Tony’s Fish & Oyster Cafe

September 17, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Cup of Granville Island White Clam Chowder

Salmon Burger – Pan-fried salmon with cajun spices & homemade tartar sauce

Tony’s Famous Fish & Chips (Cod)

We went boating this summer at Granville Island, which was so much fun! After that, we wanted to grab something to eat, and we ended up at Tony’s Fish & Oyster Cafe. It’s located right at the entrance to Granville Island, and it’s pretty packed. We had to wait a bit, and even then, we only got to sit by the bar, which was pretty cramped with the number of us. I wasn’t too hungry, so decided to get the Cup of Granville Island Clam Chowder. Funny thing was, I just had the clam chowder at Ceili’s Pub recently, and sadly, I thought the one at the pub was better… Not that this one wasn’t good, but it lacked ingredients and just wasn’t amazing or anything. I’ve had better, and the one at Ceili’s actually had tons of clams and vegetables. I found this one to be overpriced for the portion, and the lack of ingredients. This is definitely a tourist restaurant so it makes sense for their price.

The Crab King

August 3, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

My foodie friends, Steph, Mica and I 🙂

So many crabs in the tank!

Crab Poutine

Seafood Spring Rolls

Deep Fried Mussels with Crunchy Fries – paprika spice, lemon

After watching a video of the construction of Crab King, hearing all the good comments about it, and even walking by a few times and always telling my friends we would try it next time, I finally tried it on a nice sunny day! Crab King is located on the boardwalk of Steveston Village, and is apparently supposed to be floating, but it wasn’t exactly “floating” as I had imagined. Crab King is also sort of a self serve place. You place your order at the front, and then you take a numbered sign with you to the table of your choice. Then, they bring the food to you.

Steph, Mica and I wanted to try a bit of everything, so we decided to share three plates. First up, the Crab Poutine we had all been talking about! It was basically a plate of fries topped with crab pieces and layered with cheese and gravy. Interestingly, the cheese wasn’t like the cheese curd that we usually see in poutines at New York Fries and such, but it was much more stringy and I actually preferred this much more. The amount of crab was also not too shabby, so it was definitely a good dish. Next up, we got the Seafood Spring Rolls. I couldn’t exactly taste the seafood in it, but I thought they tasted better than some of the Vietnamese spring rolls I’ve had. Not bad! And lastly, I wanted to try the Deep Fried Mussels, which came with what they called “Crunchy Fries”. We asked the cashier why they were called crunchy fries since they also had something on the menu just called normal fries, but he just laughed and said “to make it sound more special” or something along those lines. Interesting… Anyways, the mussels were pretty interesting since they were “deep fried”. They tasted pretty much the same as normal mussels, but were a little more crispy on the edges. The paprika gave it a nice flavour, and along with the lemon, had some zesty flavour to it. As for the fries, definitely not anything different than those normal fries. Tasted just like any other fries.

Crab King is definitely a nice place to grab some boardwalk food if you’re in Steveston Village, and is a great option other than the typical Pajos Fish and Chips that we often get. It’s got an amazing view by the water and is breezy on a nice summer day!

The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant

June 25, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Pan Fried Oysters – chili lime aïoli, tobiko

Island Club – shrimp & crab salad, bacon, guacamole

Blue Shell Mussels – steamed with coconut red curry sauce

It was finally a nice sunny day in Vancouver last Friday, and a day off for me, so of course I had to go out to enjoy the weather. I hadn’t gone to Granville Island in a very long time, so off I went to look for food. Granville Island’s market itself has tons of food stalls and fresh food, but we ended up at The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant. We chose to sit outside since it was such a nice day out (although it did get gloomy very fast), but they had a fireplace in the outdoor patio, which kept us very warm. They also have little blankets for you if it gets too cold. It was definitely a place with great service and of course, a great view.

We started off with the Pan Fried Oysters, which came with tobiko and an ailoi sauce. I thought it was just decent, and not anything amazing. I found it a little dry. I tried a bit of the Island Club too, which I thought was pretty good. I really liked the shrimp and crab filling and there were quite a lot of it too. And for myself, I had the Blue Shell Mussels. The mussels were tiny, but very fresh and sweet. It had a nice coconut red curry sauce that wasn’t too spicy, but strong in coconut flavour.

The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant definitely has got good food, especially if you’re looking for seafood. And of course a wonderful view and service! Highly recommend!

Aoyama Cafe

March 20, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Seafood Curry Japanese Spaghetti

Seafood Salad

Went to Aoyama Cafe at Aberdeen Centre to have a small little birthday dinner with the girls, and the restaurant was surprisingly quite empty on a Saturday night. I’ve been here a few times when it had just opened and I think they had more customers back then. I had the Seafood Curry Japanese Spaghetti and it was alright. Had a good portion of seafood and had a hint of curry flavour that wasn’t too strong. Nothing too special though, and I’ve had better spaghetti. My friend had the Seafood Salad, which actually looked quite appetizing amongst all the greens. Overall, I think it’s decent for some unique Japanese fusion food, but I think it is a little overpriced for the portions and overall taste. I think I’ve had better pasta, but I have to say, I am always pleased with their service since it’s quick and friendly. They also have awesome desserts and drinks, so I would definitely recommend going for that. It’s worth a try if you haven’t been, but definitely isn’t my go-to place.

Kitsilano Daily Kitchen

February 20, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Sweet Potato Bread with Olive Oil & Vinegar, Kimchi, and Sea Salt

Scallop

Roasted Cream of Winter Cauliflower Soup

Butter poached king crab leg, trout caviar, truffle oil

Short Ribs

West Coast Seafood Cioppino

Yes, it’s my long overdue posts from Dine Out Vancouver 2012 that should’ve been uploaded long time ago! Well they are coming along! Here’s another dine out I went to. This one was a $38 set menu at the Kitsilano Daily Kitchen. This restaurant is so interesting because they change their menu everyday! I believe they post the menu up at a certain time, but if you don’t have a look beforehand, then you are going in for a surprise! Pretty cool twist, I personally think! Upon waiting for our food to arrive, we were given a jump fried squid as our amuse bouche. It was delicious as it was cooked in just the right amount of time, so it wasn’t hard to chew at all. We were also given complementary bread, which was a sweet potato bread with some complements to go with. We only used the olive oil though, as we thought kimchi and bread would taste funny..Maybe should’ve given it a try! The bread was alright, but it was a little on the mushy side. I’ll give props for it being different from bread that we are usually given though! Since the restaurant changes menus all the time, I couldn’t go online afterwards to look up the menu names, so I can’t quite remember the full names of the food. The scallops were cooked perfectly, and overall, I think they do a really good job with their seafood. The cioppino had very large pieces of fish in it, and they were very fresh. I found that the scallops in the cioppino weren’t cooked as well as the ones for the appetizer though. Perhaps it is because of the way it is cooked! The cioppino was cooked in a tomato base and had three types of sausages in it, which were all very spicy! For dessert, I did not get a picture of it, as we had it to go, but it was a chocolate tart, which we found to not be anything extraordinary. I know that most chocolates are paired with some sort of salt, like “salted chocolate”, but this was had a very strong salty taste to it, that became unpleasant. I have to say the dessert was my least favourite part of the meal, especially because it was nothing special. The place is kind of hidden as there are no large signages, so it was quite hard to find. You probably would’t notice the restaurant if you were walking by. However, the inside is very classy, like fine dining, but not as fancy as the downtown restaurants. Still has a very modern vibe to it though! Not bad and a great place to go if you want a surprise!

Water St. Cafe

February 9, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Beautiful Gastown at night!

Complementary Bread

Caesar Salad – romaine lettuce, fresh grated parmesan, anchovies and garlic

Sunshine Coast Seafood and Corn Chowder

Fanny Bay Oysters – sautéed with smoked chipotle peppers, cream, sundried tomatoes and parmesan gratinée

Baked Portobello Mushroom – topped with grilled vegetables, cream cheese and parmesan gratinée

West Coast Crab Cakes – Dungeness and blue crab, Pacific shrimp with a roasted corn salsa and garlic aioli

Potato Gnocchi – hand rolled potato dumplings, prosciutto, fresh Pacific shrimp and a butternut squash with sage sauce

Duck Confit – with a balsamic and pineapple chutney glaze on garlic mashed potatoes

Tiramisu – classic Italian trifle

Flourless Double Chocolate Espresso Cake – Served with a black cherry compote

Gastown is so gorgeous at night! I love the historic brick buildings and flooring! Makes me feel as if I’m walking in Europe or something! During the weekend, I went to Water St. Cafe for Dine Out with my girlfriends for a girls night out dinner. We each chose a different appetizer and I had the fanny bay oysters. I have to say they didn’t look too appetizing but it tasted really good! The sundried tomatoes were a great complement to it. I also took a bite from my friend’s stuffed portabello mushroom and it was delicious too! Next, I had the duck confit for my entree. I kind of wanted to try the crab cakes too but I wanted to see what everything else looked like! The duck confit was quite tender, and the pineapple chuntney glaze gave it a nice flavour. I took some of my friend’s crab cake and it was delicious! I really liked the bread crumb coating and you could taste a lot of the crab and shrimp in it. The gnocchi was also quite good, with a very nice sauce and was the right chewiness. Last but not least, the desserts! The tiramisu was very good! One of my favourites. It was quite strong in alcohol, but something about the right amount of cream and all was perfect. The chocolate cake was also pretty good, but I found it a little too fudge-like. But I guess that’s why it’s flourless! Overall, this dine out was quite delicious! It was only $28 and it was actually very filling! Service was okay, but not superb or anything. The ambiance is quite nice though. It’s a very cozy place; a very nice place to talk and to enjoy some food. It’s also directly in front of the steam clock which is beautiful to look at at night while enjoying dinner.

Portobello Ristorante

February 5, 2012May 4, 2013Leave a comment

RISOTTO DI MARE
Italian Rice with Prawns, Squid, Sea Scallops, white wine, fresh herbs

COZZE ALLA MARINARA
Fresh mussels, steamed with butter garlic and white wine, touch of tomato sauce

FUNGO PORTOBELLO GRATINATO Portobello mushroom stuffed with bread crumbs, fresh herbs Served with roasted red pepper sauce
Amaretto Di Saronno crème brulee

Torta di Nocciola
Hazelnut chocolate Cheese cake

Portobello Ristorante is said to be hidden gem in the neighbourhood when you have a look at the reviews online! So of course, I decided to go try it out! I had imagined it to be a very fancy restaurant, but it was actually quite family-oriented. It is apparently an Italian family owned restaurant and therefore, the food is quite authentic. Both the risotto and mussels were very delicious! It had great flavour. The portobello mushroom stuffed with bread crumbs was my favourite. I’m guessing this is their signature dish since the restaurant has the word portobello in its name! It was extremely moist and juicy, and crispy at the top. The hazelnut chocolate cheesecake and creme brulee were also exceptional! Definitely need to check this restaurant out! It’s casual, but the ambiance is lovely!

Han Ju Tofu Hot Pot

September 23, 2011May 4, 2013Leave a comment

Korean Style BBQ with Rice

Seafood and Tofu Hot Pot

Han Ju Tofu Hot Pot is one of my favourite korean places to go! I don’t especially think of it as a Korean place though, since they only offer a few types of Tofu Hot Pots, and the rice. So, basically people come here to eat these few dishes. They do offer a few snacks and bubble tea drinks, which I find a little bizarre. I love their seafood hot pot though! It’s got these clear noodles inside the hot pot along with rice, so it’s really filling. You can also choose how spicy you want it. This one is mild. I have yet to try their Korean Style BBQ with Rice though! My friends always get it and say it’s their must have here! Their prices ranger from $5.95 to $6.95, so quite reasonable for a good portion. Don’t expect any fancy furniture or service though, as even their serving board is just similar to a fast food plastic one. Also gets quite busy during dinner time, so get there early!