-28 normally. And guess what, the travel zoo deal is still available! Check it out here.

Anyways, we called to make reservations ahead of time, and the deal is only available on weekdays for lunch. When we arrived, we quickly mentioned that we had the deal again just so it wouldn’t get awkward and the hostess kindly just asked me to pull up my voucher. We didn’t feel like we were treated differently at all.

The interior is modern and beautiful. We loved the white marble table tops and the business like leather chairs. The restaurant felt really upscale and polished with the high ceilings and use of mirrors.

Even the table setting was really nice. Definitely a place to impress your date.

We started off lunch with complimentary bread which came with a ricotta pesto spread and sea salt butter. Loved how they elevated the normal butter with the sea salt.

Nelson the Seagull Sourdough Bread

We were told the sourdough bread is from Nelson the Seagull, which is also in Gastown, so you know the bread is fresh.

Although the Travelzoo had shown a sample menu, we were actually allowed to choose any item off their regular menu. This consisted of one appetizer and one entree. Since we had four people, we ended up trying every appetizer. I started off with the Summer Greens which normally comes with burrata and tomatoes. However, they told me that they did not have burrata today, so it was substituted with a crumbly ricotta cheese. Not bad, but I didn’t think this was anything special. I definitely wouldn’t pay $13 for this normally.

Smoked Cauliflower Soup

MH got the Smoked Cauliflower Soup. It was pretty funny since when the server presented his bowl, there were only tiny pieces of cauliflower on the bowl. So we thought that was it. Luckily, he also had a pot handy which contained the actual soup, of which he poured in front of us.

This was really creamy and flavourful!

Bao Down Gastro Bar and Pub

August 26, 2016August 24, 2016Leave a comment

Bao Down‘s Gastown location has been around for a while, but they also opened up their Gastro Bar and Pub in Olympic Village earlier this year. S and I decided to check it out for dinner.

The interior is quite casual with a cool modern vibe and colourful painting on the wall.

On one side, they also have a bar.

Fraser Valley Huli Huli Chicken

We started off with the Fraser Valley Huli Huli Chicken which came with a chicken thigh and breast in a Hawaiian marinade, topped with a cane vinegar glaze, tamari, and a side of asian slaw and garlic fried rice. The chicken was tender with just the right flavour, but the cane vinegar glze was way too acidic. It tasted as if they put too much vinegar and didn’t taste the sauce. This made the asian slaw extremely acidic and it also seeped to the bottom of the garlic fried rice. The garlic fried rice at the top tasted pretty good though with the garlic flavour extremely strong.

Locally Sourced, Local, Organic, Free Range, Free Run, Antibiotic Free, Hormone Free, Unvaccinated and Socially Adapted Chicken Wings

Onto the extremely long named Chicken Wings which we chose the crispy garlic & fish sauce caramel flavour. There is also Thai spicy or salt and pepper. S can take really salty food but this had to be the saltiest thing we’ve ever ate! They literally dumped fish sauce onto the chicken wings… It was pretty much inedible. After we posted about this on Instagram, the owner told us that they had received a different brand of fish sauce from the supplier. However, I would think that the chefs still taste the sauce they make before they put it on the dish. Just didn’t make sense to us. I have to say, their batter is really crispy though. What a shame that the sauce ruined everything.

Bao Chicka Bao Bao

Onto what Bao Down was first made famous for: their baos. we tried the Bao Chicka Bao Bao which came with garlic and lemongrass fried chicken, daikon, carrot, crisp garlic, fish sauce glaze and garlic mayo. These were my favourite of the night with the chicken having a beautiful batter and the sauces not being overbearing. The bao itself was light and fluffy. I highly suggest sticking to their baos, but you will only find a select few of their baos at this location.

Halo Halo

For dessert, I suggested to try their Halo Halo, which came with evaporated milk, banana roll, red beans, young coconut, coconut jelly, palm nuts, and purple yam ice cream. This again, was a huge mess. The dessert was huge for the price we paid, but their shaved ice was not shaved ice. It felt like they had a huge block of ice and just mashed it up so the pieces of ice were large, jagged and sharp. I don’t expect a snow like powder ice, but I would expect at least a simple shaved ice machine type of ice. This ruined the texture of the dessert as the pieces were too large.

In addition, the food took forever to come. We waited for more than 40 minutes to get our food after ordering and the restaurant wasn’t even fully occupied. We were told by the owner later after our complaints that their deep fryer had broke so only one was available. Still, I would’ve appreciated the server letting us know why, but we barely got any service.

Loco Moco

Because we were extremely upset with our experience, the owner later contacted us on Instagram to invite us back for a free meal. We notified him the date and time we would arrive of which he confirmed, but when we arrived for brunch that day, the servers were not aware of this arrangement. In fact, no table was set aside for us. Luckily, there were two spots at the bar, so we took the seats. I mean, imagine if the place was full? Would we have to wait or come back another time? The owner was also not there, which I was surprised, but even if he was busy, I would’ve expected him to communicate to the staff about our arrival. It felt very unprofessional.

Anyways, enough of the talk about service. As we chose to come on a weekend at lunch, they served the brunch menu, so the menu items were quite different. S got the Loco Moco which came with steamed rice topped with a hamburger patty, poached egg and mushroom gravy. The sauce had an Asian flavour, but we found that it lacked depth in flavour. It was okay.

Fried Chicken and Waffles

For myself, I had the Fried Chicken and Waffles. Some of the fried chicken pieces were moist while the others were extremely dry. The dry pieces were the small ones of course, so they should have controlled the cooking by taking out the smaller pieces first. I also found the seasoning to be too salty again for my liking. I feel like their food is quite salty overall.

Banger Bao

The Banger Bao was a surprise and I quite enjoyed it. It tasted just like a Egg McMuffin! It was filled with a sausage patty, scrambled egg, and processed cheese.

Overall, we were quite disappointed with the food at Bao Down Gastro Bar and Pub. Even after giving them a second try, we can’t say that we have changed our opinion on the execution of the food. However, the baos are the stars here so I would revisit at their Gastown location for the baos. Price-wise, they are quite expensive based on what I get. If the food was better, I wouldn’t mind paying a higher price. However, with the unprofessional service and average food, I feel like I have other restaurant options to satisfy me.

They are opening another location in Gastown and San Francisco, so they must be doing something right. Perhaps their food is just not the right taste for us?

NOTE: All food were complimentary during brunch on our second visit.

Pros:
– Baos are great!
– Cool ambiance

Cons:
– Execution of food is poor, most dishes are too salty
– We felt service was unprofessional and lacking while dining

Price Range: $25-40

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 2 Service: 2 Ambiance: 3 Parking: 3 Overall: 2