Joyce and I attended the media launch event at Prestons for its fall menu — my first food blogger-type event. Socializing and Lisa equals: out of comfort zone plus awkward, which also equals to complete social misfit. Nevertheless, still had a good time, met some really cool people, some really flamboyant people, and a couple of drinks.
Menu at the event included a selection of its fall menu items, served appetizer style. Preston states on their menus that they are a West Coast style restaurant with Mediterranean and Asian influence. I’m definitely not an expert in Mediterranean food, but the Asian influence on the dishes was present on many items served that night.
Our first item was the Thai Red Curry. I loved the colour of the dish and the flavour of the curry was pretty spot on, until the heat kicks in at the end. The vegetables were overcooked as well as the rice. The presentation in the tiny glass cup was adorable, until I realized I had to eat it with a giant Chinese porcelain spoon.
My favourite for the night was the Gyoza, described in their menu as seared shrimp and vegetable dumplings with miso vinaigrette. This was definitely not your traditional gyoza, but the presentation couldn’t be better. Each gyoza was served in a bamboo steamer on a leaf, with the vinaigrette drizzled over. (Note: This is a tasting event so items were served/plated in cute, miniature fashion. Chances are you won’t get the same presentation when you dine off the regular menu.) The gyoza itself gave a nice, light finish, but the “vinaigrette” was very heavy and creamy, almost like the consistency of mayonnaise. I’m a sucker for creamy food, so I felt like the pairing was in harmony, light finish from gyoza with the drizzle of heavy cream sauce.
Their Asian-influenced Baby Back Ribs had a decent texture. The meat was tender, fall off the bone, and didn’t leave that nasty fatty feeling in your mouth like some ribs do. The hoisin sauce on it was oddly sweet, but the ginger component was definitely lacking. Would love to come back to try it again, as I think the idea of having an Asian style rib sounds really interesting.
This next food was probably one of my least favourites, the Eggplant and Parmesan Slider. Honestly, why would anyone ever put parmesan, pesto, and feta into one item? It was way too salty to finish, even for a slider. The bun wasn’t even toasted, so that the sauce was soaking into the bread, making it soggy – heck, the bun wasn’t even warm. (Joyce: I realized our slider had an excessive amount of sauce which didn’t help the case!)
Dungeness Crab Cakes were served with a tomato vinaigrette and a smashed, fried caper on top. The crab cakes had a good layer of batter, but looked like they sat in a fryer for a long time. Their tomato vinaigrette was oddly creamy-looking for a vinaigrette (same texture as the miso vinaigrette). There was only a dot of sauce on top, almost like it was only there to hold the caper in place, which in turn left the crab cake unbelievably dry.
Their Braised BBQ Pork Slider had a homemade bbq sauce with their pork (pulled) with the classic coleslaw — your typical pulled pork sandwich almost. The pork was a bit salty, but the slider was amazingly juicy (totally had a trail of burger juice on my face) and the coleslaw added a great texture to the overall taste. Would be nice to have the bun warmed up or even slightly toasted, so that the juices don’t make the buns all soggy.
I never would have thought they would put a Poutine on their menu, but they did. It tasted like they used the same pork from the sliders, which made it a bit salty, but loved it anyways. The only problem was that because the pork was incorporated into the gravy, it didn’t stick to the fries. I would gladly overlook that issue with the large chunks of cheese curds in the poutine.
Another Asian item on their menu was the Chicken Karaage. I’m not sure about the flash fried part…it looked like it was deep fried twice. The presentation in the little take out boxes was beyond adorable though. Other than that, it tasted good; the chicken wasn’t too dry and I like the idea of their garlic sake marinade, though I think the meat would definitely benefit from sitting in the marinade a little longer. The slaw it was served with didn’t add much to the dish other than texture and a bitter taste from the use of cabbage and raw onions.
The only dessert item on the menu was the Creme Brulee, which was a combination of matcha and white chocolate. I may be biased with this, as creme brulee is probably my favourite dessert — well that, and panna cotta. This was by far the best combination of flavours tasted that night, never thought it would pair this well. The dessert was incredibly rich, but the creaminess could be even smoother I think, so my favourite creme brulee still remains at the Well on Main Street, hahah. But I would for sure order this again if I came for dinner.
As for the two drinks on their menu, one was a French Martini and the other was a Venetian Spritzer. The martini was very boring in taste, almost like watered down alcohol, whereas the spritzer was light, bubbly, and very girly – could see myself ordering a round of these for a bunch of girlfriends.
That was all the items tried for the event. The rest of the event went pretty well, the management team were very easy going and professional all throughout. The Facebox photo booth was a hit, got people laughing and bonding. It was definitely a fun event.
Joyce: Let me throw my two cents here. People may think a media event tends to be perfect because they’re looking for good reviews to boost publicity. In my opinion, I want to think that it wasn’t their best service at Prestons. As you can tell from Lisa’s review above, there are some negatives about most of the dishes. And I generally agree with her. The concept was there, it’s just the execution wasn’t at its best. Heck we were facing a big pile of dirty dishes on our table just 20 minutes into the event and no one was available to clean them out. Could be under-staffed, or too busy trying to bring out the food. Prestons’ unique location in the Coal Harbour, versus the bustling downtown, has its challenges and benefits. It’d be a good location for people who work or live nearby to have a drink or grab a bite. But because it’s a bit removed from the centre of everything, people may not travel an extra block to pay Prestons a visit. I’ve heard some good things about the restaurant, so I want to give it the benefit of the doubt and I may go back for dinner sometime in the future.
Prestons (at Coast Coal Harbour Hotel)
1177 West Pender Street, Vancouver
604-673-2173
www.dineprestons.com
- The Day’s Menu
- Venetian Spritzer
- French Martini
- Open Bar
- Granville Island Beer
- One of those occasions where cameras are definitely allowed
- Gyoza Action Station
- Gyoza
- Mini Poutine with Pulled Pork
- Tomato & Bocconcini Crostini
- Dungeness Crab Cakes
- Crispy Chicken Karaage
- Crispy Chicken Karaage
- Mini Thai Red Curry
- Eggplant Parmesan Sliders
- Eggplant Parmesan Slider
- Baby Back Ribs
- Braised BBQ Pork Slider
- Mini Matcha Creme Brulee
- Hungry Souls Satisfied
- Twitter Wall on Display
- Room Filled with Foodies and Media
- Goodie Bags to Take Home
those crab cakes looks delish!
you are making me hungry!
-nance
LikeLike
People may think a media event tends to be perfect because they’re looking for good reviews to boost publicity.
While you raised service issues, in the end, it did achieve the results they were expecting. To paraphrase a tweet that went out that night, Prestons was trending that night in Canada.
I’ve heard some good things about the restaurant, so I want to give it the benefit of the doubt and I may go back for dinner sometime in the future.
Can I hold you accountable for this statement? 🙂
Before I stopped blogging, I attended one (and only ONE) event and that was precisely Prestons’ event last year. As mentioned in the post, such event does not represent the actual restaurant experience so, after attending the event, I chose to visit the restaurant and have a meal (on my own dime). So far, I have been the only (former) blogger doing so. Out of all blog posts on Prestons (as recorded in Urbanspoon), the majority are based on media events. Only a handful are based on actual visits and the thougths are a coin toss (user reviews in Urbanspoon do give them thumbs up).
Funnily, a blogger (whom I will not mention to protect the innocent/guilty), said he would definitely “pay for what was served”. That was during last year’s event. He attended this year’s event and gave them thumbs up again. Paid by himself visit? Nope…
LikeLike
What are you holding me accountable for? I said I “may” go back which means I’m still considering, which is 100% true.
Now, when you went to the media event, did you like the food? How did your opinion change after you went the second time on your own dime, better or worse?
Yes, they’re getting publicity. But there’s good publicity and bad publicity. I suppose most people wouldn’t be complaining about the free food they got, but I wouldn’t want my brand to be trending in Canada with negative comments on Twitter, or even allowing that to be an option. As a marketer myself, that’s why I was genuinely surprised that they didn’t bring its A-game. Or was it already the best that they could do? That’s exactly the question in my head, and why I’m considering going back. But here’s the catch 22. If it’s solely based on what I had at the media event, I’m not sure if I want to go back. If I was disappointed by a free meal, should I even consider paying for similar quality of food out of my own pocket? There are many restaurants where I’ve been in the past, out of my own pocket, that disappointed me, all the while many people raved about. Should I also give them the benefit of the doubt, assuming they just had a bad day when I visited, and go back for another meal? Maybe, maybe not. I unfortunately am not a billionaire, so I’m afraid restaurants probably only have just one chance to impress, or disappoint, me.
Anyway, if and when I go back, you will hear from me.
LikeLike
“Holding you accountable”. Notice the smiley afterwards? Yes, it was sarcasm! 😉 Of course, it would be nice for you to visit them and provide (unbiased) feedback. (Sorry, nobody said blogging is cheap!)
“There is no such thing as bad publicity”. Ain’t that a marketing quote of sorts? 😀 Probably your experience wasn’t as good; however, if you read what other bloggers have written (some of them are so darn similar you might think they just copy-n-pasted some sort of press release), including some details from Lisa herself, you might think it would be worth your moola. And, again, because of this, people would be willing them to give it a try.
As for the event last year, over half of the dishes were below par, some of them were abysmal and a handful decent ones. And, similar to what you mentioned, when full size was served, it didn’t scale well.
I unfortunately am not a billionaire, so I’m afraid restaurants probably only have just one chance to impress, or disappoint, me.
Amen!
LikeLike
[…] its approachable menu (something for everyone). I remember a couple years ago when we blogged about a tasting event there, I said I would return for its regular service because that media event wasn’t their best. […]
LikeLike