VanFoodies.com

I was invited to the menu preview of the 2017 Taste of Yaletown. Organized by the Yaletown BIA and similar to Dine Out Vancouver, participating restaurants in Yaletown are offering a $25, $35, or $45 menu until Oct 27. At the preview event, I got to sample the menus at two restaurants, one of which was House Special, serving Modern Vietnamese cuisine.

Food

House Special offers a 4-course menu for $45. The first course was Mekong Wonton. Shrimp and monkfish mousse wontons were sitting in a sweet, sour and spicy tamarind seafood broth, which was inspired by a traditional Vietnamese dish Canh Chua Ca. It’s different from other types of Asian sweet and sour, or hot and sour soup. I could taste the sweet and sour combo from the tamarind but I was definitely caught by surprise when the pineapple flavour hit my palate. Being so familiar with the Chinese style wonton soup, this Vietnamese version was almost refreshing to me.

The second course was Caramelized Pork Jowl Banh Hoi, which is their take on a lettuce wrap but with endives. The charbroiled pork jowl had a nice smokey flavour; the meat was of just the right thickness, tender yet bouncy. The “wrap” also had Nuac Cham marinated pickled papaya, cucumber, vermicelli, and peanut crumble. The crunchy texture was great, and I like that each of them was a two-bite size.

The third course was Cao Lanh Tenderloin – Vietnamese herb crusted beef tenderloin. The tenderloin was super tender; and provided it’s so evenly cooked I was quite sure that it’s sous-vide. Combining with kabocha puree and potatoes, the plate was lacking a bit of texture so the pistachio dust was a welcomed addition. There were a lot of Asian flavours in this dish, so don’t go in expecting a Western style steak dish because you won’t be getting that.

And I must add that after I posted my photos on Instagram, one follower shared his rather disappointing experience having this TOY menu. Apparently the sauce on his tenderloin had some mushy bits and he wasn’t impressed with the dish. He did send me a photo and I agreed that it looked different from mine. I wouldn’t know how it tasted, though.

On another note, I didn’t have the dessert at House Special yet according to the same IG follower, the Persimmon Panna Cotta was actually quite good. I wish I got to try it!

Final Thoughts

I was quite excited to try House Special’s Taste of Yaletown menu. Overall, I quite enjoyed the dishes. It was disappointing to learn that there might be some inconsistency in regular service vs. media events, so I hope the restaurant is taking notes. Let me know how your experience was.

House Special
1269 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
778-379-2939
housespecial.ca

Disclosure: The meal was provided to me complimentary of the restaurant. However, the views and opinions expressed in this post are purely my own.